Joe "Foley" McCreary

Fret-less Six · #1 06-11-2005, 11:04 PM

Anyone know anything about him...He's supposed to be the guitar player for Miles Davis on "Live in Munich" but his guitar only has four strings and he's listed as lead bass? Whats the deal here?

DaveBeny · #2 06-12-2005, 02:39 AM

Check out the book 'Miles Beyond' by Paul Tingen. I don't have my copy to hand, but as I recall, Foley played a high-tuned bass (possibly piccolo?) with a whammy bar. He was supposedly influenced by guitarists such as Eddie Van Halen and Pete Cosey, but based on the few Miles tracks that I've heard from that period of the '80s, Foley's playing was confined to low-profile "rhythm guitar" parts and the occasional bluesy solo.

Mike Flynn · #3 06-12-2005, 06:45 AM

There's a good Mile Davis live DVD from Paris around 1989 - Foley is the only 'guitarist' in the band - but like Dave says - he's playing a piccolo bass strung like the bottom four strings of a guitar - he plays some very cool solos and comps really nicely too - he's a great player. The last time I saw him on anything was with Arrested Development playing a Fender Jazz and just laying down a pocket groove - but I'd recommmend the Miles DVD - it has some nice funky bass from Benjamin Rietveld on an ogange Bass Collection bass -

more info here

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...v=glance&s=dvd

jerry · #4 06-14-2005, 04:30 PM

I have a old solo album from Foley that I got back in the early 90's, it was good, but not as good as that Miles DVD.

tightbidness · #5 06-17-2006, 01:54 PM

Thought I'd update this thread with a video on YouTube. Miles Davis with Foley and Marcus Miller. Foley takes a killer solo toward the end of the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00tzc...=miles%20davis

Does anyone know the specifics about Foley's piccolo bass or his rig? There's a page on Albey Balgochian's Website but not much info. The amp in the video looks like a Roland Jazz Chorus maybe.

**j-raj** · #6 06-19-2006, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tightbidness

Does anyone know the specifics about Foley's piccolo bass or his rig? There's a page on Albey Balgochian's Website but not much info. The amp in the video looks like a Roland Jazz Chorus maybe.

not sure about his rig, but I know that he played those A-Basses.

oh btw, I've used the JC120 for Tenor bass (a jazz bass tuned A-C), it was the only thing at the moment, but it was pretty cool sounding.

tightbidness · #7 06-19-2006, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j-raj

oh btw, I've used the JC120 for Tenor bass (a jazz bass tuned A-C), it was the only thing at the moment, but it was pretty cool sounding.

Thanks man. I've used a JC120 for guitar before, and they're clean and powerful. They were all over the place when I started playing in the late-80s.

**j-raj** · #8 06-19-2006, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tightbidness

Thanks man. I've used a JC120 for guitar before, and they're clean and powerful. They were all over the place when I started playing in the late-80s.

... same here.

D.A.R.K. · #9 06-19-2006, 04:14 PM

i was lucky enough to catch miles with foley at constitution hall(d.c.) in the late '80's on a tour sponsored by congac....man, that guy really killed!
amazing solos, great pocket-rythms.
definitely came at it from the bass-player side.

tightbidness · #10 06-19-2006, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.A.R.K.

i was lucky enough to catch miles with foley at constitution hall(d.c.) in the late '80's on a tour sponsored by congac....man, that guy really killed!
amazing solos, great pocket-rythms.
definitely came at it from the bass-player side.

That is amazing, to have seen Miles Davis live! Do you remember the rest of the line up?

jerry · #11 06-20-2006, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tightbidness

That is amazing, to have seen Miles Davis live! Do you remember the rest of the line up?

I don't know if it's the same band, but I have a video of Miles in Paris that has...Foley on lead bass, Benny Rietveld on bass, Ricky Wellman drums, John Bigham percussion, Kei Akagi keyboards and the great Kenny Garrett on saxophone.

Bruce Lindfield · #12 06-20-2006, 03:26 AM

I must say that taking Miles' career as whole - this is very much a low point... if not the lowest point!!??

So just before this, Miles had great guitarists like John Scofield - OK Kenny Garrett is a great soloist, but the music is veering into "Smooth Jazz" territory, soloing over a funky two-bar vamp...

I did buy the video, but very much regret it now and there are far better documents - like "A Different Kind of Blue" - where Miles was really breaking new ground and was on the cutting edge of music!

Mike Flynn · #13 06-20-2006, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

I must say that taking Miles' career as whole - this is very much a low point... if not the lowest point!!??

So just before this, Miles had great guitarists like John Scofield - OK Kenny Garrett is a great soloist, but the music is veering into "Smooth Jazz" territory, soloing over a funky two-bar vamp...

I did buy the video, but very much regret it now and there are far better documents - like "A Different Kind of Blue" - where Miles was really breaking new ground and was on the cutting edge of music!

I'd say the nine years he spent addicted to crack, pimping and not playing trumpet would be the lowest point in his career actually...Tutu is a fantasitc album, mainly thanks to Marcus, but even so it's great, I agree the live performance on the Paris DVD isn't the greatest ever - but to compare different periods in Miles' career is where time and again critics get hot and bothered about how he defiled the sanctity of his early works with his electric "bulls**t" later on - when all it comes down to is the varying views on Miles' music and your taste - of which there is no accounting for...especially yours Bruce

.

And FYI - doing a great solo over a "two chord vamp" is no excuse for playing a crap solo - try it sometime, it's harder than you think to do something interteresting.

M

Mike Flynn · #14 06-20-2006, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tightbidness

Thought I'd update this thread with a video on YouTube. Miles Davis with Foley and Marcus Miller. Foley takes a killer solo toward the end of the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00tzc...=miles%20davis

Great clip - I think that's David Sanborn in there as well - plus Kenny Garrett - you have to hand it to Miles, his band were always amazing - throughout his career.

M

Bruce Lindfield · #15 06-20-2006, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Flynn

I'd say the nine years he spent addicted to crack, pimping and not playing trumpet would be the lowest point in his career actually...

Well that's exactly why I said it was a low point but not the lowest!

Quote:

I agree the live performance on the Paris DVD isn't the greatest ever - but to compare different periods in Miles' career ...when all it comes down to is the varying views on Miles' music and your taste - of which there is no accounting for...especially yours Bruce

.

Well yes, but I would hate somebody to buy this and think they were getting the best of Miles - it's along way from that!!

Quote:

And FYI - doing a great solo over a "two chord vamp" is no excuse for playing a crap solo - try it sometime, it's harder than you think to do something interteresting.

Who cares about how hard something is to play? We're not talking about a competitive sport here!!

I was talking about musical interest and I don't hear much on this video - whereas Miles has one of the most musically-interesting careers in Jazz!!

Mike Flynn · #16 06-20-2006, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Well yes, but I would hate somebody to buy this and think they were getting the best of Miles - it's along way from that!!

It's not that bad - yes, a long way from his VERY best - but not awful - I still think it's worth checking out - if you don't like it at all, fair enough.

Blueszilla · #17 06-20-2006, 08:19 AM

Bruce, you never change! Just for you,

. Any Miles is good listening, IMHO.

This thread was about Foley, right?

Bruce Lindfield · #18 06-20-2006, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueszilla

Any Miles is good listening, IMHO.

But when there's so much of it, I think it pays to be choosy!

You could have 30 or 40 Miles CDs and still not have heard his best work!!

How would you feel about that...

Blueszilla · #19 06-20-2006, 08:31 AM

Well I have 27, and have heard many others repeatedly. A good friend has a very extensive collection. I'm not a critic, just a fan. What his 'best' is, well that's just personal opinion. How about you like what you want, and I'll do the same?

BTW, I feel fine, thanks for asking.

and back on topic, I like Foley's soloing also, I thought it was guitar when I first heard it.

Bruce Lindfield · #20 06-20-2006, 08:39 AM

Disppointing and dull....Miles did him a big favour there!

The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD says the following about this period :

" You know the feeling when some favourite movie or TV series is reincarnated as an animated cartoon : somehow something quite essential isn't there....Miles recordings post CBS records were an uneasy blend of exquisite trumpet miniaturism and drab cop-show funk, put together with a high production gloss that camouflaged a lack of real musical substance."

Spot on IMO !