In a Silent Way

Some decent Jazz, I guess.

Music doesn’t get much more beautiful than this.

2.5

I'm not a jazz guy, lets start with that caveat.

This is good, I appreciate the idea of fleshing out a musical theme/thought/feeling for as long as it needs to be born, live and breathe and then die. I like music on the more progressive side so maybe that is what I found appealing about this. Much how I appreciate Mozart I prefer Beethoven, I can truly see the appeal of all the delicate twinkly beauty but I prefer a little meat and potatos mixed in.

For ME this isn't something earth shattering but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. I can see why this has been and will continue to be fawned over for a long time.

Lovely album. Shhh/Peaceful didn’t stand out as much to me but still enjoyed it and thought the name was fitting. In a Silent Way is great. It ebbs and flows and it’s energy varies throughout. The changes don’t feel out of place. The beginning is beautiful and gentle, the middle get more energetic and groovy, and it ends with a similar gentleness to the beginning. Wonderful jazz fusion album that I am stuck between a 4 and a 5.

Good jazz album. Nothing obnoxious or annoying and a reasonable length considering it’s two songs. 4/5

Miles really redefines what jazz can be- jazz is hard, not sure how often I’ll come back to it, but the groovy-ness is of this album is fantastic, especially how early it was and how great it sounds.

It's jazz.

It’s a great listen; while it might not reach the heights of Kind of Blue, it’s definitely very good

Only two tracks! A more subtle jazz rock record than I what initially expected

I must have been in the mood for it because that’s the first jazz album I’ve listened to and not thought it was a waste of time.

sasma neloše

a real easy listen in 2025. nowhere near as challenging as bitches brew, but just as enjoyable.

Gorgeous smooth and soulful.

A stunner.

Its hypnotic, dream-like qualities instill calmness in my mind regardless of what mood I'm in prior. It's relatively basic compositionally compared to his subsequent works - "Shh / Peaceful" is essentially one chord locking in a groove, but the trumpet and electric piano/organ work somehow opens up an entire universe within a track.

Not a half bad collection of musicians who performed on this one either - Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin. Simply untouchable.

2 songs. 2 very long songs.

The first Miles Davis record I ever bought. It was a used copy from 1977 and still sounds great. Arguably the beginning of a new experimental phase for Miles that would last for years. REALLY cool to hear how that evolves from this early non-traditional (now) classic. I love this album!

Molto bello. Miles Davis per ora non sbaglia un colpo per i miei gusti

In A Silent Way is an interesting answer to a question I had: How did we get from stuff like Sketches Of Spain and Sorcerer to Bitches Brew. In A Silent Way is a slightly earlier foray into the kind of more experimental fusion sound that Miles Davis would explore more later. I guess this was pretty controversial at the time, which is kinda odd to me. Like I get that this strays away from more traditional forms of jazz, but I don't hear anything really alienating either. This is honestly one of the best jazz albums I've gotten through this so far. Shhh/Peaceful is tethered to a pretty stable percussion line and features really expressionistic splashed of sax and keys and other instruments. And the title track is a *little* less beholden to a percussion line, so it comes across to me as slightly airier, but a lot of the same elements are in place. This album showcases a more abstract mode of jazz songwriting which really puts Davis and his ensemble's ability to improvise at the forefront. The chemistry on here is second to none, and that tracks: the personnel here are an endless parade of soon to be established '70s jazz genius. At the end of the day this is just such an enjoyable listen for me. And while I do think this isn't Davis' best work in this style, it is still very much it's own, extremely valuable piece of art.

I had this on cassette years ago. It was perfect personal stereo headphones on staring into a rain lashed train window on a long journey by night music. Then I had it on CD and lay in bed hungover on Sunday with it on. Now I have a vinyl copy and look out at the foliage of all the back gardens and the abandoned caravan park I can see out of my window typing this.