Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
In Memoriam: Al Foster, 1943–2025
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
Miles Davis performs in Copenhagen, Denmark, during 1969—not long after recording Bitches Brew, which was released 50 years ago.
(Photo: YouTube)Come for Chick Corea’s headband, and stay for Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter playing unison lines.
A live set, captured during November 1969 at the Tivoli Koncertsal in Copenhagen, Denmark, has been posted online. The recording was made available, in part, as a balm for sitting around inside for more than a week. But the music’s also intended to mark the 50th anniversary of Bitches Brew being issued; the album was recorded in August 1969 and released March 30, 1970.
“During this difficult and uncertain time, I like so many others have found solace in music and film,” Stanley Nelson, director and producer of Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, wrote in an email. “My heart has felt so full in recent days since many folks have reached out after finding their own comfort from streaming my film ... . We can learn so much from Miles, but what we should all be thinking about in this current moment is his immense ability to constantly expand his mind and creative capacity during tough times in his own life. No album better exemplifies that than his career-resetting, psychedelic opus Bitches Brew—and on its 50th anniversary I know what I’ll be jamming out at home to.”
Legacy Recordings also is selling copies of The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions, released in 1998, as well as new double-LP gatefold version of the original album.
Stream the entire Copenhagen set here. DB
Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
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