Decoy

About

Decoy is a 1984 album by jazz musician Miles Davis, recorded in 1983. Keyboardist Robert Irving III and guitarist John Scofield wrote or co-wrote most of the new compositions. The main theme of "That's What Happened" was lifted directly from Scofield's improvised solo on "Speak", a live performance included on the previous album Star People. Saxophonist Branford Marsalis appears with the group on “Decoy”, “Code M.D.” and “That’s Right” playing soprano. Decoy is the first album Davis recorded without the help of longtime producer Teo Macero. Macero still had plans, including recording Davis with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, but Davis insisted on producing the album himself. Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" was a hit, and Davis figured he could get airplay with his own new album as well, if he added more synthesizers, as well as beefed-up bass lines and overdubs, and so "we put clothes on the melodies", he said later. Gil Evans advised him as well, and suggested, on "That's Right", that Davis put chords behind the trumpet lines as a contrast. The idea of layering sounds was put to practice on "Code M.D.", where Davis plays a muted solo behind his own solo.

via Last.fm

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