Miles Davis ‘That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series Vol. 7’ detailed

Sets drop Sept 16th

Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings will release Miles Davis That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series Vol. 7, a three disc box set, on Friday, September 16th. Available in digital and physical configurations, the latest chapter in Columbia/Legacy’s acclaimed Miles Davis Bootleg Series shines a fresh light on an underrated period of the musician’s restless career-spanning quest for sublime and transcendent sounds.

The 3 CD set includes two discs of previously unreleased studio material from the Star People, Decoy and You’re Under Arrest sessions with the third disc showcasing Miles Davis Live in Montreal on July 7, 1983. The collection comes in a slipcase with individual album mini-jackets and a booklet featuring liner notes by Marcus J. Moore and revelatory new interviews with Miles’ 80’s players including Vince Wilburn, Jr. (drummer and bandmate), John Scofield (electric guitarist), Darryl Jones (bassist), Marcus Miller (bassist) and Mike Stern (guitarist). The 2 LP release collects highlights of the studio material pressed on white vinyl.

Eight of the ten tracks on CD one are unreleased studio tracks from the sessions that resulted in 1983’s Star People. The second studio album released after Davis’ six-year hiatus from recording and performing, Star People was the artist’s last to feature the studio wizardry of Davis’ longtime producer Teo Macero. Musicians include J.J. Johnson (trombone), Bill Evans (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone), Mike Stern (guitar), John Scofield (guitar), Marcus Miller (electric bass), Al Foster (drums) and Mino Cinélu (percussion) with Davis doubling on trumpet and keyboards without overdubs. The first disc’s other two tracks — “Freaky Deaky, Part 1” and “Freaky Deaky, Part 2” — were produced by Davis and feature John Scofield (guitar), Darryl Jones (electric bass), Robert Irving III (Linn Drum programming) and Mino Cinélu (percussion). Recorded June 30, 1983 at A&R Studios in New York during the Decoy sessions, this previously unreleased cassette recording comes from the collection of John Scofield.

The second CD contains unreleased studio recordings from the sessions of 1985’s You’re Under Arrest. Produced by Miles Davis and Robert Irving III, You’re Under Arrest reflected Davis’ polarity of passions, from politics to pop music; among its achievements, the album transformed then-contemporary hits like Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” and Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” into abiding jazz standards. Musicians include Davis (trumpet), Bob Berg (soprano saxophone), John Scofield (guitar), Robert Irving III (keyboards), Darryl Jones (electric bass), Al Foster (drums), Vince Wilburn, Jr. (drums, drum programming, percussion), Steve Thornton (percussion) and John McLaughlin (guitar on “Katia [full session]”). The previously unreleased recordings in this set were mixed by Steve Berkowitz and Dave Darlington in 2022 at Bass Hit Recording, NYC.

The final disc features Miles Davis Live at the Theatre St. Denis in Montreal, Canada on July 7, 1983. The set was first released for the first time as a 2 LP 12-inch vinyl title, Miles Davis – What It Is: Montreal 7/7/83, for Record Store Day in June. The recording showcases one of Miles Davis’ final great bands including John Scofield on guitar, Bill “The Other Bill Evans” Evans on saxophones, flute and electric piano, Darryl Jones on bass, Al Foster on drums and percussionist Mino Cinélu. Miles was back in amazing form when he mounted the stage at the Theatre St-Denis during the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal in July 1983. What It Is: Montreal 7/7/83 features liner notes penned by the incomparable music journalist Greg Tate, who passed away on December 7, 2021.

Miles Davis – That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 was produced by the multi-Grammy winning team of producers Steve Berkowitz, Michael Cuscuna and Richard Seidel and mastered by multi-Grammy winning Sony Music engineer Mark Wilder. The set is authorized for official release by the Miles Davis Estate and Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings.

Columbia/Legacy and Get On Down have joined forces to present a series of definitive Miles Davis 1980s album titles, each pressed on limited edition 12-inch colored vinyl. Get On Down Miles Davis releases will include 1981’s The Man With The Horn on crystal clear vinyl on July 29th; 1982’s We Want Miles on 2 LP opaque yellow vinyl on August 12th; 1984’s Decoy on crystal clear vinyl on August 29th; and 1985’s You’re Under Arrest on crystal clear vinyl on September 16th. The Get On Down releases were remastered from the original analog tape masters by Mark Wilder and supervised by producer Steve Berkowitz.

Later this fall, VMP Classics will offer the first vinyl reissue of Star People, appearing as a 2 LP set for the first time. The VMP vinyl reissue was remastered from the original analog tape masters by Mark Wilder and supervised by producer Steve Berkowitz.

3 CD | 2 LP

CD 1: Star People & Decoy Sessions

1. Santana
2. Minor Ninths, Part 1
3. Minor Ninths, Part 2
4. Celestial Blues, Part 1
5. Celestial Blues, Part 2
6. Celestial Blues, Part 3
7. Remake of OBX Ballad
8. Remake of OBX Ballad Sessions
9. Freaky Deaky, Part 1
10. Freaky Deaky, Part 2

CD 2: You’re Under Arrest Sessions

1. Time After Time (alternate)
2. Time After Time (full session)
3. Theme From Jack Johnson (Right Off) / Intro
4. Never Loved Like This (studio session demo)
5. Hopscotch (slow)
6. Hopscotch (fast)
7. What’s Love Got To Do With It
8. Human Nature (alternate)
9. Katia (full session)

CD 3: Miles Davis Live in Montreal July 7, 1983

1. Speak (That’s What Happened)
2. Star People
3. What It Is
4. It Gets Better
5. Hopscotch
6. Star On Cicely
7. Jean-Pierre
8. Code 3
9. Creepin’ In

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com