Jack Johnson Sessions

Posted on by J. Hubner

Still enjoying this newfound freedom I’ve discovered in this massive 25-disc Pioneer CD changer, I thought I’d break out one of my favorite CD Box sets, Miles Davis’ The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions.

Back during Christmas of 2011 I’d started getting pretty heavy into Miles. I’d bought Bitches Brew, In A Silent Way, and Nefertiti on vinyl and was scouring the earth for more. I’d recently heard Jack Johnson and was looking for a decently priced first pressing. When I couldn’t locate one, I decided to clunk down the $40 required by Amazon and I bought The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions. Very glad I snagged this one, as it’s a beautifully scuzzy window view into the recording sessions of one of Miles Davis’ funkiest records.

I think Jack Johnson is the purest funk and rock and roll record Davis ever released. The suit and tie, slick jazz was gone,IMG_0812 and the heady, technical late 60s quintet stuff had come to an end. Davis had gotten the Band of Gypsies, acid-burnt world of Bitches Brew out of the way, so it was time to just have a little fun. With Jack Johnson Miles Davis was playing the lead in a funky jam band. Guitarist John McLaughlin was let loose with some serious blues chops and a wah wah pedal. The original release was just two tracks, “Right Off” and “Yesternow”, and both were groove monsters that put McLaughlin and Davis in the limelight, with some heavy lifting courtesy of Michael Henderson on bass and Billy Cobham on drums(an uncredited Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland show up for the last part of the “Willie Nelson” section of “Yesternow”.) Jack Johnson is the last truly great Miles Davis record before he went into a rather tumultuous phase in his career, with his next studio album being On The Corner.

Here’s what I love about this 5-disc box set of the making of Jack Johnson, it’s like a peak into the studio and watching these guys at work making this great album. There are hours of jams and progressions that Teo Macero dug through and cut and pasted into just a little over 50 minutes to give us the final record. Now this wasn’t the age of music software and fancy mouse click editing. No sir, this was old school tape. This was cutting and pasting actual 2 inch tape. Jams were assembled from free form sound excursions. The idea of that just blows my mind. Davis and Macero did that with In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew, and On the Corner as well. What’s cool about this whole process is that the extended jams used to create a cohesive 2-track album are great on their own. Hearing rhythms progress and Davis jamming over it is pretty remarkable to hear. The drum and bass work on this one is quite astounding. And like I’ve heard before about this album, Davis’ trumpet playing is on par with some of his best on here. It’s also the strongest he’s sounded. He’s up front on most of this album, and the individual takes on this session show just how strong a player he still was.

I don’t often find myself in the mood to sit for 6+ hours and zone out to The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions, but when I do, I’m glad I’ve got it. Plus, I can just throw the vinyl on and enjoy the end result of many hours of hard work(I found a NM first pressing for $19 a couple years back.) If you’re a huge fan of Miles Davis, or just a fan of the process of creating music, I would highly recommend this set.

Over and far out.

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22 thoughts on “Jack Johnson Sessions”

    1. I agree completely. I love hearing the wheels turning musically. Would love to eventually get my hands on the complete sessions for the other three.

      If I ever see a decent priced copy of JJ I’ll grab it for you. You must own it.

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  3. and Herbie Hancock slamming the organ near the end of Right Off”, as well as the opening measure of the same song, and one of Miles’ solos in that song, all rank as some of the best moments in Miles Davis’ discography.

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    1. You do! Btw, you have any of The Doors CD boxsets? I’ve got one I bought back in the late 90s. Tons of rarities and alternate versions of songs. Really cool stuff.

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      1. I had one – a 4CD set. It had favourites, studio takes, live stuff and something else. Can’t mind what it was called, but it came as two double sets with back to back jewel cases. I loaned that out and never saw it again. Bah.

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      3. Might be the same one, as I believe the Parts could also be bought as just one box (I foolishly bought Part 2 as I saw it cheap – had to track down Part 1).

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  6. I’m still discovering a lot of the Miles Davis catalogue – so rich and the variety of the stuff is stunning. This sounds like a great set …

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    1. It really is a great set. I think Vinyl Connection has talked me into grabbing the In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew complete sessions, unbeknownst to him.

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Published by J. Hubner

Complex Distractions is a little corner of the universe where music and conversation reign supreme. Intellectual discussions and essays written about heady records, both big and small, that despite what you might think can truly change your life. Spinning the records for the good of mankind.