Bil Sabab Power Hour: Miles Davis - Chocolate Chip

"Chocolate Chip" is a composition from Miles Davis' final album "Doo Bop". It is unusually upbeat and straightforward jumpy funky piece with a melody so sticky it will shape the rest of your life just because. It can go on forever and that is fine by me.

"Chocolate Chip" is a standout track on "Doo Bop". Unlike the majority of the album which is a series of rather drowsy, unfocused and quite uncertain steps that should've been a dance - "Chocolate Chip" is extremely focused and fired-up. It drops the sentimental impressionist feel which dominates the album and winds up in "Davis full swing". It is more like his 70s stuff but streamlined and made "nice".

The melody is extremely catchy albeit simple (it stands beside "U'n'I") - it is busy zigzagging and moving around with occassional pa's here and there. It bobs and weaves and struts and lopes. It begs to be performed in scat by Jordan Williams or Al Jarreau. It has this uber-cool vibe that makes me feel good by the sheer force of groove. The beat is just right, keyboard fills in the second part bring a different shades. The beat is pure oldschool hip-hop reminescent of new jack swing but is stripped of its tackiness. Bass back and forth with muted horn stabs in the chorus parts are like a transition to the next level. Miles blows his way through the groove. And then after another chorus turn he doesn't play. As if he was just listening to the thing and enjoying it. He returns after the break with another splash of melodies and electric piano flourishes. Then things settle down for one more turn before fading out.

"Doo-bop" was masters final tour de force. Released in 1992 it was a culmination of Davis' continuing interest in sound and style of then-modern pop music - the Minneappolis sound, New Jack Swing, R&B and Golden Age hip-hop productions in particular. He collaborated with Easy Mo Bee (who later produced bulk of Notorious BIG debut "Ready to Die") and managed to prodice a weird beast which not really a jazz, not really a hip-hop - it is more like then-emerging trip-hop with a twisted tinge of wicked easy listening. Basically it is an upgrade of his signature cool jazz style but even more impressionist. It is almost a cloud steam you happen to walk in and the wind sweeps it away.

You gotta respect Miles Davis for his fearless aesthetic development. He was all about MAKE IT NEW and for every record he was bringing himself to a breaking point and somehow managing to reinvent himself and come back with such a bang you could only say "WOW!" or "WHOA!".