Legendary producer Teo Macero died February 19th. He was responsible for some of Miles Davis’ greatest albums, including the magnificent In a Silent Way — which I maintain was the last jazz album to show any forward progression in the movement. (What came after that? Bitches’ Brew? A particularly enjoyable hangover, and a rock/funk album to boot. Not really jazz. Jack Johnson? Headhunters? Weather Report? Not jazz, my friends.)

What I find fascinating is that Macero was really a record producer. In a Silent Way did not follow the format of most jazz records - i.e. complete, pristine takes, essentially recorded live. In a Silent Way had bits of performances chopped up, edited, repeated, cycling back on themselves. It’s nearly undetectable at first, but Macero’s editing provides the dreamlike rush that you experience by listening to the album. It’s a gauzy, beaded curtain of music; by listening to it, you don’t absorb it—it absorbs you. NPR’s All Things Considered did a special on the album some years ago, which you can listen to here.

Meanwhile, the New York Times obit for Macero is online here.