Miles in the Margins: Big Fun's Quiet Experiment
Big Fun arrived in 1974 as one of three Davis albums that year, largely unnoticed until its 2000 reissue sparked genuine reconsideration.
Big Fun occupies an odd corner of Miles Davis's catalog—a compilation of sessions from 1969 to 1972 that wasn't marketed as a greatest-hits package but as something new, complete with four compositions attributed to Davis himself. The album arrived in April 1974 alongside two other Davis releases that year, a commercial glut that worked against all three. Listeners and critics had grown accustomed to Davis's more recent electric work, and Big Fun, despite its playful title, didn't announce itself loudly enough to cut through the noise.
What makes the album worth hearing now is precisely what made it easy to overlook then: it documents Davis during a transitional stretch, when he was experimenting with funkier grooves and electric textures without fully committing to the fusion bombast of his most famous electric records. The tracks breathe in ways that some of his louder, more densely arranged work doesn't. It's not a masterpiece, and it's not the place to start with Davis. But it captures something genuine about a working band finding its way through material that sits between categories—neither straight fusion nor pure acoustic jazz.
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, a solid endorsement that reflected what serious listeners eventually recognized: Big Fun had more substance than its initial reception suggested. The 2000 reissue, augmented with previously unreleased material, finally gave the album room to breathe and allowed a critical audience to hear it on its own terms rather than as a stray entry in a crowded discography.
Who's playing
Harvey Brookselectric bass guitar
Ron Carterbass
Bennie Maupinbass clarinet
Michael Hendersonelectric bass guitar
Dave Hollandbass
Chick Coreaelectric piano
Herbie Hancockelectric piano
Harold "Ivory" Williamspiano
Dr. Lonnie Smithpiano
Joe Zawinulelectric piano
John McLaughlinelectric guitar
Steve Grossmansoprano saxophone
Carlos Garnettsoprano saxophone
Wayne Shortertenor saxophone
Miles Davistrumpet
Sonny Fortuneflute
Lonnie Liston Smithorgan
Billy Cobhamdrums
Al Fosterdrums
Billy Hartdrums
Jack DeJohnettedrums
Airto Moreirapercussion
James Mtumepercussion
Khalil Balakrishnaelectric sitar
Bihari Sharmatanpura
Badal Roytabla
Where next?
More by Miles Davis
All 59 albums →
The musicians on this record
Crystal Silence 1973
Chick Corea
plays electric piano here
plays electric piano here
Head Hunters 1973
Herbie Hancock
plays electric piano here
plays electric piano here
Native Dancer 1975
Wayne Shorter
plays tenor saxophone here
plays tenor saxophone here
Spectrum 1973
Billy Cobham
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
