A forgotten album project from the late Miles Davis originally recorded back in the mid-1980s, Rubberband, has now been completed and is set for release at the end of summer.
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According to the announcement from Davis’ social media outlets on Thursday, Rubberband will be released in its entirety (all 11 tracks) for the first time ever when it arrives on September 6th via Rhino. The 1985 recording sessions were completed by the project’s original producers in Randy Hall and Zane Giles. Davis’ nephew, Vince Wilburn, Jr., also helped perform on the original recording sessions. The full-length album will follow the 2018 Record Store Day release of a Rubberband EP, which included the album’s title track.
The story goes that Davis began the recording Rubberband at Ameraycan Studios in Los Angeles in October 1985 with Hall and Giles. Those tracking sessions marked a radical change in creative direction for Davis, as he began to include elements of funk and soul grooves into his compositions. However, the album was never completed and the famous jazz trumpeter and bandleader went on to record and release Tutu in September 1986. The recordings from the Rubberband sessions would go on to be unheard and untouched for the next 30 years.
The forthcoming release will be made available on both CD and vinyl, in addition to a limited pressing of a 180g 2-LP deluxe edition which also features a bonus 7-inch single of the track, “Paradise”. The final version of Rubberband also includes guest artists including singers Ledisi and Lalah Hathaway, daughter of soul legend Donny Hathaway. Davis himself also plays both trumpet and keyboards on the album.
Listen to the very modern-sounding track, “Rubberband Of Life” (feat. Ledisi) below:
Miles Davis – “Rubberband of Life (feat. Ledisi)”
[Video: Miles Davis]
Head here for pre-order information for Rubberband ahead of its September release.
