One of the records that changed my life. I bought it in 1979 and have been listening to it hundreds of times since then and every time I discover new details. It's almost like listening to a new record each time. The music sounds dark and evil, much like the photo above (probably by Tadayuki Naitoh).

Jack DeJohnette's drumming is godlike. If you could mute all the other instruments it would still be amazing: a relentless 81-minute drum solo that never gets boring.

Another plus is that Wayne Shorter had already left at that time (to found Weather Report): I never cared much for the solos he played for Miles.

In the late 70s it was not easy to find electric Miles Davis records in the small and conservative Bavarian town where I lived. And if you found one it was often an expensive Japanese import on thick and heavy vinyl. Like this one.

My friends, some of whom were jazz fans, hated it. They told me that this is not jazz. But I didn't care. For me it was an eye opener and I have been a Miles Davis fan ever since.

I only listen to the CD re-issue nowadays to preserve the vinyl. The music is the same, but the pieces have different titles. On the double LP they are:

Black Beauty Part I - 23:46

Black Beauty Part II - 18:22

Black Beauty Part III - 17:15

Black Beauty Part IV - 21:28

Pangaea is a live album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was originally released as a double album in 1976 by CBS/Sony in Japan.

Recorded during Davis' electric period, the album captures the second of two concerts he performed on February 1, 1975, at Osaka's Festival Hall. As with the first concert (captured on the 1975 album Agharta), Davis led a band featuring guitarists Pete Cosey and Reggie Lucas, saxophonist Sonny Fortune, bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Al Foster, and percussionist James Mtume.

Both Pangaea and its predecessor Agharta were recorded on February 1, 1975, in Osaka, Japan, at the Festival Hall. The Agharta concert took place during an afternoon matinee, whereas Pangaea was recorded in the evening. This album's music was split into two tracks, 'Zimbabwe' and 'Gondwana', the latter of which was the name of the ancient supercontinent, as was 'Pangaea'. According to discographer Peter Losin, the first track contains performances of 'Turnaroundphrase', 'Tune in 5', 'Turnaroundphrase' again, 'Tune in 5' again and 'Zimbabwe' (not to be confused with the actual medley recording's title). The second track contains performances of 'Ife', and 'For Dave (Mr. Foster)', performed in that order.

Miles Davis – Pangaea

Label: CBS/Sony – SOPZ 96~97

Series: #LiveInJapanSeries

Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album

Country: #Japan

Released: 1975

Genre: Jazz

Style: #Fusion, #JazzRock

A Zimbabwe Part I20:25

B Zimbabwe Part II21:13

C Gondwana Part I23:23

D Gondwana Part II23:57

Bass [Fender] – #MichaelHenderson

Congas, Percussion, Drums [Water Drums], Drum Machine [Rhythm Box] – #Mtume

Drums – #AlFoster

Guitar – #ReggieLucas

Guitar, Synthesizer, Percussion – #PeteCosey

Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Flute – #SonnyFortune

Trumpet, Organ – #MilesDavis

Engineer – #TomooSuzuki

Directed By – #KeiichiNakamura

Photography By [Of Miles Davis] – #TadayukiNaitoh

Producer – #TeoMacero

#Pangaea #CBSrecords #SonyRecords #vinylcollection #musicrecordcurator #recordoftheday #recordcollection #vinylrecords #recordcollector #vinylgram #recordgram #instarecords #vinylculture #vinylcommunity #vinyladdict #nowplaying