Miles Davis

Evolution Of The Groove is a collection of seminal Miles Davis recordings infused with hip-hop, jazz and rock – and remixed with the same trademark cool – by an A-list contemporary music ensemble in tune with what this most influential of artists represents.
Part tribute and part rejuvenation project, 'Evolution Of The Groove' brings Miles Davis, the jazz trumpeter and composer responsible for 'Bitches Brew,' 'Birth of the Cool,' 'Kind of Blue' and many other classics, back to the fore. A precursor to the 6-CD box set 'Miles Davis: The Complete On The Corner Sessions,' the 'Evolution Of The Groove' remix EP premieres tracks with rapper Nas on vocals and his father Olu Dara on trumpet, Carlos Santana's guitar mastery, and an A-list contemporary music ensemble consisting of Miles' nephew Vince Wilburn, Jr. on drums and programming, and bassist Charley Drayton (Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, Divinyls) with co-production by jazz funk legend Lenny White (Return To Forever).
This five-song EP draws from five different Miles Davis albums, providing a unique context for his landmark recordings of the '50s, '60s and '70s in today's contemporary marketplace. The EP takes off with "Freddie Freeloader," a previously unreleased snippet of riffing and studio chatter between Miles and his producer Irving Townshend in 1959. Nas appears on 1966's "Freedom Jazz Dance (Evolution Of The Groove)," and his verses manage to perfectly complement Davis's horn. The centerpiece of the set "It's About That Time" shines with Carlos Santana on guitar - a satisfying blend of Miles' music and modern beats. "Honky Tonk" serves up raw funk, setting up the closing piece "Black Satin" from the funk orchestra sessions for 'On The Corner.' 'Evolution Of The Groove' is an elegant tribute to the legacy of Miles and just one more achievement demonstrating why Miles is a jazz master and still the man for every generation.
Throughout an expansive and prolific career, Miles Davis launched an unparalleled series of revolutions in jazz and popular music, his boundless invention encompassing post bop, hard bop, cool jazz, funk, rock, fusion, Eastern modalities, Western heresies, and more through his unforgettable performances and timeless recordings. One of the great bandleaders of the 20th century, Miles chose his sidemen and collaborators with alchemical precision, forever pushing against the boundaries of convention and expectation to create new sounds, new dreams, new music that needed to be heard. Both homage to Miles and a continuation of the spirit and intention of his music, Evolution Of The Groove imagines Miles Davis in the 21st century, the lyricism of his horn and the power of his musical vision blending with contemporary hip-hop, jazz and rock in provocative new ways and seductive new grooves.
Pictured Left to Right: Evolution of the Groove / CrewPat Thrall (co-producer); Eddy Schreyer (mastering engineer); Vince Wilburn, Jr. (co-executive producer and co-producer); Charley Drayton (co-producer) and Riley Urick (production engineer) during mastering sessions for the forthcoming Miles Davis remix project - Evolution of the Groove at Oasis Mastering in Burbank.