“A scintillating cross-pollenization
 of music” –Billboard

In the ’70s, Miles Davis took jazz into uncharted territory, mixing rock, jazz and world rhythms with an all-star band. That same collaborative spirit reigns in Miles from India, an acclaimed CD and singular concert experience featuring Miles Davis veterans (Roy, Cosey), Indian classical musicians, and contemporary jazz trail-blazers (Mahanthappa)— plus many more artists to be announced soon. Called “a boldly expansive” show by The New York Times, this Bob Belden– produced celebration of Miles Davis' music and influence returns to S.F. on the heels of a sold out Spring Season performance.

Read program notes or Download program notes

In the ’70s, Miles Davis once again took music into uncharted territory, mixing rock, jazz and world rhythms with an all-star band. That same collaborative spirit reigns in Miles from India, an acclaimed recording and singular concert experience featuring Davis veterans (Roy, Cosey, Liebman), Indian classical musicians and contemporary jazz trailblazers (Mahanthappa and Wallace). Hailed as “a boldly expansive” show by The New York Times, the project is the brainchild of Bob Belden, one of the most inventive arrangers of the past 20 years.

The driving spirit behind a series of acclaimed orchestral jazz projects exploring the music of Sting, Prince and Puccini, Belden has long been immersed in Davis’s music as both a gifted saxophonist and archivist deeply involved in Columbia’s extensive Miles Davis reissue program. It wasn’t a long leap for him to elaborate on the trumpeter’s interest in classical Indian music, an ancient improvisational tradition that has inspired many jazz masters.

In recruiting tabla expert Badal Roy, Belden went right to the source, as the percussionist first gained attention for his unorthodox technique on a series of Davis’s seminal fusion albums, including On the Corner and Big Fun (sessions that also featured saxophone great Dave Liebman). Powerhouse drummer Lenny White provided the lean, driving grooves on Davis’s first fusion masterpiece, the hit 1969 album Bitches Brew, and Rudresh Mahanthappa is a leading force on the contemporary jazz scene, an Indian-American improviser who has created a dazzling rhythmic fusion of intricate Hindustani grooves and post-bop harmonies.

Close program notes