Something 4 The Weekend # 58

Buddy Miles passed away this Wednesday, most likely of congestive heart failure, at his home in Austin, Texas. He was 60 years old, and probably best known as the drummer for Jimi Hendrix in the Band Of Gypsys.

Jimi Hendrix: Band Of Gypsys: "Changes" [mp3]

I really don't have much to say about Buddy Miles...That Band Of Gypsys album is a stone cold killer, wherein Jimi deftly incorporates what he's learned from R'nB and Rock into something distinctly funkier and Jazzier...More abstract, if that's possible...Plenty of the credit must be given to Buddy, who urged Hendrix to join him and bassist Billy Cox after the dissolution of The Experience...I believe what Miles and Cox offered Hendrix was a rock-solid bed of Funk grooves over which Jimi had plenty of space to really stretch out as a player, and explore texture and a more slowly evolving melodicism in his soloing...This isn't merely 12 bars of Jimi blasting off before moving into the third verse of a 3 minute pop song, you know? Well, actually, it sorta IS, but I've got my reasons for streaming this particular song...

Buddy Miles other notable accomplishments were the formation of Electric Flag with guitarist Mike Bloomfield prior to Band Of Gypsys...After Band Of Gypsys, Miles had his own eponymous group, did some work on Cheech Y Chong albums, played and recorded some fiery stuff with Carlos Santana, and sang "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" as one of the California Raisins in the famous commercial...Ayup.

Anyways, if I was going to share a song from the Band Of Gypsys album, "Machine Gun" would have been the logical choice...Plenty of fans consider it the pinnacle of Hendrix's playing, and that's saying quite alot when you think about it...Instead, I thought I'd share one of the two Buddy Miles compositions found on that great album. It seems more appropriate, and in the end, it's good to remember that not only was Buddy a fantastic drummer, but a fine singer, and a very good songwriter, which is a rare combination of talents for a drummer, and a final reminder of just how formidable this man truly was.

Rest In Peace, Buddy Miles.

Hotcha! Hank