This 40th Anniversary Edition is a tribute to both the man who changed the course of jazz (“four or five times,” as he himself once quipped), and the album that virtually single-handedly brought jazz into the commercial rock era, becoming no.94 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time.

Originally released in April 1970, Bitches Brew was informed by the music that Miles heard being produced in the era by Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, James Brown, Santana and Marvin Gaye, as well as the Beatles’ editing pyrotechnics.

The original double-LP’s six tracks –“Bitches Brew,” “John McLaughlin,” “Sanctuary,” “Miles Runs the VooDoo Down”, “Pharaoh’s Dance,” and “Spanish Key” – as formulated in the studio by Miles and his long-time producer Teo Macero, presented a seismic breakthrough in jazz/rock/funk/R&B. Session personnel included Miles on trumpet, Wayne Shorter (soprano saxophone), Bennie Maupin (bass clarinet), Joe Zawinul (electric piano), Chick Corea (electric piano), John McLaughlin (guitar), Dave Holland (acoustic bass), Harvey Brooks (electric bass), Lenny White (drums), Jack DeJohnette (drums), Don Alias (congas), and Jumma Santos (aka Jim Riley - shaker). This Anniversary Edition presents the music recorded at the principal Bitches Brew August 1969 recording sessions as well as live performances of some of the same music recorded later, showing further development of the material in the hands of master improvisers.

Recorded six months after the transitional "In a Silent Way," "Bitches Brew" (1969) is the definitive Davis jazz rock fusion album, a style-setter for the 1970s, signalling an abrupt change in the direction of jazz. A superb illustration of Davis' later instrumental process, which employs electric keyboards and multiple percussion in long pieces; full of rhythmic energy, it has the spontaneity and variety of a large ensemble (eleven musicians, including Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul, and John McLaughlin). Davis orchestrates it all with fire and dark, dynamic passion. Essential for any serious collection. (Andrew Clark, Editor, Riffs & Choruses: A New Jazz Anthology. Continuum Publishing.)

When most people think of Davis' foremost ensembles, they instantly hail his first and second great quintets, from the mid-1950s and mid-1960s, respectively. But the sextet on the Cellar Door's bandstand-Davis, saxophonist Gary Bartz, keyboardist Keith Jarrett, electric bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and percussionist Airto Moreiera- is a sheer marvel of kinetic energy. And adding another dimension of excitement on the final two discs is the blazing guitar of John McLaughlin. With the exception of young Henderson, who had made his bones as a Motown session ace and touring with Stevie Wonder, every member of this Davis band has subsequently proved to be a major figure in jazz, in his own way, each has placed a highly personal stamp on improvisation during the past 35 years.