Miles Davis shocked the music world in 1985 when he left Columbia Records after 30 years to join Warner Bros. Records. In October of that year, he began recording the album Rubberband in Los Angeles at Ameraycan Studios with producers Randy Hall and Zane Giles. The musical direction Davis was taking during the sessions marked a radical departure, with the inclusion of funk and soul grooves and plans to feature guest vocalists Al Jarreau and Chaka Khan. Eventually, the album was shelved, and Davis went on to record Tutu, leaving the Rubberband songs unheard and untouched for over 30 years.
Davis’ fans finally got a taste of the iconic trumpeter’s long-lost album last year with the release of a four-song Rubberband EP for Record Store Day and digitally.
Rhino is excited to release the entire 11-song Rubberband album. It was finished by the original producers – Hall and Giles – and Davis’ nephew, Vince Wilburn, Jr., who played drums on the original sessions for the album in 1985-86.
The cover art for the album is a Davis original painting from the time.