Miles Davis - Workin' With The Miles Davis Quintet (1959) [jazz

Miles Davis - Workin' With The Miles Davis Quintet (1959)

Original Release Date: 1959

Label: Ojc

Bitrate: 320 kbps



Many jazz fans of the era and of present day considered this to be the best small combo ever in jazz music. Not only did they improve as a unit while they were together but each member benefited individually from the association. Miles found an incentive to play again and reached new heights because of the musical environment he had created in choosing his sidemen. The sidemen, in turn, flowered in the climate of the Davis latitude. By the beginning of 1957 Coltrane had broken the shackles of self-doubt and breathed freely into his singing horn. Garland had recorded successfully as a trio pianist ( A Garland of Red ) and the Chambers-Jones duo was fused into the most powerful of pulses.



In essence, what you are hearing is a portion of the group's repertoire. Some have been recorded before by Miles but with different personnel. This is similar to the way bands used to record. I do not refer to the calling of tunes as in a set but the idea of recording numbers that have been in the book for a while, ones with which the musicians are completely at home. I'm sure this had a lot to do with the great string of records that Count Basie made for Decca in the Thirties and although a small group has less difficulty in "shedding" an arrangement, the benefits they reap from experience of playing a piece on the job for several months prior to recording it, are unmistakable.



Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Trumpeter Miles Davis led several sessions for Prestige Records between November 1955 and October 1956 with his legendary "first" quintet, featuring tenor saxophonist John Coltrane, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. The sessions represent an incomparable musical legacy. Impeccably engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, the music was released on five albums that provide a unique glimpse at how five brilliant instrumentalists coalesced into one of the most extraordinary ensembles in modern jazz. Workin' presents an easygoing program that balances ballads with the blues and includes quintet performances of originals by Davis ( "Four," "Half Nelson" ), Coltrane ( "Trane's Blues" ), and Dave Brubeck ( "In Your Own Sweet Way" ); an interpretation of the standard "It Never Entered My Mind" without saxophone; and a piano-trio version of Ahmad Jamal's "Ahmad's Blues." Coltrane's melancholy solo on Brubeck's tune and Garland's spry excursion on Coltrane's are two of this classic's many highlights. ~ Mitchell Feldman



Product Description

Miles Davis's 1956 Quintet was one of his classic groups, featuring tenor-saxophonist John Coltrane, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Jo Jones. They recorded four albums for Prestige in two marathon sessions. Among the highlights are It Never Entered My Mind, Four, In Your Own Sweet Way and two versions of The Theme. The music is essential in one form or another. 8 tracks. From the OJC/ Prestige label.



The Personnel:

Miles Davis - Trumpet

John Coltrane - Tenor saxophone

Philly Joe Jones - Drums

Red Garland - Piano

Paul Chambers - Bass



Miles Davis - Workin' With The Miles Davis Quintet (1959) Tracks:

01 It Never Entered My Mind 5:27

02 Four 7:15

03 In Your Own Sweet Way 5:45

04 The Theme (take 1) 2:01

05 Trane's Blues (a.k.a "Vierd Blues" ) 8:35

06 Ahmad's Blues 7:26

07 Half Nelson 4:48

08 The Theme (take 2) 1:05