Miles Davis - Amandla (2011) [SHM-SACD]

Amandla doesn't sound like any of the contemporary jazz records of its time, as Miles Davis returns one last time to a leadership role he'd basically abdicated to Fender bassist/multi-instrumentalist Marcus Miller on the preceding Tutu and Siesta. By plugging in with the cream of his live collaborators on Amandla, Miles retained the big band sound of Tutu, but with a more humanized sense of interplay and swing. "Catembe" heralds the third world rhythmic locus which snakes its way through the entire album, while "Jo-Jo" and "Jilli" engender an ongoing call-and-response between front line and back line, between main and secondary themes, as Kenny Garrett's fat, burnished alto lines coil and strike around Davis's more circumspect, muted phrases. The most poignant moments come on the title tune, with chord changes reminiscent of Davis's traditional ballad style, and on the closing "Mr. Pastorius," where Davis finally reverts to his classic open horn to pay tribute to the late bassist over a laidback swing beat, with echoes of "I Didn't Know What Time It Was." --Chip Stern