“ H E ’ D SAY
THINGSLIKE,
‘THEREIS NO
WRONG
MUSIC’”
AT TA L A
ZANE GILES
90 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
Nature”andCyndiLauper’s“TimeAfterTime”.Helater
becameenamouredwiththehigh-enddigitalfunkof
ScrittiPolitti,whosealbumCupid& Psyche 85 cameout
inJune1985.MileslaterrecordedScritti’s“PerfectWay”
andbefriendedtheband’sGreenGartside.“There’s
a trackonRubberbandcalled‘ThisIs It’that’svery
influencedbyScritti,”saysAttalaZaneGiles.“Allthat
R&Bwasverymuchthestreetmusicofthatera.This
wasjustbeforehip-hopreallyblewupbig,sothisR&B
musicwasplayinginclubsandatblockparties.Miles
likedthatharsh,synthetic sound that appeared on
thoserecords.”
Tohelpachievethesesyntheticsoundscapes,Hall
andZanedraftedina synthspecialistcalledAdam
Holzman.Holzman,inhismidtwenties,hadbeen
playinginanLAjazz-rockbandcalledFentsfora few
yearsbeforeworkingonHall’ssoloalbum.“Miles
wasverykeenonthisGermansynthI hadcalledthe
PPGWave,”saysHolzman.“Itwasmysecretweapon!
It usedthisnewconceptcalled‘wavetablesynthesis’,
ratherthanstandardoscillators.Mileslovedthis
EBET sweeping, glassy sound that was always shifting. But it
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MIL E S D AV IS
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ANDYHallwasonly 25 whenhe
startedrecordingRubberband
buthewasalreadya MilesDavis
veteran.Hewaspartofa Chicago-
basedfunkbandcalledAL7who–
unwittingly– wereinstrumentalin
coaxingthereclusivetrumpeteroutof
hisself-imposedretirementin 1980 (due
topoorhealthandbattlefatigue).AL7
featuredHallonguitars,synthsand
vocals,FeltonCrewsonbassandRobert
IrvingIIIonpianobut– crucially– the
bandalsofeatureddrummerVincent
WilburnJr,whosemotherhappenedto
beMilesDavis’ssister,DorothyMae.
“UncleMilescalledmymotherseveral
timesa week,”saysWilburn.“They
wereclose.Andhe’dalwaysaskafterme
andthemusicweweremakinginAL7.
Weusedtopractiseinthebasementof
herhouseinChatham,southChicago.
Shealsohada longextensioncordon
herphone– thiswasinthedaysbefore
cordlesshandsets!– andMilesasked
mymomtowalkdownstairsandleave
thephoneinthebasementwhilewe
wererehearsing.Thenwe’dpickupthe
phoneandhe’dcomeup with comments
andobservations.”
“MilesflewusouttoNewYorkand
gottherecordcompanytoputusup
ata fancyhotel,”saysHall.“Wewere
20-year-oldkids,who’dbarelybeenout
ofChicago,andtherewewererecording
withthemostfamousjazzmusicianon
theplanet!”Thebandendedupplaying
ontwotracksonhis 1981 comeback
album,TheManWithTheHorn, with
WilburnandIrvingplayinginMiles’s
touringband,on and off, for the
nextdecade.
TheManWithTheHornsetthetonefor
Miles’s1980sreincarnation,wherehe
assembleda hostofhigh-endjazz
musicianstorecordalbumsfor
ColumbiaRecords.On1983’sStarPeople,
1984’sDecoyand1985’sYou’reUnder
Arrest, hisdistinctive,Harmon-muted
trumpetspilledoutinthegapsbetweena rigid
gridofdigitalfunkgrooves.ForRubberband,
however– Miles’sfirstalbumaftera big-money
switchtoWarnerBros– themoodwasgoingtobe
different.“Hewantedtorecord some realstreet
music,”saysWilburn.
Milesalwayshadanearforpop’scuttingedge.
Hisexperimentsinjazzrockinthelate1960scame
afterexposuretothemusicofSlyStone,JamesBrown
andJimiHendrixand,bytheearly’80s,hewas
embracinga newwaveinR&B– theso-called“post-
disco”clubmusicofPrince,PatriceRushen,Evelyn
“Champagne”King,RickJamesandTeenaMaria,as
wellasthe“go-go”soundcomingoutofWashington
DC.Hewasalsofascinatedbythedazzling,digital
soundscapesbeingcreatedbyproducerslikeMarcus
Miller(withArethaFranklin),QuincyJones(with
MichaelJackson),BillLaswell(withHerbieHancock)
andJam& Lewis(withthe likes of Alexander O’Neal
andJanetJackson).
On1985’sYou’reUnderArrest, Milesrecorded
glistening versions of Michael Jackson’s “Human“Howmuchdoyou
thinkI paidforthis
shirt?”:Davisin a
roomoverlooking
CentralParkin New
York, April 5, 1988