Pete Cosey, a Chicago guitarist who was known for his work with the Miles Davis band from 1973-1975, passed away on May 30th. He was 68. Cosey's intense, roaring guitar work fed through wah-wah distortion was a important part of the Miles Davis sound of the mid 1970s. The Afro-rock groove was dark, intense, and relentless, and Cosey's dynamic voice on the instrument was a tremendous assett to the band as it explored the frontiers of music on several studio and live albums, "Dark Magus", "Agharta" and "Pangea", the latter two recorded during a single day of a live performance at Osaka Festival Hall in Japan.
Cosey was also known for his work on Muddy Waters’s album “Electric Mud” (1968) and Howlin’ Wolf’s “Howlin’ Wolf Album” (1969).He was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, the cooperative Chicago organization devoted to experimental improvisation; he toured with Aretha Franklin and the jazz saxophonists Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt. In later years Cosey appeared on Herbie Hancock’s 1983 album, “Future Shock”; and formed a band in 2001 called Children of Agharta with other members of the mid-’70s Davis group, among other musical activities.
