Star People

Star People is a 1983 album recorded by Miles Davis and issued by Columbia Records. It is the third release after the trumpeter's six-year hiatus. Beside the members of the band of We Want Miles the recordings feature John Scofield for the first time, who worked alongside Mike Stern in Davis's band in late 1982 and early 1983 before Stern's departure later in the year. Scofield was recommended by saxophonist Bill Evans. Marcus Miller played on five of the six tracks, but was replaced by Tom Barney on the most recent track of the album, "Speak", a live recording from February 1983 in Houston. Barney would be replaced later in 1983 by Darryl Jones. Al Foster and Mino Cinelu are heard on drums and percussion. Miles Davis plays trumpet and Oberheim synthesizer often at the same time (without using overdubs), and also on separately recorded interludes for the over-18-minute-long blues "Star People".[4] This was the last album that Teo Macero, Miles Davis' longtime producer, was involved in working with Davis.

Star People
Studio album by Miles Davis
Released	1983
Recorded	August 11, 1982 – February 3, 1983
Genre	Jazz fusion
Length	58:54
Label	Columbia
Producer	Teo Macero
Miles Davis chronology
We Want Miles (1982) Star People (1983) Decoy (1984)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	A–[2]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[3]

The album has also become part of the box set Miles Davis: The Complete Columbia Album Collection.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Miles Davis

No.	Title	Recording date and studio/venue	Length
1.	"Come Get It"	August 28, 1982 live at Jones Beach Theatre, New York	11:01
2.	"It Gets Better"	January 5, 1983 at Record Plant Studio, New York	10:07
3.	"Speak"	February 3, 1983 live at Cullen Auditorium, University of Houston, Houston	8:28
4.	"Star People"	September 1, 1982 at Columbia Studio B, New York	18:46
5.	"U'N'I"	September 1, 1982 at Columbia Studio B, New York	5:55
6.	"Star on Cicely"	August 11, 1982 at Columbia Studio B, New York	4:26

Personnel

• Miles Davis – trumpet, keyboards
• John Scofield – electric guitar (on tracks 2 and 3)
• Mike Stern – electric guitar
• Bill Evans – tenor & soprano saxophone
• Marcus Miller – electric bass (exc. track 3)
• Tom Barney – electric bass (on track 3)
• Al Foster – drums
• Mino Cinelu – percussion
• Gil Evans – arranger (uncredited)[5]

Production

• Don Puluse – recording and remix engineer at CBS Studios
• Jay Messina – recording engineer at Record Plant
• Lou Schlossberg, Ken Robertson, Harold Tarowski, Bill Messina – engineers
• Teo Macero – producer
• Dr George Butler – executive producer
• Joe Gastwirt – mastering engineer at Frankford Wayne Mastering Labs
• Miles Davis – "all drawings, color concepts and basic attitudes"
• Janet Perr – cover design
• John Berg – art direction
• Leonard Feather – liner notes

References

1. Yanow, Scott (2011). "Star People – Miles Davis | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
2. Christgau, Robert (1990). "Miles Davis: Star People". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
3. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 58. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
4. Cf. album liner notes by Leonard Feather.
5. Only mentioned in the liner notes as co-arranger and consultant to Davis, Feather citing Davis; not in the actual credits to the album.