Bitches Brew

In August 1969, Miles Davis took his band into Columbia’s Studio B in New York City for three days of recording. The result, released the following March as Bitches Brew, pushed further into the electric territory he’d explored on In a Silent Way the year before. Davis swapped traditional jazz rhythms for loose, rock-influenced structures built on improvisation, using electric piano and guitar. Producer Teo Macero later edited and spliced the raw recordings into finished tracks.

The album got a mixed reception at first, but it eventually became Davis’s highest-charting album on the U.S. Billboard 200, reaching No. 35. It won a Grammy in 1971 for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, and in 1976 it became his first Gold record from the RIAA.

Reception and legacy

Over time, it was recognized as one of jazz’s greatest albums, a key forerunner of jazz rock, and a major influence on rock and 1970s crossover artists. Columbia released The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions in 1998, a four-disc set with unreleased material. The album went Platinum in 2003, and in 2025 the Library of Congress selected it for the National Recording Registry as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.

Background and recording

By 1969, Davis’s core working band included Wayne Shorter on soprano sax, Dave Holland on bass, Chick Corea on electric piano, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. That group (minus DeJohnette) had recorded In a Silent Way, which also featured Joe Zawinul, John McLaughlin, Tony Williams, and Herbie Hancock. That album kicked off Davis’s “electric period.” For his next studio record, he wanted to go even further. While touring from spring to August 1969, he introduced new pieces that became “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down,” “Sanctuary,” and “Spanish Key.” At the time, he was influenced by rock and funk, Zawinul’s work with Cannonball Adderley, and English composer Paul Buckmaster.

A week before the sessions, Davis held a rehearsal. Besides his five-piece band, he brought in Zawinul, McLaughlin, Larry Young, Lenny White, Don Alias, Juma Santos, and Bennie Maupin.

He wrote simple chord lines for three pianos, then expanded them into a rough sketch. He gave the musicians “musical sketches” and told them to play whatever came to mind as long as they used his chosen chords. He hadn’t arranged each piece because he wasn’t sure where the album was going; he wanted the music to come from improvisation, “not some prearranged shit.”

The August 19 session started at 10 a.m. with “Bitches Brew.” Everyone set up in a half-circle, with Davis and Shorter in the middle. As was his habit, Davis recorded tracks in sections, giving only a tempo count, a few chords, a hint of melody, or suggestions about mood. He thought this forced musicians to pay close attention to each other and to his cues, which could change at any moment. On the quiet parts of “Bitches Brew,” you can hear Davis’s voice giving instructions, snapping his fingers, saying “Keep it tight,” or directing solos—like when he says “John.” “John McLaughlin” and “Sanctuary” were also recorded that day, and the group rehearsed “Pharaoh’s Dance.” Much of Davis’s playing on the album is aggressive and explosive, with fast runs and high-register trumpet work—especially his closing solo on “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down.” Davis didn’t play on “John McLaughlin.” Electric bassist Harvey Brooks was unusual among the musicians because he had almost no jazz experience, though he’d worked extensively in rock and pop.

Album title

No one knows for sure where the album title came from. Some think it referred to women in Davis’s life who were introducing him to cultural changes in the 1960s; other explanations exist.

Post-production

Post-production involved heavy editing. Short sections were spliced together, brief fragments looped or repeated, and various effects applied. “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down” is the only track left unedited, exactly as recorded. The album’s most important innovation was rhythmic: the rhythm section included two bassists (one electric, one double bass), two to three drummers, two to three electric piano players, and a percussionist, all playing at once.