Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Tony Williams (with A. Jarreau and B Brunel)
Civic Auditorium
Santa Monica, CA
November 15, 1978
(Late Show)
Mike Millard Master Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 184
1644 Edition

Contrast Clause: This is a direct transfer from the master tape. http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=718520 was made from a first-generation copy

Recording Gear: AKG 451E Microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Nakamichi 550 Cassette Recorder

JEMS 2022 Transfer: Mike Millard Master Cassettes > Nakamichi RX-505 (azimuth adjustment) > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture 2496 > iZotope RX8 > iZotope Ozone 8 > MBIT+ resample to 1644 > Audacity > xACT > FLAC

01 Intro
02 Confirmation
03 Summer Nights
04 On Green Dolphin Street
05 Stanley's Creation
06 All Blues
07 Quiet Afternoon (with Bunny Brunel)
08 Summertime (with Bunny Brunel and Al Jarreau)
09 Waltz For Debby (with Al Jarreau)
10 Doodlin' (with with Al Jarreau)
11 Spain (with Al Jarreau)

Known Faults:
-None

Introduction to the Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Series

Welcome to JEMS� Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone series presenting recordings made by legendary taper Mike Millard, AKA Mike The Mike, best known for his masters of Led Zeppelin done in and around Los Angeles circa 1975-77. For the complete details on how tapes in this series came to be lost and found again, as well as JEMS' long history with Mike Millard, please refer to the notes in Vol. One: http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=500680.

Until 2020, the Lost and Found series presented fresh transfers of previously unavailable first-generation copies made by Mike himself for friends like Stan Gutoski of JEMS, Jim R, Bill C. and Barry G. These sources were upgrades to circulating copies and in most instances marked the only time verified first generation Millard sources had been directly digitized in the torrent era.

That all changed with the discovery of many of Mike Millard�s original master tapes.

Yes, you read that correctly, Mike Millard�s master cassettes, long rumored to be destroyed or lost, have been found. Not all of them but many, and with them a much more complete picture has emerged of what Millard recorded between his first show in late 1973 and his last in early 1993.

The reason the rediscovery of his master tapes is such a revelation is that we�ve been told for decades they were gone. Internet myths suggest Millard destroyed his master tapes before taking his own life, an imprudent detail likely concocted based on the assumption that because his master tapes never surfaced and Mike�s mental state was troubled he would do something rash WITH HIS LIFE�S WORK. There�s also a version of the story where Mike�s family dumps the tapes after he dies. Why would they do that?

The truth is Mike�s masters remained in his bedroom for many years after his death in 1994. We know at least a few of Millard�s friends and acquaintances contacted his mother Lia inquiring about the tapes at the time to no avail. But in the early 2000s, longtime Millard friend Rob S was the one she knew and trusted enough to preserve Mike�s work.

The full back story on how Mike�s master tapes were saved can be found in the notes for Vol. 18 Pink Floyd, which was the first release in our series transferred from Millard�s original master tapes:

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=667745&hit=1
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=667750&hit=1

Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Tony Williams, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, November 15, 1978 Late Show

This week we return to one of Mike Millard's best nights of work, recording Chick Corea and Friends playing two special benefit concerts at the intimate Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. We released the early show as Vol. 163 of the series and now we get the late set.

Mike's friend and fellow taper Robert Collins posted both Corea and Friends shows from his own first generation copies in 2021. In his notes for the late set, he wrote compellingly about the performance:

"It was 25 years ago the last time I listened to this concert and I completely forgot how good it was. Just the names on the title alone made it special, but I was in for a much bigger surprise. I had always remembered the concert as Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Lenny White with Al Jarreau. But when I started mastering this recording, I realized it wasn't Lenny White, but was Tony Williams. Realizing that this recording has the late Tony Williams is what my son would call an HCU (Huge Come-Up) and makes it even more rare and more special than I had remembered. The second HCU was the concert itself. After listening to it 25 years later, I had forgotten how incredibly great this concert is. Where else would you ever hear Al Jarreau performing a non-Vocalese version of Spain two years before he recorded it himself and made it a huge hit."

As Collins notes, the performance is marvelous and it is matched by Mike's exquisite recording that is surely among his very best. The dynamic range at play here makes for a thrilling listen and the clarity and fidelity are truly outstanding. I would suggest this as a great example of when an audience tape can deliver a more satisfying and representative recording than a soundboard. Samples provided.

Here's what Jim R recalled about Chick Corea and friends at Santa Monica Civic 1978:

I went with Mike to both Chick Corea & Friends benefit concerts on Nov 15, 1978. They took place at one of our preferred venues, the Santa Monica Civic.

Chick Corea was among our favorite jazz-fusion artists and we knew we would not be disappointed with who was included in the "& Friends" clause. Therefore this was a must-see concert, and, as usual, if there were two shows in a night, we'd go to both.

This release presents the late show. Chick's friends included Stanley Clarke and Al Jarreau. We sat two rows closer in the eight row of section D on the Main Floor, which was sloped to improve the sight lines and sound quality. In order to stay under the radar, I left my camera bag at home.

As is typical of this genre, the sound quality was excellent and the audience polite.

All in all Mike and I enjoyed this evening immensely. Cheers to my buddy Mike for another great recording.

###

JEMS is proud to partner with Rob, Jim R, Ed F, Barry G and many others to release Millard's historic recordings and to help set the record straight about the man himself.

We can't thank Rob enough for reconnecting with Jim and putting his trust in our Millard reissue campaign. He kept Mike's precious tapes under wraps for two decades, but once Rob learned of our methods and stewardship, he agreed to contribute the Millard DATs and cassettes to the program. Our releases would not be nearly as compelling without Jim's memories, photos and other background contributions. As many of you have noted, the stories offer an entertaining complement to Mike's incredible audio documents.

Thanks to Robert Collins for sharing his stories of Mike with us and for his own efforts to keep Mike's legacy alive. He made some mighty fine recordings himself as a contemporary of Millard. Professor Goody checked pitch for us and mjk5510 handled post production and artwork as always. Special shoutout to Hiromasa for your warm reception, conversation and generosity this week.


Finally, here's to the late, great Mike the MICrophone. His work never ceases to impress. May he rest in peace.

BK for JEMS

Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

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