Bitches Brew

2025-10-07T12:12:29Z

2A06:5900:C085:6F00:743B:DB6E:E497:69AA:

{{Short description|1970 studio album by Miles Davis}}
{{About||the Shield episode|Bitches Brew (The Shield)|the Aerosmith song|Bitch's Brew}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Bitches Brew
| type = studio
| artist = [[Miles Davis]]
| cover = bitches brew.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{start date|1970|3|30}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.milesdavis.com/albums/bitches-brew/ |title=Miles Davis.com |access-date=August 26, 2015 |archive-date=September 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926165627/https://www.milesdavis.com/albums/bitches-brew/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| recorded = August 19–21, 1969
| studio = [[CBS Studio Building|Columbia 52nd Street]] (New York City)
| genre = *[[Jazz fusion]]<ref name="Garry"/>
*[[avant-garde jazz]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Spencer|first=Neil|author-link=Neil Spencer|date=September 4, 2010|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/sep/05/miles-davis-bitches-brew-reissue|title=Miles Davis: The muse who changed him, and the heady Brew that rewrote jazz|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=August 29, 2018|archive-date=August 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829175351/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/sep/05/miles-davis-bitches-brew-reissue|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[jazz rock]]<ref name="Jurek"/>
*[[avant-funk]]<ref name="hoskyns">{{cite book|last1=Hoskyns|first1=Barney|author-link=Barney Hoskyns|title=Small Town Talk: Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Friends in the Wild Years of Woodstock|date=March 8, 2016|publisher=Da Capo Press|page=227|isbn=9780306823213|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dvmcBAAAQBAJ&q=bitches+brew+%22avant-funk%22&pg=PA227}}</ref>
*[[psychedelic music|psychedelia]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Forrest |first1=Ben |title=Miles Davis explained how "prejudice" fuelled his music |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/miles-davis-prejudice-fuelled-his-music/ |website=Far Out |date=April 28, 2024 |access-date=21 July 2024 |archive-date=July 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240721171810/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/miles-davis-prejudice-fuelled-his-music/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| length = 93:57
| label = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| producer = [[Teo Macero]]
| prev_title = [[Miles in Tokyo]]
| prev_year = 1969
| next_title = [[Miles Davis at Fillmore]]
| next_year = 1970
}}

'''''Bitches Brew''''' is a studio album by the American [[jazz]] trumpeter, composer, and bandleader [[Miles Davis]]. It was recorded from August 19 to 21, 1969, at [[CBS Studio Building|Columbia's Studio B]] in New York City and released on March 30, 1970, by [[Columbia Records]]. It marked Davis's continuing experimentation with electric instruments that he had featured on his previous record, the critically acclaimed ''[[In a Silent Way]]'' (1969). With these instruments, such as the [[electric piano]] and [[electric guitar|guitar]], Davis departed from traditional jazz rhythms in favor of loose, rock-influenced arrangements based on improvisation. The final tracks were edited and pieced together by producer [[Teo Macero]].

The album initially received a mixed critical and commercial response, but it gained momentum and became Davis' highest-charting album on the U.S. [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], peaking at No. 35. In 1971, it won a [[Grammy Award]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album|Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=miles+davis&field_nominee_work_value=bitches+brew&year=All&genre=All |title=Past Winners Search | GRAMMY.com |work=grammy.com |access-date=2 June 2013}}</ref> In 1976, it became Davis's first album to be certified [[Gold (RIAA certification)|Gold]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA).<ref>[http://www.columbiajazz.com/newsletter2/brew.html Bitches Brew: Miles Davis' Shot Heard 'Round the Jazz World – ColumbiaJazz] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705185024/http://www.columbiajazz.com/newsletter2/brew.html |date=2008-07-05 }}. Columbia. Retrieved on 2008-08-30.</ref><ref>[http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/16181/davismiles-mileselectricdvd Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue (DVD) – PopMatters] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012103151/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/16181/davismiles-mileselectricdvd |date=October 12, 2008 }}. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2008-08-30.</ref>

In subsequent years, ''Bitches Brew'' gained recognition as one of jazz's greatest albums and a progenitor of the [[jazz rock]] genre, as well as a major influence on rock and '70s crossover musicians.<ref name="Jurek"/> In 1998, Columbia released ''[[The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/r372751 |title=The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (August 1969 – February 1970) – Miles Davis | AllMusic |first=John |last=Bush |work=allmusic.com |year=2011 | accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref> a four-disc box set that includes the original album and previously unreleased material. In 2003, the album was certified [[Platinum (RIAA certification)|Platinum]] by the RIAA, reflecting shipments of one million copies in the United States. In 2025, the album was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the [[Library of Congress]] and selected for preservation in the [[National Recording Registry]].<ref>{{cite web | last1=Ulaby | first1=Neda | title=National Recording Registry adds Tracy Chapman, Hamilton and the Minecraft game soundtrack | work=NPR | date=April 9, 2025 | url=https://www.npr.org/2025/04/09/nx-s1-5352774/national-recording-registry-tracy-chapman-elton-john-hamilton-minecraft }}</ref>

==Background and recording==
[[File:Cbs-studio.jpg|thumb|150px|Current CBS Studio Building]]
By 1969, Davis's core working band consisted of [[Wayne Shorter]] on soprano saxophone, [[Dave Holland (bassist)|Dave Holland]] on bass, [[Chick Corea]] on electric piano, and [[Jack DeJohnette]] on drums.{{sfn|Davis|Troupe|1990|p=295}} The group, minus DeJohnette, recorded ''[[In a Silent Way]]'' (1969), which also featured [[Joe Zawinul]], [[John McLaughlin (musician)|John McLaughlin]], [[Tony Williams (drummer)|Tony Williams]], and [[Herbie Hancock]]. The album marked the beginning of Davis's "electric period", incorporating instruments such as the [[electric piano]], guitar, and [[jazz fusion]] styles.{{sfn|Davis|Troupe|1990|p=295}} For his next studio album, Davis wished to explore his electronic and fusion style even further. While touring with his five-piece from the spring to August 1969, he introduced new pieces for his band to play, including early versions of what became "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down", "Sanctuary", and "Spanish Key".<ref name=1999CD>{{cite AV media notes|url=https://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Bitches-Brew/release/54170|title=Bitches Brew [1999 Reissue]|id=C2K 65774|publisher=Columbia Records|year=1999}}</ref> At this point in his career Davis was influenced by contemporary rock and funk music, Zawinul's playing with [[Cannonball Adderley]], and the work of English composer [[Paul Buckmaster]].{{sfn|Davis|Troupe|1990|p=298}}

In August 1969, Davis gathered his band for a rehearsal, one week prior to the booked recording sessions. As well as his five-piece, they were joined by Zawinul, McLaughlin, [[Larry Young (jazz)|Larry Young]], [[Lenny White]], [[Don Alias]], [[Juma Santos]], and [[Bennie Maupin]].<ref name=1999CD/> Davis had written simple chord lines, at first for three pianos, which he expanded into a sketch of a larger scale composition. He presented the group with some "musical sketches" and told them they could play anything that came to mind as long as they used his chosen chords.{{sfn|Davis|Troupe|1990|p=299}} Davis had not arranged each piece because he was unsure of the direction the album was to take; he wanted whatever was produced to come from an improvisational process, "not some prearranged shit."{{sfn|Davis|Troupe|1990|p=301}}

Davis booked [[CBS Studio Building|Columbia's Studio B]] in New York City from August 19–21, 1969.<ref name=1999CD/> The session on August 19 began at 10 a.m., with the band playing "Bitches Brew" first. Everyone was set up in a half-circle with Davis and Shorter in the middle. Lenny White explained:

{{Blockquote|text=It was like an orchestra, and Miles was our conductor. We wore headphones. We had to be able to hear each other. There were no guests at that session. No photos allowed. But there was one guest that nobody talked about, [[Max Roach]]. All live recording, no overdubs. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., for three days.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Micallef |first=Ken |date=2020-05-01 |title=Fusion Star Lenny White |archive-date=2020-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807105623/https://www.moderndrummer.com/article/lenny-white/ |url=https://www.moderndrummer.com/article/lenny-white/ |magazine=[[Modern Drummer]] |access-date=2025-08-29}}</ref>}}

As usual with Davis's recording sessions during this period, tracks were recorded in sections.<ref name="1999CD" /> Davis gave a few instructions: a tempo count, a few chords or a hint of melody, and suggestions as to mood or tone. Davis liked to work this way; he thought it forced musicians to pay close attention to one another, to their own performances, or to Davis's cues, which could change from moment to moment. On the quieter passages of "Bitches Brew", for example, Davis's voice is audible giving instructions to the musicians, snapping his fingers to indicate tempo, telling the musicians to "Keep it tight" in his distinctive voice, or even directing individuals when to solo, such as when he says "John" during the title track.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jazztimes.com/articles/20243-miles-davis-and-the-making-of-bitches-brew-sorcerer-s-brew|title=Miles Davis and the Making of Bitches Brew: Sorcerer's Brew|publisher=Jazz Times|last1=Tingen|first1=Paul|author-link=Paul Tingen|date=May 2001|access-date=11 Nov 2014}}</ref> "John McLaughlin" and "Sanctuary" were also recorded during the August 19 session. Towards the end, the group rehearsed "Pharaoh's Dance".<ref name="1999CD" />

Despite his reputation as a "[[Cool jazz|cool]]", melodic improviser, much of Davis's playing on this album is aggressive and explosive, often playing fast runs and venturing into the upper [[Register (music)|register]] of the trumpet. His closing solo on "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" is particularly noteworthy in this regard. Davis did not perform on the short piece "John McLaughlin".

Electric bassist [[Harvey Brooks (bassist)|Harvey Brooks]] was unusual among the musicians in having virtually no jazz experience, though he had worked extensively in rock and pop.<ref name="Grella_2015"/>

==Album title==
It is not known where the album title came from, and there are various theories about it.<ref name="Tingen">{{Cite web|last=Tingen|first=Paul|title=Miles Davis and the Making of Bitches Brew|url=https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/miles-davis-and-the-making-of-bitches-brew-sorcerers-brew/|access-date=2020-10-06|website=JazzTimes|language=en-US}}</ref> Some believe it was a reference to women in Davis's life who were introducing him to cultural changes in the 1960s.<ref name="Tingen"/><ref>{{Cite news|title=Looking Back On 'Bitches Brew': The Year Miles Davis Plugged Jazz In|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/08/21/753195250/looking-back-on-bitches-brew-the-year-miles-davis-plugged-jazz-in|access-date=2020-10-06|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Miles Davis: The muse who changed him, and the heady Brew that rewrote jazz |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/sep/05/miles-davis-bitches-brew-reissue |newspaper=The Observer |date=4 September 2010 |access-date=5 January 2023 |last1=Spencer |first1=Neil |archive-date=August 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829175351/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/sep/05/miles-davis-bitches-brew-reissue |url-status=live }}</ref> Other explanations have been given.<ref name="Tingen"/>

==Post-production==
Significant editing was made to the recorded music. Short sections were [[Reel-to-reel audio tape recording|spliced]] together to create longer pieces, brief fragments were looped or repeated, and various effects were applied to the recordings. "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" is the only track without any editing, presented exactly as it was recorded in the studio.<ref name="Grella_2015">George Grella, Jr (2015). ''Miles Davis' Bitches Brew (33 1/3)''. Bloomsbury Academic, ISBN 978-1628929430</ref> [[Paul Tingen]] reports:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miles-beyond.com/bitchesbrew.htm|title=The Making of Bitches Brew|access-date=September 7, 2006|archive-date=March 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305160246/http://www.miles-beyond.com/bitchesbrew.htm|url-status=dead}} by [[Paul Tingen]] and Enrico Merlin. Retrieved 2013-03-25</ref>

{{blockquote|''Bitches Brew'' also pioneered the application of the studio as a musical instrument, featuring stacks of edits and studio effects that were an integral part of the music. Miles and his producer, [[Teo Macero]], used the recording studio in radical new ways, especially in the title track and the opening track, "Pharaoh's Dance". There were many special effects, like tape loops, tape delays, reverb chambers and echo effects. Through intensive tape editing, Macero concocted many totally new musical structures that were later imitated by the band in live concerts. Macero, who has a classical education and was most likely inspired by '50s and '60s French [[musique concrète]] experiments, used tape editing as a form of arranging and composition.
"Pharaoh's Dance" contains 19 edits – its famous stop-start opening is entirely constructed in the studio, using repeat loops of certain sections. Later on in the track there are several micro-edits: for example, a one-second-long fragment that first appears at 8:39 is repeated five times between 8:54 and 8:59. The title track contains 15 edits, again with several short tape loops of, in this case, five seconds (at 3:01, 3:07 and 3:12). Therefore, ''Bitches Brew'' not only became a controversial classic of musical innovation, it also became renowned for its pioneering use of studio technology.}}

Though ''Bitches Brew'' was in many ways revolutionary, perhaps its most important innovation was [[rhythm]]ic. The [[rhythm section]] for this recording consists of two bassists (one playing [[bass guitar]], the other [[double bass]]), two to three [[drummer]]s, two to three [[electric piano]] players, and a [[Percussion instrument|percussionist]], all playing at the same time.<ref name=tanner>{{cite book|last=Tanner|first=Paul O. W.|author-link=Paul Tanner|author2=Maurice Gerow|author3=David W. Megill|title=Jazz|orig-date=1964|edition=6th|year=1988|publisher=William C. Brown, College Division|location=Dubuque, IA|isbn=0-697-03663-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/jazz00tann/page/135 135–136]|chapter=Crossover — Fusion|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/jazz00tann/page/135}}</ref> As [[Paul Tanner]], Maurice Gerow, and David Megill explain, "like rock groups, Davis gives the rhythm section a central role in the ensemble's activities. His use of such a large rhythm section offers the soloists wide but active expanses for their solos."<ref name=tanner />

Tanner, Gerow and Megill further explain that <blockquote>"the harmonies used in this recording move very slowly and function modally rather than in a more tonal fashion typical of [[mainstream jazz]].... The static harmonies and rhythm section's collective embellishment create a very open arena for improvisation. The musical result flows from basic rock patterns to hard bop textures, and at times, even passages that are more characteristic of [[free jazz]]."<ref name=tanner /></blockquote> The solo voices heard most prominently on this album are the trumpet and the [[soprano saxophone]], respectively of Miles and [[Wayne Shorter]]. Notable also is [[Bennie Maupin]]'s [[bass clarinet]] present on four tracks.

The technology of recording, analog tape, disc mastering, and inherent recording time constraints had, by the late 1960s, expanded beyond previous limitations and sonic range for the stereo vinyl album, and ''Bitches Brew'' reflects this. Its long-form performances include improvised suites with [[rubato]] sections, [[tempo]] changes or the long, slow crescendo more common to a symphonic orchestral piece or [[India]]n [[raga]] form than the three-minute rock song. Starting in 1969, Davis's concerts included some of the material that would become ''Bitches Brew''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plosin.com/milesAhead/Sessions.aspx?s=691026|title=Session Details|access-date=2007-08-04|last=Losin|first=Peter|work=Miles Ahead|quote=October 26, 1969... 'Bitches Brew'... 'Miles Runs the Voodoo Down'... 'Spanish Key'}}</ref>

==Release==
''Bitches Brew'' was released in March 1970. It gained commercial momentum for the next four months and peaked at No. 35 on the U.S. [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] for the week of July 4, 1970. This remains Davis's second best performance on the chart behind ''[[Kind of Blue]]'', which has peaked at number 3 on Vinyl and number 12 in 2020.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/miles-davis/chart-history/tlp/|title=Miles Davis – Chart History – Billboard 200 – Bitches Brew|magazine=Billboard|access-date=May 25, 2019}}</ref> On September 22, 2003, the album was certified platinum by the [[RIAA]] for selling one million copies in the U.S.

In addition to the standard [[stereo]] version, the album was also mixed for [[quadraphonic]] sound. Columbia released a quad LP version, using the [[Stereo Quadraphonic|SQ matrix]] system, in 1971. Sony reissued the album in Japan in 2018 on the [[Super Audio CD]] format containing both the complete stereo and quadraphonic mixes.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.discogs.com/release/12328467-Miles-Davis-Bitches-Brew|title = Miles Davis – Bitches Brew (2018, SACD)|website = [[Discogs]]|date = 8 August 2018|access-date = November 10, 2021|archive-date = November 6, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211106224422/https://www.discogs.com/release/12328467-Miles-Davis-Bitches-Brew|url-status = live}}</ref>

==Reception and legacy==
{{Music ratings
|title = Retrospective professional reviews
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Jurek">Jurek, Thom. [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=bitches-brew-mw0000188019|pure_url=yes}} Review: ''Bitches Brew'']. [[AllMusic]]. Retrieved on 2010-10-08.</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
|rev2score = A−<ref name="CG"/>
|rev3 = ''[[Consequence of Sound|Consequence]]''
|rev3score = A+<ref name="CoS">{{cite web|last=Bray|first=Ryan|url=https://consequence.net/2020/03/classic-album-review-miles-davis-bitches-brew/|title=Classic Album Review: Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew Stands as Pop Music’s Greatest Crossover|work=[[Consequence of Sound]]|date=March 12, 2020|access-date=August 4, 2025}}</ref>
|rev4 = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
|rev4score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|year=2011|chapter=Miles Davis|title=[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|isbn=978-0857125958|edition=5th}}</ref>
|rev5 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
|rev5score = A<ref name="CD">{{cite web|url=http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1089033/a/bitches+brew.htm|title=Miles Davis - Bitches Brew CD Album|publisher=[[CD Universe]]|access-date=May 14, 2016}}</ref>
|rev6 = ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''
|rev6score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="CD"/>
|rev7 = ''[[MusicHound|MusicHound Jazz]]''
|rev7score = 5/5<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Holtje|editor1-first=Steve|editor2-last=Lee|editor2-first=Nancy Ann|year=1998|title=[[MusicHound|MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide]]|publisher=[[Music Sales Corporation]]|isbn=0825672538|chapter=Miles Davis}}</ref>
|rev8 = ''[[The Penguin Guide to Jazz]]''
|rev8score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref name=penguin />
|rev9 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
|rev9score = 9.5/10<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14623-bitches-brew-legacy-edition/ |title=Miles Davis: Bitches Brew [Legacy Edition] Album Review |work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=10 September 2010 |last=Richardson |first=Mark}}</ref>
|rev10 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
|rev10score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>[[J. D. Considine|Considine, J. D.]] (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=lRgtYCC6OUwC&pg=PA215 "Miles Davis"]. in ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'': pp. 215, 218.</ref>
}}
Reviewing for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' in 1970, [[Langdon Winner]] said ''Bitches Brew'' shows Davis's music expanding in "beauty, subtlety and sheer magnificence", finding it "so rich in its form and substance that it permits and even encourages soaring flights of imagination by anyone who listens". He concluded that the album would "reward in direct proportion to the depth of your own involvement".<ref>Winner, Langdon (May 28, 1970). [https://web.archive.org/web/20090429094110/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/milesdavis/albums/album/235891/review/6067588/bitches_brew Review: ''Bitches Brew'']. ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. Retrieved on 2010-10-08.</ref> ''[[Village Voice]]'' critic [[Robert Christgau]] deemed it "good music that's very much like jazz and something like rock",<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=May 21, 1970|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/rock/jazz-70.php|title=Jazz Annual|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|location=New York|access-date=May 14, 2016|archive-date=March 31, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331235810/http://robertchristgau.com/xg/rock/jazz-70.php|url-status=live}}</ref> naming it the year's best jazz album and Davis "jazzman of the year" in his ballot for ''Jazz & Pop'' magazine.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Christgau|first=Robert|year=1970|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/jpballot-70.php|title=Jazz & Pop Ballot 1970|journal=Jazz & Pop|access-date=May 14, 2016}}</ref> Years later, he had lost some enthusiasm about the album; in ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981), he called ''Bitches Brew'' "a brilliant wash of ideas, so many ideas that it leaves an unfocused impression", with [[Tony Williams (drummer)|Tony Williams]]' steadier rock rhythms from ''In a Silent Way'' replaced by "subtle shades of Latin and funk polyrhythm that never gather the requisite fervor". He concluded that the music sounded "enormously suggestive, and never less than enjoyable, but not quite compelling. Which is what rock is supposed to be."<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|year=1981|chapter-url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=2401|chapter=Miles Davis: ''Bitches Brew''|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the '70s|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|isbn=0306804093|access-date=May 14, 2016}}</ref>

Selling more than one million copies since it was released, ''Bitches Brew'' was viewed by some writers in the 1970s as the album that spurred jazz's renewed popularity with mainstream audiences that decade. As Michael Segell wrote in 1978, jazz was "considered commercially dead" by the 1960s until the album's success "opened the eyes of music-industry executives to the sales potential of jazz-oriented music". This led to other fusion records that "refined" Davis's new style of jazz and sold millions of copies, including ''[[Head Hunters]]'' (1973) by [[Herbie Hancock]] and [[George Benson]]'s 1976 album ''[[Breezin']]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Segell|first=Michael|date=December 28, 1978|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/the-children-of-bitches-brew-19781228|title=The Children of 'Bitches Brew'|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=May 15, 2016|archive-date=June 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614211236/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/the-children-of-bitches-brew-19781228|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Tom Hull (critic)|Tom Hull]], who would later become a jazz critic, has said, "Back in the early '70s we used to listen to ''Bitches Brew'' as late night [[chill-out music]] – about the only jazz I ran into at the time."<ref>{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Tom|date=November 30, 2003|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/notebook/0311.php|title=November 2003 Notebook|website=tomhull.com|access-date=July 12, 2020}}</ref> According to [[independent scholar]] Jane Garry, ''Bitches Brew'' defined and popularized the [[jazz fusion]] genre, also known as jazz-rock, but it was hated by a number of [[wikt:purist|purist]]s.<ref name="Garry">{{cite book|last=Garry|first=Jane|chapter=Jazz|title=Encyclopedia of African American Society|editor-last=Haynes|editor-first=Gerald D.|year=2005|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|page=465}}</ref> Jazz critic and producer [[Bob Rusch]] recalled, "This to me was not ''great Black music'', but I cynically saw it as part and parcel of the commercial crap that was beginning to choke and bastardize the catalogs of such dependable companies as [[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]] and [[Prestige Records|Prestige]].... I hear it 'better' today because there is now so much music that is worse."<ref name=rusch>{{cite book|last=Rusch|first=Bob|editor=Ron Wynn|editor-link=Ron Wynn|others=M. Erlewine, V. Bogdanov|title=[[All Music Guide to Jazz]]|series=[[AllMusic]]|edition=1st|year=1994|publisher=Miller Freeman Books|location=San Francisco|isbn=0-87930-308-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/allmusicguidetoj00wynn/page/197 197]}}</ref> Despite the controversy the album stirred among the jazz community, it nonetheless topped ''[[DownBeat]]''{{'}}s annual critics' poll in 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp?sect=stories&subsect=story_detail&sid=696|title=1970 Down Beat Critics Poll|publisher=downbeat.com|access-date=November 14, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306002315/http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp?sect=stories&subsect=story_detail&sid=696|archive-date=March 6, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

''[[The Penguin Guide to Jazz]]'' called ''Bitches Brew'' "one of the most remarkable creative statements of the last half-century, in any artistic form. It is also profoundly flawed, a gigantic torso of burstingly noisy music that absolutely refuses to [[Resolution (music)|resolve]] itself under any recognized guise."<ref name=penguin>{{cite book|last=Cook|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Cook (journalist)|author2=Brian Morton|author-link2=Brian Morton (Scottish writer)|title=The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings|orig-date=1992|edition=8th|series=[[The Penguin Guide to Jazz]]|year=2006|publisher=Penguin|location=New York|isbn=0-14-102327-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/penguinguidetoja00cook_1/page/327 327]|chapter=Miles Davis|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/penguinguidetoja00cook_1/page/327}}</ref> In 2003, the album was ranked number 94 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 greatest albums of all time]]. Nine years later, it went down one spot.<ref name="RS500">Staff (November 2003). [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/6862/35223/35696 RS500: 94) ''Bitches Brew''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207040708/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/6862/35223/35696 |date=2010-12-07 }}. ''Rolling Stone''. Retrieved on 2010-10-08.</ref> In the 2020 list, it climbed to number 87.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/miles-davis-bitches-brew-4-1063146/|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=22 September 2020}}</ref> Along with this accolade, the album has been ranked at or near the top of several other magazines' "best albums" lists in disparate genres.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} The album was also included in the book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Robert Dimery|author2=Michael Lydon|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition|date=7 February 2006|publisher=Universe|isbn=0-7893-1371-5}}</ref> In 2024, ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'' ranked ''Bitches Brew'' number 12 on its list of the greatest albums of all-time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Paste Staff |title=The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/greatest-albums/the-300-greatest-albums-of-all-time-2 |website=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] |date=June 3, 2024 |access-date=December 19, 2024 |archive-date=June 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603155414/https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/greatest-albums/the-300-greatest-albums-of-all-time-2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Experimental jazz drummer [[Bobby Previte]] considered ''Bitches Brew'' to be "groundbreaking": "How much groundbreaking music do you hear now? It was music that you had that feeling you never heard quite before. It came from another place. How much music do you hear now like that?"<ref name=snyder>{{cite web|url=http://users.bestweb.net/~msnyder/writings/previte.htm|title=An Interview with Bobby Previte|access-date=2007-08-04|last=Snyder|first=Matt|date=December 1997|work=5/4 Magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060112205326/http://users.bestweb.net/~msnyder/writings/previte.htm|archive-date=2006-01-12}}</ref> [[Thom Yorke]], singer of the English rock band [[Radiohead]], cited it as an influence on their 1997 album ''[[OK Computer]]'': "It was building something up and watching it fall apart, that's the beauty of it. It was at the core of what we were trying to do."<ref name="Sutcliffe1999">{{citation |last=Sutcliffe |first=Phil |title=Radiohead: An Interview With Thom Yorke |date=October 1997 |magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]}}</ref> The singer [[Bilal (American singer)|Bilal]] names it among his 25 favorite albums, citing Davis's stylistic reinvention.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Simmons|first=Ted|date=February 26, 2013|url=https://www.complex.com/music/2013/02/bilals-25-favorite-albums/the-velvet-underground-the-velvet-underground-and|title=Bilal's 25 Favorite Albums|magazine=[[Complex (magazine)|Complex]]|access-date=August 28, 2020|archive-date=January 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104174101/https://www.complex.com/music/2013/02/bilals-25-favorite-albums/the-velvet-underground-the-velvet-underground-and|url-status=live}}</ref> Rock and jazz musician [[Donald Fagen]] criticized the album as "essentially just a big trash-out for Miles ... To me it was just silly, and out of tune, and bad. I couldn't listen to it. It sounded like [Davis] was trying for a funk record, and just picked the wrong guys. They didn't understand how to play funk. They weren't steady enough."<ref name="Donald Fagen criticism">{{cite book|last1=Breithaupt|first1=Don|title=Steely Dan's Aja|date=2007|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|location=London|isbn=9780826427830|pages=25–26|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hjHUAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25|access-date=January 15, 2015}}</ref>

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| extra_column = Recording date
| title1 = Pharaoh's Dance
| writer1 = [[Joe Zawinul]]
| extra1 = August 21, 1969
| length1 = 20:07
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| extra_column = Recording date
| title1 = Bitches Brew
| writer1 = [[Miles Davis]]
| extra1 = August 19, 1969
| length1 = 27:00
}}
{{track listing
| headline = Side three
| extra_column = Recording date
| title1 = Spanish Key
| writer1 = Davis
| extra1 = August 21, 1969
| length1 = 17:30
| title2 = John McLaughlin
| writer2 = Davis
| extra2 = August 19, 1969
| length2 = 4:23
}}
{{track listing
| total_length = 93:57
| headline = Side four
| extra_column = Recording date
| title1 = Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
| writer1 = Davis
| extra1 = August 20, 1969
| length1 = 14:03
| title2 = Sanctuary
| writer2 = [[Wayne Shorter]]
| extra2 = August 19, 1969
| length2 = 10:54
}}
{{track listing
| extra_column = Recording date
| headline = 1999 CD reissue bonus track
| title7 = Feio
| writer7 = Shorter
| extra7 = January 28, 1970
| length7 = 11:51
}}

==Personnel==

===Musicians===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
'''"Bitches Brew"''' 
'''"John McLaughlin"''' (omit Brooks, Shorter and Davis) 
'''"Sanctuary"''' (omit McLaughlin, Maupin, Brooks and White) 
''Recorded August 19, 1969''
* [[Miles Davis]] – [[trumpet]]
* [[Wayne Shorter]] – [[soprano saxophone]]
* [[Bennie Maupin]] – [[bass clarinet]]
* [[Joe Zawinul]] – [[electric piano]] (left)
* [[Chick Corea]] – electric piano (right)
* [[John McLaughlin (musician)|John McLaughlin]] – [[electric guitar]]
* [[Dave Holland (bassist)|Dave Holland]] – [[Double bass|bass]]
* [[Harvey Brooks (bassist)|Harvey Brooks]] – [[Bass guitar|electric bass]]
* [[Lenny White]] – [[drum set]] (left)
* [[Jack DeJohnette]] – drum set (right)
* [[Don Alias]] – [[conga]]s
* [[Juma Santos]] (credited as "Jim Riley") – [[shaker (musical instrument)|shaker]], congas
 
'''"Miles Runs the Voodoo Down"''' 
''Recorded August 20, 1969''
* Miles Davis – [[trumpet]]
* Wayne Shorter – [[soprano saxophone]]
* Bennie Maupin – [[bass clarinet]]
* Joe Zawinul – [[electric piano]] (left)
* Chick Corea – electric piano (right)
* John McLaughlin – [[electric guitar]]
* Dave Holland – [[Bass guitar|electric bass]]
* Harvey Brooks – electric bass
* Don Alias – [[drum set]] (left)
* Jack DeJohnette – drum set (right)
* Juma Santos (credited as "Jim Riley") – [[conga]]s

{{col-2}}
'''"Spanish Key"''' 
'''"Pharaoh's Dance"''' 
''Recorded August 21, 1969''
* Miles Davis – [[trumpet]]
* Wayne Shorter – [[soprano saxophone]]
* Bennie Maupin – [[bass clarinet]]
* Joe Zawinul – [[electric piano]] (left)
* [[Larry Young (jazz)|Larry Young]] – electric piano (center)
* Chick Corea – electric piano (right)
* John McLaughlin – [[electric guitar]]
* Dave Holland – [[Double bass|bass]]
* Harvey Brooks – [[Bass guitar|electric bass]]
* Lenny White – [[drum set]] (left)
* Jack DeJohnette – drum set (right)
* Don Alias – [[conga]]s
* Juma Santos (credited as "Jim Riley") – [[Shaker (musical instrument)|shaker]]
 
'''"Feio"''' 
''Recorded January 28, 1970''
* Miles Davis – [[trumpet]]
* Wayne Shorter – [[soprano saxophone]]
* Bennie Maupin – [[bass clarinet]]
* Joe Zawinul – [[electric piano]] (left)
* Chick Corea – electric piano (right)
* John McLaughlin – [[electric guitar]]
* Dave Holland – [[Bass guitar|electric bass]]
* [[Billy Cobham]] – [[drum set]] (left)
* Jack DeJohnette – drum set (right)
* [[Airto Moreira]] – [[Percussion instrument|percussion]] and [[cuica]]
{{col-end}}

===Production===
* [[Teo Macero]] – producer
* Frank Laico – engineer (August 19, 1969 session)
* Stan Tonkel – engineer (all other sessions)
* Mark Wilder – mastering
* [[Mati Klarwein]] – cover painting
* [[Bob Belden]] – reissue producer
* [[Michael Cuscuna]] – reissue producer

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ Chart performance for ''Bitches Brew''
! Chart
! Peak position
|-
{{album chart|Flanders|80|artist=Miles Davis|album=Bitches Brew|rowheader=true|access-date=June 6, 2019}}
|-
{{album chart|Portugal|49|artist=Miles Davis|album=Bitches Brew|rowheader=true|access-date=August 19, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|UK2|71|date=19700705|rowheader=true|access-date=August 19, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|35|artist=Miles Davis|rowheader=true|access-date=June 6, 2019}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|4|artist=Miles Davis|rowheader=true|access-date=June 6, 2019}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardJazz|1|artist=Miles Davis|rowheader=true|access-date=October 3, 2024}}
|}

==Certifications==
{{certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for ''Bitches Brew''}}
{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Miles Davis|title=Bitches Brew|award=Gold|id=9290-2673-2|certyear=2015|relyear=1999|note=sales since 1999|access-date=June 14, 2020}}
{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=Miles Davis|title=Bitches Brew|award=Platinum|certyear=2003|relyear=1969|access-date=June 14, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Bottom}}

== See also ==
* ''[[Bitches Brew Live]]'', an album that contains compositions originally appearing on ''Bitches Brew''

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

'''Sources'''
*{{cite book|last1=Davis|first1=Miles|last2=Troupe|first2=Quincy|title=Miles: The Autobiography|isbn=978-0-671-72582-2|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1990|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/milesautobiograp0000davi}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=A Brief History of Album Covers|first=Jason|last=Draper|publisher=Flame Tree Publishing|location=London|year=2008|pages=86–87|isbn=9781847862112|oclc=227198538}}

==External links==
* Memo from producer asking for advice about the title: {{cite web |title=Please advise |url=http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/11/please-advise.html |website=Letters of Note |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110031927/http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/11/please-advise.html |access-date=5 January 2023|archive-date=2012-11-10 }}
* [http://www.salon.com/1998/12/16/cov_16featurea/ Salon Entertainment: a Master at dangerous play]
* [http://liraproductions.com/jazzrock/htdocs/histhome.htm A history of jazz fusion]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061017033212/http://miles-davis.com/electric.html Miles Davis – The Electric Period]
* [http://www.miles-beyond.com/bitchesbrew.htm Article by Paul Tingen: ''Complete Bitches Brew Sessions'' boxed set at the '''Miles Beyond''' site]
* [http://www.miles-beyond.com/iaswbitchesbrew.htm Article by Paul Tingen: ''In a Silent Way'' and ''Bitches Brew'']
* [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2016/09/29/miles-davis-sorcerer-of-jazz/ The Sorcerer of Jazz] by Adam Shatz, NY Review of Books, September 29, 2016 issue

{{Miles Davis}}
{{Billy Cobham}}
{{Chick Corea}}
{{John McLaughlin}}
{{Larry Young (musician)}}
{{Authority control}}



[[Category:1970 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Teo Macero]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at CBS 30th Street Studio]]
[[Category:Albums with cover art by Mati Klarwein]]
[[Category:Avant-garde jazz albums]]
[[Category:Columbia Records albums]]
[[Category:Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album]]
[[Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients]]
[[Category:Jazz fusion albums by American artists]]
[[Category:Legacy Recordings albums]]
[[Category:Miles Davis albums]]
[[Category:Jazz-rock albums]]
[[Category:Funk albums by American artists]]
[[Category:Psychedelic music albums by American artists]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry albums]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings]]

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