Bitches Brew (album):

RIYL: Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Return to Forever

Bitches Brew (beer):

RIYL: Dogfish Head Raison D’etre, Rogue Dead Guy Ale, Tröegs Flying Mouflan

Miles Davis’ creative spirit in the late ’60s and ’70s was particularly restless, and his music gave voice and volume to that restlessness, as he found new fans and embittered jazz purists by adding electric instruments to his palate. In a Silent Way (1969), in particular, saw Davis and his sidemen playing with side-long compositions built from extended sessions that were cut and edited by Davis and producer Teo Macero. It was dense, sometimes difficult, often beautiful music, requiring active engagement on the part of the listener, and also an open mind. Rock writer Lester Bangs might have said it best when he described it as “part of a transcendental new music which flushes categories away and, while using musical devices from all styles and cultures, is defined mainly by its deep emotion and unaffected originality.”

For Bitches Brew (1970), Davis expanded his band, as well as his vision. A given track might have featured, in addition to his trumpet, two or three electric pianos, saxophone, bass clarinet, one or two electric basses, two drum kits, one or two additional percussion pieces, and electric guitar. It was a tempest coming out of the speakers, with intricate compositions to match that gave the maelstrom a form and power virtually unheard of in jazz at the time.

The mastery of Davis and band on Bitches Brew has never been clearer than on Sony’s new Legacy Edition, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the record’s original release. Though the bonus tracks are questionable additions (we’re not sure why sub-three-minute “single mixes” of four of these cuts were needed in the first place), the pristine sonics of the remastered discs bring all manner of nuance into full relief.

“Pharaoh’s Dance,” which opens the record, has an insistent yet understated groove, which enables Davis to steer and pianists Chick Corea and Joe Zawinul (who composed the song) to throw sparks at will. Davis himself sounds particularly fierce on “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down,” foreshadowing some of the dark themes and sounds he would build in later “fusion period” live albums like Agharta and Dark Magus.

Those records would go deep into the funk of the early ’70s; here, Davis’ vision is more in line with the wide open textures of late-’60s rock. You can hear it in the rhythms of “Spanish Key,” which are as simultaneously unfettered and locked-in as were the Grateful Dead’s two-headed percussion hydra at the time. Guitarist John McLaughlin is all blues in “Spanish Key,” but given to shorter lyrical bursts in Bitches Brew‘s title song, in which the instruments bounce around and into one another in a fabulous blanket of echo. In some ways, you can hear elements of ’70s fusion, noise rock, and even prog take root in these fertile moments of brilliance. There was certainly enough here to take as inspiration for a long time to come.

The music of Miles Davis, Bitches Brew in particular, served as inspiration to Sam Calagione, founder and president of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, a Delaware-based creator of fine “off-centered ales” with a seriously devoted following (this writer included). To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Bitches Brew the album, Dogfish has created a limited edition Bitches Brew beer – a marvelous combination of three parts imperial stout and one part honey beer.

May we suggest drinking your 750 ml bottle of Bitches Brew beer while watching the DVD included in the Bitches Brew Legacy Edition set, an hour-plus program taped in Copenhagen in 1969. Open the beer and take a whiff – you’ll notice the deep bouquet, almost like a wine that’s aged in mahogany. Put on the DVD and watch the band – all acoustic, except Chick Corea’s electric piano – launch into the cosmic groove of “Directions.”

Pour some beer into a wineglass or brandy snifter – no pint glasses; this stuff is meant to be savored, slowly, in small portions. Notice the opaque brown in the glass, the tan head; take another sniff as air hits this elixir and the woodiness of its scent comes to life. Take a sip and revel in that malty first hit, that lingering bitterness. Give it a moment to sink in.

Watch the band bounce off one another, particularly Corea and drummer Jack DeJohnette, weaving in and out of one another’s path, pausing only to listen to a note, a snare hit, something to push the conversation into its next phase. Hear saxophonist Wayne Shorter expound at great length on a theme, echoing a phrase from Davis’ own horn, or pulling a fragment from his leader and expanding it. Marvel at how muscular the band sounds, how tight – it’s not as expansive as the massive Bitches Brew ensembles, but just as strong in its own right.

Take another sip, this time leaving the beer in your mouth a few seconds before swallowing. Notice the sweetness of the honey beer gently touching your palate before the bitter wave washes back again as you swallow. Notice the chocolate and coffee tones in that wave as you think to yourself how seeing the music being made onscreen makes it all the more inspiring – a young, cool Shorter in the final stages of his apprenticeship with Davis (soon to launch Weather Report); a young, hippie regalia-bedecked Corea, coaxing just the right notes from his piano; a powerful Dave Holland, fingers flying over his upright bass’ strings, keeping up nicely with the propulsive forces around him.

Note that there is something special about seeing Davis play, watching him at arguably the height of his creative power, making powerful new music, in complete control of his band, while being led by his muse. Take another sip. Drink it all in. (Sony Legacy 2010)

Miles Davis’ MySpace page
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery’s Web Site

Click to purchase Bitches Brew at Amazon.

The girls of ‘Entourage‘ can’t seem to get enough of the AXE Lounge, and we can’t seem to get enough of them. The latest visit came from Jamie-Lynn Sigler, the woman you know as, well, herself, and yet another of Turtle’s love interests in the HBO series.

Sigler stopped by this Labor Day weekend to give guys some pick-up advice, talk about her new role as a detective, and share a little bit about her newest dream…to be on the hit show ‘Glee.’ Who doesn’t want a piece of the ‘Glee’ action?

There’s a lot of buzz out there around the new Domino’s Pizza, so when Bullz-Eye.com was invited to spend a day the at the Domino’s headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, we jumped at the chance. I first tried the new Domino’s back in May and I really liked the new pizza, so I was looking forward to going behind the scenes to meet the brain trust.

When arriving in Ann Arbor I was met by the reps from Domino’s, other media bloggers and writers from other guy-related websites. Our group hit it off right away and the Domino’s team was first class from the start. When I made it to headquarters the lobby and artwork told the story of a company that has been around for 50 years (they are celebrating that milestone in December 2010) and a company in resurgence. We settled into the comfortable board room and enjoyed some refreshments to get things underway. Phil Lozen, the Social Media Specialist for Domino’s, took us to the Michigan Supply Chain Center about 20 minutes from headquarters. It was at the distribution center that we witnessed the precision and commitment to quality that is the engine that keeps this company running. The dough making process is clean, accurate and streamlined. The quality control system is also excellent, as Domino’s is careful to x-ray each dough ball to ensure that there are no objects in the dough that don’t belong. It was also interesting to see how important the distribution center is to Domino’s franchisees as they not only deliver the ingredients but help manage and stock inventory at individual Domino’s stores.

Our way back to headquarters brought us to the test kitchen where our media team had the pleasure of learning all about the ingredients from Brandon Solano (Vice President Marketing & Retail Innovation, Head Chef) and Sam Fauser (Training Specialist). Both of these men are seen regularly in Domino’s TV commercials, but they are down to earth and really, really passionate about Domino’s and it shows. In the test kitchen we also learned about the improved ingredients that go into the dough, sauce and toppings at Domino’s and the numerous trial runs to “get it right and tight.” No crazy photo shoots are needed to make Domino’s pizzas look good – check out this video and you’ll see how things used to be done.

Then it was time to make our own Domino’s pizza and I must say mine came out even better that I could have imagined. Regular dough, plenty of sauce, mixture of cheeses with provolone, pepperoni, onion, roasted red peppers, sun dried tomato and the kicker was new sliced sausage that was simply off the charts. Once my pizza went onto the oven it took 6 minutes and 30 seconds to bake. (Their newest oven can pump out pies in approx. 5 minutes flat!) Once the pizza is taken out of the oven those who want the garlic butter crust apply the goods on the crust and it melts right in. This gives each customer the choice of having garlic butter crust or just sticking with the regular crust. I should have entered my pizza in the Domino’s “Show us your Pizza” contest because mine was a winner. Our media crew did pretty well (hey, we had serious help) and once we headed back to the board room to chow down everyone loved their pizza.

Towards the end of lunch executives from Domino’s joined us for sneak previews of some new commercials and a wide open question and answer period. This was very informative for all parties present as it was made clear to me that Domino’s has some very sharp people in charge of branding, marketing and product development. This isn’t the Domino’s of the 80’s and 90’s and when their team talks about quality and transparency they mean it! Let’s face it, Domino’s has been running a great marketing campaign over the past 8 or 9 months and that’s what convinced me to try their pizza again. But without the product to back it up any company will eventually fall short.

With somewhere around 5,000 stores in the U.S., Domino’s pizza is being put to the test just about every second of every day. When I tried the new Domino’s and was asked by folks how could the new Domino’s be that good at such a competitive price point I told them to try it for themselves and the feedback was positive. The Domino’s team understands that it takes time to change perceptions and with the new products and brilliant offline and online campaigns Domino’s is turning into an American comeback story!

Most of us grew up eating all different kinds of fast food but only a few of those treats are still for sale on a current menu. The Burger King Whopper is one of those still standing in a sea of competition and I must say this burger still “packs a punch”! There are plenty of burgers that are larger and fancier but there is something about the Whopper that holds true. Maybe it’s the simplicity of the toppings?

I remember when the 1/4 pound of flame-fresh beef was considered one of the biggest out there but you don’t have to be the biggest to be one of the best fast food burgers. Granted in keeping our wastelines somewhat under control we can’t eat the Whopper everyday but when it’s time for those guilty pleasures the King still has a winner in the Whopper. Burger King will probably be going through some changes here soon but let’s hope the Whopper keeps it’s prominent place on their menu!

Whopper facts:
A ¼ pound* of flame-fresh beef, ripe tomatoes, crisp lettuce, creamy mayo, ketchup, crunchy pickles and onions on a toasted sesame seed bun. It’s America’s Favorite Burger**. The Original. The WHOPPER®.

*Based on pre-cooked patty weight.
** Based on preference

670 calories | 11g sat. fat | 75mg cholesterol | 11g sugar | 51g carbs |
40g fat | 1.5g trans fat | 29g protein | 1020mg sodium |

Allergens: Wheat, Soy, Egg

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