release date: Sep. 12, 1989
format: vinyl 2 lp (463351 1)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,44]
producer: Palle Mikkelborg
label: CBS Records - nationality: USA
Studio double album by Miles Davis following the album Amandla (May 1989), which in many ways was a close follow-up to the album Tutu (also with Marcus Miller as primary artist). In comparison, Aura stands much on its own. The album follows only four months after Amandla and is produced and composed by Danish trumpeter and composer Palle Mikkelborg.
Musically, the album could be seen as more of a follow-up to Davis' album Decoy (Jun. 1984) and his role and experimentation with jazz fusion in the 1970s, which also had an impact on the formative style of Mikkelborg himself. The album was met by critical acclaim but failed to attract the same audience as Tutu (Sep. 1986) and Amandla. In this regard, Aura is both a more experimental and simplistic release but also much more of a contemporary jazz release than one that seeks to blend in styles from popular music. And that possibly also explains why I initially found it a difficult album to understand. In hindsight though, I see Aura as much more of a timeless album when comparing with other albums by Davis in the 1980s. That alone doesn't make it easily digestible. Aura is the final studio album by Davis and in music historic perspective, a fine last album with more to offer than meets the ear on a first, a second, and even on multiple encounters, but with some persistence, I have at least found its underlying beauty.
[ 👍👍allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Musichound Jazz 4 / 5, 👉The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings 4 / 4 stars ]
