Jazz for aficionados

ghosthouse, I did presume you were under 80 which is about as young as you would have to be to have the experiential knowledge required to make any meaningful fore and after comparison .
I don’t feel I am any smarter or better than you are , I do know that I am older and 
 wiser  which is as it should be and is no credit to me .

Has "Tutu" been discussed on Jazz Aficionados? Listening to it for the first time now via Tidal. Curious what aficionado opinions are on this "latter phase Miles" album (i.e., Miles’ performance anyway, even if much of it not his own writing). Some tracks have interesting textures and atmosphere. Occasionally, beautiful melodies (themes?) appear but they don’t seem to get deep improvisational development. Maybe that wasn’t an objective of the recording sessions. Lots of electronics. Lots. Drum machine overkill in places. One thoroughly objectionable track (to me) is the Scritti Politti composition "Perfect Way" though Miles plays a remarkable solo in it (ever on the verge of being swallowed by "effects", unfortunately). I’m certainly no Miles expert but what strikes me about his solos is how they can sound economical - almost minimalist. Yet when I really concentrate on some of his runs, they’re very complex. I guess that’s Miles the Zen Master...making the complex appear simple. While I can understand the reaction of "jazz purists" to Tutu, I think the whole does hang together and has an integrity about it 30 years after the fact. Would be interesting to hear a stripped down, "unplugged" version. That might indeed be what Marcus Miller accomplished in the 2010 "Tutu Revisited" concert tour referenced in Wiki. Looking forward to others’ comments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiIdeHm5Xnc&ab_channel=FrancescoLombardo

I think the key to understanding Miles is found in a basic premise; a premise that is controversial for many listeners and which is at the heart of a lot of the "bruha" (to quote O-10) on this thread.  This basic premise says that the artistic success of any music is determined by how well it expresses or represents the time of its creation; not as compared to an aesthetic or strict standard of excellence from the past.  Moreover, whether we like what any music is saying about the time of its creation or not is besides the point.  Personally, I am of two minds about the validity of this premise since certain standards are timeless; but, I have to acknowledge the "purity" of this premise and I see a basic and pointless conflict in always applying standards that only go back in time.  Time moves forward; whether we like it or not.  

Miles was the quintessential example of this premise and, by that standard, the album "Tutu" is a success.  Considered by some his last great record it is a great example of much of what was going on at the time with the use of electronics and atmospheric textures.  His trumpet playing is in really good form (timeless standard) whether we like what he is playing or not.  Whether the music is "jazz" or not is also besides the point.  I personally don't think it is and the fact that Miles used to play jazz as most of us know it means absolutely nothing in this context and shouldn't influence how we judge this music, imo.  He was never a slave to the past and always felt his mission was to represent the present and, if anything, nudge it forward not backwards.  Still, and accuse me of looking backwards, but, for me, 60's Miles is still the pinnacle of his career and represents the best balance between the timeless standards and the new.

Ghosthouse, your comments about the economy in Miles' playing is spot on.

"Its not the notes you play, but the notes you don't play" - Miles Davis

"You have to know 400 notes that you can play, then pick the right four." - Miles Davis

@frogman 
Can't afford at the moment the time to adequately reply to your well constructed and well written post about Tutu.  Must be brief at the risk of leaving some things out (or, at least, for later).

1) re your "basic premise" intro - always good to identify underlying assumptions.  Nothing "BASIC" (as in simple) about this but basic as in foundational - YES.

2) Tutu is not jazz - not that I can offer a technically valid description of what Jazz IS but I did have the same sense listening to it.  Too scripted maybe?  Not enough improvisational space?  Even if the recording ain't jazz, I can imagine those pieces serving as great jumping off points for improv in concert.

3) Mile's playing in really good form - glad you thought so.  I did too (though I cannot claim to be any sort of expert on him) and appreciate your confirmation.  I would have appreciated more playing without the mute; would have added some more "air" or another color to the proceedings.  BTW - listen to his soloing around the middle of that Perfect Way track and then again just a few seconds before it ends.  Gems.

4) Notes you play vs notes you don't play - I heard a very similar quote attributed to BB King.  I've also read Miles asked Coltrane at some point "Why you have to play so long?" (or words to that effect).  If it wasn't "...play so long?" it was "...play so many notes?"  Those two figures make a good pairing for a compare and contrast essay!  I expect my comment about Miles' economy was not arrived at independently but influenced by things I've read before (though I wasn't actively conscious of them while listening).