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NCOURAGED by the Rubberband sessions,
Miles started playing these new songs at live
dates. “He’d play the demos to his touring
band for them to learn,” says Hall. “Often we’d be
recording from Monday to Thursday and then
Miles disappeared on the Friday and go and play
two or three festival dates in Europe with his
touring band, and then come back the next
Tuesday. Tunes like ‘Rubberband’, ‘Wrinkle’,
‘Carnival Time’ or ‘I Love What We Make Together’
would all be in his set.”
Two of Rubberband’s core members ended up in
Miles’s touring band. “I was one of two keyboard
players in a nine-piece band,” says Adam
Holzman. “There was me and Robert Irving, along
with Mike Stern on guitar, Bob Berg on sax, Vince
Wilburn on drums, and two percussionists –
Marilyn Mazur and Steve Thornton. On bass was
Angus Thomas, a guy from Chicago who took over
from Darryl Jones when Darryl joined Sting’s band.
You can hear that whole band on one Rubberband
track, ‘Maze’. But there were several other tracks
from those sessions that we’d play live.”
The setlists for these gigs, says Holzman, were
“just road maps”. Miles cued people using his
trumpet and make huge changes to songs from gig
to gig. “I was freaked out by the fact that he’d never
play the same piece twice the same way,” says
Wilburn. “Even ballads like ‘Time After Time’ and
‘Human Nature’ were always completely different.
He’d say, ‘Never take your eyes off me on stage’. He
had this wireless mic, and he’d go from side to side,
like a cat. ‘Watch my hand signals,’ he’d say. He’d
hold up fingers to indicate rhythm changes. When
he wanted us to end a song, he’d drop his hand.”
Miles recorded every show and listen to it
overnight, in his hotel room, and then give
constructive criticism to bandmembers. “If he
said, ‘Adam, you sounded great tonight’, you’d be
floating on air for days,” says Holzman. “If he said
something like, ‘Adam, you sounded like you
knocked something over during that solo!’ you’d be
freaking out for weeks, trying to make it right! Butdesignerclothes.He’daskus,‘Howmuchdoyou
thinkI paidforthisshirt?Howmuchwerethese
shoes?’We’dsaysomethinglike,‘Man,thoseshoes
looklikeyoupickedthemupatK-Martforfive
dollars!’He’dplayfullypunchyouintheside.He’d
proudlytellushowhewaswearing,like,$110,000
ofclothing.It’dbecomethisrunningjoke.”
“He’dsometimesgetchangedfiveorsixtimesa
day,”saysWilburn.“Hewasclean, man!He’dsay
somethinglike,‘I’mgonnarehearsea newoutfit.’
He’dbewearingdesignerslikeVersace,Issey
Miyake,KohshinSatoh,AzzedineAlaïa– reallybig
names.Somedesignersmadestuffespeciallyfor
him.Shirts,suits,kimonos,robes.Reallysharp,
flamboyantstuff.Totallyfuturistic.”
Miles’sfashionsechoedhisrelentlesslyfuturistic
tasteinmusic.“Onetimehewasinmycar,”says
Wilburn,“andI hadanoldMilesDavisQuintet
cassettefromthe1960s.Hesaid,‘Whatareyou
doinglisteningtothat?’Hegrabbedthecassette
andnevergaveit backtome!Hedidn’twantme
togetintoa 1960smindset.Hewantedmetostay
inthepresent.”
“He’doccasionallytalkabouttheolddays,about
BirdandBudPowell,butmusicallyit wasallabout
what’snew,what’snext,”saysAdamHolzman.
“Whenaskedwhyheneverplayedhisoldmaterial,
he’dsay,‘Isn’tthatwhatrecordsarefor?’”Randy
Hallconcurs:“Heusedtotellmethatlisteningtoor
playingtheoldmusicwas‘likeeatingoldturkey’.
KindOfBlue,MilesSmiles– thatwasoverforhim.
Hewasonlyintowhatwasfreshandnew.”
“He’doftenwatchMTVwiththesoundturned
down,andturnit upwhensomethingcaughthis
eye,”saysWilburn.“Sometimeshe’dringupthe
recordcompanyandaskthemtosendover
somethingheliked– ScrittiPolitti,Toto,Mister
Mister,JanetJackson.Hecouldstillembracemusic
aimedatteenagers.A lotofmusiciansfindthathard.
Milesdidn’t.”FewoftheRubberbandpersonnelhad
evenbeenbornwhenMilesreleasedKindOfBluein
1959.“Mileswas60,whilewewereallinourmid-
twenties,”saysWilburn.“Hethoughtyoung.”“He thought
young”: with
Scritti Politti’s
Green Gartside“It relaxed him”:
Miles the visual
artist, in and out
of the recording
stu d i o, 1983DAVID
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COOKING
WITH MILES
D AV I S
“He was a
sensational chef!”“M
ILES was the best cook I’ve ever
met,” says Vince Wilburn Jr.
“He could knock up anything.
A bouillabaisse, fried fish, pasta salads,
spaghetti with anchovy sauce. He was
also health conscious – he’d eat lightly,
but well. He’d also swim at Pepperdine
University in Malibu, and ride horses, and
he’d box. There was a punchbag in his
garage that he’d work out with. So he’d
burn off the calories.”
“There was always lots of Southern-
style cooking at Miles’s house,” says Adam
Holzman. “He’d throw dinner parties
where he’d cook everything. He’d shove a
fork in your face and say, ‘Man, you gotta
try this fish!’ And it tasted sensational! Real
cordon bleu stuff!”
“When Miles entertained at his Malibu
house, he liked to cook fried chicken,
barbecues, Cuban food,” says Randy
Hall. “The most memorable dish was fried
catfish covered in Jack Daniel’s! It was
weird, but delicious. For him, cooking was
an artform, like painting or making music.”