Sometimes it seems every other article I write has some sort of Miles Davis connection to it. But as a lover of the early style of fusion as well as just about any form of adventurous jazz, it's hard to ignore the man's vast influence. Starting around ten years ago, Miles' early electric period was finally starting to get the recognition it deserves, boosted in part by Bill Laswell's excellent remix of the trumpeter's tapes from the period, the end result being called Panthalassa (1997).
Since then, you started to see more fusion artists covering many of the tunes of that era...like Mark Isham...and others writing originals directly inspired by the master. Some of Dave Douglas' most recent releases more or less follow the latter template, and I heartily recommend those. Another fine example of the latter is by NYC-based blues-jazz guitarist David Stryker, a 1998 Steeplechase release he named Shades Of Miles.
Omaha, Neb. native Stryker is a guy who started out playing Clapton and the Three Kings (Freddie, B.B. and Albert) but later got into jazz, having cut his teeth in Jack McDuff's and Stanley Turrentine's bands. Immersing himself with the records of Pat Martino, Wes Montgomery and Grant Green without entirely chucking the rock and blues influences has provided Stryker with a hybrid style of his own..
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(An aside: Stryker's latest CD, by the way, is a solid bop outing co-led with saxophonist Steve Slagle. Look for a full review of Latest Outlook by The Stryker/Slagle Band soon).
Stryker's blues background serves him well for this project; to play this music most effectively, you can't play jazz notes. Miles discouraged John McLaughlin from doing so and he later brought in guys like Pete Cosey, Mike Stern, John Scofield and Robben Ford more for their ability to play blues and rock than jazz. Stryker wisely follows the same path
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