Miles from India

iTunes Review

Miles Davis continuously tried out new approaches to making music throughout his storied career. In the early ’70s he created stripped-down, otherworldly funk that at times incorporated instruments and players from India. In a way, Miles From India is an expansive tribute to that fusion and Davis’ restless creativity. Pieces from a number of different periods of his career are reinterpreted by more than two dozen artists, including former Davis band members — Jimmy Cobb, Ron Carter, Dave Liebman, Pete Cosey, Marcus Miller, and others — along with various Indian musicians. (Trumpeter Wallace Roney appears on several tracks and can sound quite Miles-like.) Jazz and Indian classical are fused or layered in a number of different ways, lending the album breadth. On “It’s About That Time,” Ndugu Chancler lays down a funky groove beneath Kala Ramnath’s soaring violin and Gary Bartz’s alto sax. The slow version of “Ife” eschews the trap kit; instead, there is the percolating tabla of Badal Roy, who played with Davis. The title track, written by McLaughlin, has no drums at all, but it mesmerizes the listener with dazzling piano, guitar, mandolin, and vocal lines.