Harlem Bush Music

Gary Bartz Ntu Troop : Rise and Celestial Blues
From Harlem Bush Music (Milestone, 1970)

Yes I listen again and again the hard funk tunes 'Funked Up' that Gary Bartz released during his Mizell sessions. 'Funked Up' sound is nearest to Follow The Medicine Man than "Harlem Bush Music". Bartz is acknowledged to have joined Miles Davis, it's probably not the case with his work with Pharoah Sanders, John Coltrane's disciple, on Summun Bukmun Umyun.

Harlem Bush Music was produced at this time. On July 1970, Bartz featured on Summum Bukmun Umyun, on August 1970, he featured on Isle Of Wight concert with Miles Davis and began "Harlem Bush Session" on november.

Harlem Bush Music (Taifa/Uhuru) are two albums of the transition for Bartz. He formed Ntu Troop in 1970, the band combined funk, soul, jazz and folk.


"Everybody was interested in playing with Miles because he was the number one band. The Isle Of Wight was about my third concert with the band. That music was a transitionnal music. That was the music he had been playing in the band before. Now, once I joigned the band, we were on our way to play different music.
I was coming from a totally acoustic... I hadn't dealt with electricity. Initially, electricity, well, that's something you get from ConEd. But in reality, electricity is life itself, so how can I say I'm not into electricity when I'm electric? We all are electric.
Miles didn't change through the years. He got better. But as far as musically, he didn't change. Things around him changed. The world changed. So what are you going to do? The world changes, you gonna stay in those old trappings? You still gonna wear the clothes that you wore back in the '40s? You keep up. So he just kept up. that's all." Gary Bartz

from Miles Electric: a different kind of blue (Eagle Rock Entertainment, 2004)


Gary Bartz played with Miles:
Unknow date in August 1968 : New York City - Count Basie's, Harlem
Tuesday, August 18, 1970 : Tanglewood, Lenox, Massachusetts - Berkshire Music Center
Saturday, August 29, 1970 : Isle of Wight "Rock Festival"