Amandla (album)

Amandla
Studio album by Miles Davis
Released	May 18, 1989
Recorded	December 1988 – early 1989
Genre	Jazz fusion
Length	43:28
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Tommy LiPuma, Marcus Miller, George Duke
Miles Davis chronology
Music from Siesta (1987) Amandla (1989) Aura (1989)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Down Beat	[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Los Angeles Times	[4]
MusicHound Jazz	2/5[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]

Amandla is an album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1989. It is the third collaboration between Miles Davis and producer/bassist Marcus Miller, after Tutu (1986) and Music from Siesta (1987), and their final album together. The album mixes elements of the genres go-go, zouk, funk and jazz, combining electronic instruments with live musicians. The composition "Mr. Pastorius", featuring drummer Al Foster, is a tribute to late jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius.^[7] "Catémbe" is a Mozambican and Angolan cocktail of red wine and cola.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review, Down Beat said Amandla possessed "a precise and consistent sound that flows through the shifting instrumental combinations and lingers after the music has stopped".^[2] In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), J. D. Considine felt the record sounded "vaguely African" and somewhat conservative because of its reliance on session musicians.^[6]

Track listing

All tracks were composed by Marcus Miller, except where indicated.

1. "Catémbe" – 5:35
2. "Cobra" (George Duke) – 5:15
3. "Big Time" – 5:40
4. "Hannibal" – 5:49
5. "Jo-Jo" – 4:51
6. "Amandla" – 5:20
7. "Jilli" (John Bigham) – 5:05
8. "Mr. Pastorius" – 5:41

Personnel

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• Marcus Miller – arranger (except # 2), bass, keyboards, bass clarinet (exc. # 5, 6), soprano saxophone (# 1, 3), guitar (# 1, 4, 7), drums (# 1)
• Kenny Garrett – alto saxophone (exc. # 2, 8), soprano saxophone (# 2)
• Rick Margitza – tenor saxophone (# 5)
• George Duke – keyboards, synclavier, arranger (# 2)
• Joey DeFrancesco – additional keyboards (# 2)
• Joe Sample – piano (# 6)
• Jason Miles – synthesizer programming (# 8)
• Michael Landau – guitar (# 2)
• Foley – guitar (# 3, 4, 7)
• Jean-Paul Bourelly – guitar (# 3, 5)
• John Bigham – guitar, keyboards, drum programming, arranger (# 7)
• Billy "Spaceman" Patterson – wah-wah guitar (# 7)
• Ricky Wellman – drums (# 3, 7)
• Omar Hakim – drums (# 4, 6)
• Al Foster – drums (# 8)
• Don Alias – percussion (# 1, 3, 6)
• Mino Cinelu – percussion (# 1)
• Paulinho Da Costa – percussion (# 4, 5)
• Bashiri Johnson – percussion (# 6)

Production

• Producers – Tommy LiPuma, Marcus Miller and George Duke (# 2), John Bigham (# 7)
• Executive producer – Miles Davis
• Recording engineers – Eric Calvi (at Clinton Recording, New York), Bruce Miller (at Right Track Recording, New York), Eric Zobler (# 2 at George Duke's Le Gonks West, Hollywood), plus additional recording by ad
• Mixing engineer – Bill Schnee (at Bill Schnee Studios)
• Mastering – Doug Sax (at The Mastering Lab)
• Cover art – Miles Davis and Jo Gelbard

References

Bibliography

• Cole, George (March 16, 2005) The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis, 1980–1991. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-11501-4

External links

• Amandla at Discogs (list of releases)