Rubberband (CD)
Miles Davis
Amoeba Review
08/04/2020
Fans of Miles Davis were finally able to hear some of his shelved Rubberband project from 1985 with the release of a Record Store Day EP of the same name last year. Now available is the full album -11 tracks from those sessions that showed the jazz great turning his ear towards pop, experimenting with funk and soul. The original producers of the project, Randy Hall and Attala Zane Giles, along with drummer Vince Wilburn Jr. (Davis's nephew), have recreated Rubberband here with vocalists Lalah Hathaway and Ledisi in place of the intended guests Chaka Khan and Al Jarreau. Ledisi is subdued but effective on the slinky single “Rubberband of Life” and the funky “See I See” benefits from Hathaway's vocal prowess. It's an intriguing glimpse into an unfinished concept from the ever-forward-looking musical mastermind.