How about these two albums made shortly before the formation of the First Great Quintet? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musings_of_Miles 3/5 of the Quintet are in place; Miles, Garland and Philly Joe. Pettiford came straight from a party and was very drunk. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Moods A wonderful little collaboration with Mingus, on his Debut label.
Continuing with four more stray releases from Miles on Prestige and Debut, before things finally begin to make sense (discographically as well as musically) with the first recordings of his classic '50s quintet, which will be featured in the next installment. The Musings Of Miles (Prestige PR 7007) 1955 Blue Moods (Debut 120) 1955 Miles Davis - The Musings Of Miles (Prestige PRLP 7007) Miles Davis (trumpet) Red Garland (piano) Oscar Pettiford (bass) Philly Joe Jones (drums) Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, June 7, 1955 745 I Didn't 746 Will You Still Be Mine 747 Green Haze 748 I See Your Face Before Me 749 A Night In Tunisia 750 A Gal In Calico Miles Davis - Blue Moods (Debut DEB 120) Miles Davis (trumpet) Britt Woodman (trombone) Teddy Charles (vibraphone) Charles Mingus (bass) Elvin Jones (drums) Audio-Video Studios, NYC, July 9, 1955 Nature Boy Alone Together There's No You Easy Living Miles Davis And Milt Jackson Quintet/Sextet (Prestige PR 7034) 1955 Collector's Items (Prestige PR 7044) 1953-1956 Miles Davis And Milt Jackson Quintet/Sextet (Prestige PRLP 7034) Miles Davis (trumpet) Jackie McLean (alto saxophone -1,3) Milt Jackson (vibraphone) Ray Bryant (piano) Percy Heath (bass) Art Taylor (drums) Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, August 5, 1955 1. 781 Dr. Jackle (Dr. Jekyll) 2. 782 Bitty Ditty 3. 783 Minor March 4. 784 Blues Changes Miles Davis - Collector's Items (Prestige PRLP 7044) Miles Davis (trumpet) Charlie Parker as Charlie Chan, Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone) Walter Bishop Jr. (piano) Percy Heath (bass) Philly Joe Jones (drums) WOR Studios, NYC, January 30, 1953 450 Compulsion 451-1 The Serpent's Tooth, I 451-2 The Serpent's Tooth, II 452 'Round Midnight Miles Davis (trumpet) Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone) Tommy Flanagan (piano) Paul Chambers (bass) Art Taylor (drums) Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, March 16, 1956 864 In Your Own Sweet Way 865 No Line 866 Weird Blues
I've always enjoyed Blue Moods for its laid-back quality. I still remember the disclaimer for the short running time from the old OJC CD. Why was that? Well, LondonJazzCollector has us covered: I think we can stick with the simpler explanation: there just wasn't more music recorded. Nothing else from this session has been unearthed ever since. Musings of Miles also enjoys some popularity, especially on this forum, since it was released on DCC, mastered by a certain Mr. Hoffman. An enjoyable album, but I haven't heard it in quite some time.
I haven't either (something I will rectify soon) but it has the first of many great cover photos of Miles.
Musings Of Miles (June 7 1955) Small quartet session with 3/5 of the first great quintet. The band sounds best on the ballads "Green Haze" and "I See Your Face Before Me", but also delivers a fine version of Dizzie Gillespie's upbeat "A Night In Tunesia". Miles' playing keeps improving and he begins to sound more and more like the Miles we know from his more famous late 50s and 60s recordings. The aforementioned "I See Your Face Before Me" features some fine muted trumpet playing. Blue Moods (July 9 1955) The rhythm section of Charles Mingus and Elvin Jones promises a lot, but the band sounds a bit confused. Teddy Charles on vibes is certainly no Milt Jackson and Britt Woodman sounds very much out of place on trombone. The material and Miles' playing are fine, but the session never really takes off. A beautiful "There's No You" is the only highlight on a mostly forgettable album. Miles Davis And Milt Jackson Quintet/Sextet (August 5 1955) Milt Jackson is the star of a very fine session, Miles' last regular studio session with a vibraphone. I also like Ray Bryant's piano playing, but sadly Bryant would never record with Miles again. It's also Miles' last session with Jackie McLean. Miles mentions drugs problems in his autobiography, but I don't think McLean's playing is that bad. His playing makes "Dr. Jackle" a better piece. I really like this format of trumpet/sax/vibes/piano/bass/drums. It would have been interesting if Miles had decided to stick with this format for a little longer, adding vibraphone to his first or second great quintet. Collector's Items (March 16 1956) Nice, but never anything more than just that. Paul Chambers and Art Taylor are a solid but unspectacular rhythm section, while Miles, Sonny Rollins and Tommy Flanagan are playing it safe. By the time of this session Miles had already begun to record much more interesting music with his new quintet. Sorry, I haven't listened to the 1953 material from this album in a very long time so I have no comments about that session.
The frustrating thing with the pre-1955/56 recordings for Miles is that the 12" versions of these releases that everyone knows are not the original releases. 1955 is when most of the smaller labels began using the 12" format so many of these records (now cd's) are made up of multiple 10" records and/or 7" extended plays. If I remember correctly, The Musings of Miles is Miles' first session recorded with the 12" format in mind. Unfortunately Prestige continued this practice of taking songs from different sessions and making a "concept" 12" album for a while. To me, there are really only 2 complete 12" records of Miles on Prestige; The Musings and the next record, Miles.
Speaking of that cover photo. Is this one of the first cases of a 12" album with no text written on the front? I like that tradition with the 70's album covers by Hipgnosis for Pink Floyd etc (and Abbey Road of course) but this is a long time before that.
Probably one of the first. There was a similar album cover for Modern Jazz Quartet on Atlantic a couple years later.
I picked up the Chronicle box with all of his Prestige sides in chronological/session order and spent many an enjoyable evening ripping the CDs and then reorganizing them back into their album form to put on my MP3 players (while listening, of course). Peter Losin's site was indispensable.
Excellent thread, one I'll be watching very closely. I'm a big Miles fan - I've got the complete Prestige stuff, the big Complete Columbia box, the Warners box, plus the Blue Note stuff and Birth Of The Cool, yet this thread is only at 1955 and I already find some stuff I've never even heard!
Of the last four albums mentioned, I have only the Milt Jackson one and Collector's Items. I enjoy some good vibes and find they sound great when matched with the tone of Miles' trumpet (see also Bag's Groove). Collector's Items has never really connected with me. Picked it up mostly for it having Sonny Rollins and Charlie Parker on it, though I find the former a little uninspired and the latter pretty sloppy on these recordings. I seem to have read somewhere that Parker was pretty out of it by this point.
Vol2 was my introduction to Miles. I picked up a clean copy of the 10 inch BN release for 50 cents at a flea market..... I was blown away by Tempus Fugit. The energy of that tune leaps off of the record. The rest is quite good with a mix of ballads and mid tempo tunes. But Tempus Fugit ? Wow ! My mother announced plans to move during my senior year of college. She had dumped my record collection before I could get home to retrieve it. Included was this 10 inch and other valuable records.....
That's one opinion; I think the moody "Nature Boy" is fantastic and the definitve highlight. It's not a classic date but very enjoyable and laid back.
"Collector's Items" - the 1953 session was a near disaster, with neither Miles (an hour late) or Parker in the best of shape. Pro that he was, Charlie plays pretty good despite consuming a quart of gin before the session. The routine, short 1956 session was a makeup date for failing to produce an album on the 1953 session I think.
The Jan 30, 1953 session was probably recorded to be issued on 10" as PRLP 154. The session was scrapped most likely for the reasons listed above. Miles returned with different musicians on Feb 19, 1953 and recorded 4 others songs that were released on PRLP 154. After the popular acceptance of the 12" for pop and jazz, (it was nearly exclusively used for classical), Prestige was re-releasing everything they had in their catalog, even things they decided were not good enough to release before, to fill record shelves. It is quite possible that the short 3 song session on March 16, 1956 was made to fill out the "Collectors Items" album. Miles was still under contract to Prestige but he was allowed to record for Columbia as long as the music would not be released until his contract with Prestige had expired. That's why he did the two marathon sessions that resulted in Cookin', Steamin', etc. Columbia was already marketing Miles and Prestige benefited greatly by the exposure. So recording 3 songs to fill out an album of previously shelved recordings makes sense.
I really like Blue Moods and in particular Nature Boy. I first heard it on a compilation and what struck me was the emphasis on atmosphere. That to me has been Miles's key strength. Others maybe play better, but he knew what to play and when not to and he knew how to create a mood for the listener. By the way, a huge note of thanks to all those who have contributed so far - it is an excellent thread.
I think it's one of the first ones. But the Russ Freeman 10-inch LP below was even earlier, 1954. And then there's that Modern Jazz Quartet album from 1957.
There's also Stan Getz Plays on Norgran. The Verve re-release put the logo on the cover but the original is without words.
1955 Arguably the year that it all comes together in a really beautiful way and Miles comes into his own. The year starts off with sessions on June 7th at Van Gelder's Hackensack studio. This session features a quartet setting with Miles as the only horn. The other players are Oscar Petiford on bass, and then two gentlemen who would stick around to become part of the first great Quintet, Philly Joe Jones on drums and Red Garland on Piano. All 6 songs from this session would be released on "The Musings Of Miles" and as mentioned above, this is one of those rare times in the Prestige catalogue where a 12" record would be released featuring songs from just one session. Due to this the album has a beautiful coherence in playing, sound and feel. Personally I love the open, sparse and often sweet sounds the Miles coaxes from his horn on this session. Likewise Garland's piano playing is gorgeous! These guys are completely dialed into each other and in my opinion a mood and feel that we have not heard come together this well on any Miles recording previously. My personal favorites are Night In Tunisia, where I love Mile's sparse take on this tune which is usually played more "big bandish" with 2 and 3 part horn sections when done by Blakey, Dizzy and others, and the real stand out for me on this session is I See Your Face Before Me which is just amazing and intimate. Really I don't find a week song in the bunch. The Musings Of Miles Prestige PRLP 7007 Released 1955 Recorded by Rudy VanGelder Hackensack, NJ Produced by Bob Weinstock 1. "Will You Still Be Mine?" 6:23 2. "I See Your Face Before Me" 4:46 3. "I Didn't" 6:06 4. "A Gal in Calico" 5:18 5. "A Night in Tunisia" 7:23 6. "Green Haze" 5:50 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next sessions take place July 9th again at Van Gelder's but strangely not for Prestige. These four songs are for Charles Mingus' Debut label. I don't have the book in front of me and its been 10 years since I read it, but according to Brian Priestley in "Mingus: A Critical Biography" this session was done to payback money that Miles owed Mingus. Each cut features the legendary bassist along with Miles on trumpet, Elvin Jones on drums, Teddy Charles on vibes and Britt Woodman on Trombone. Both Charles and Woodman would work with Mingus again, as well Woodman was a long time Trombonist in Duke Ellington's band, as well as a player on John Coltrane's Africa Brass. Three of the compositions are Teddy Charles arrangements with the exception of Alone Together which is easily identifiable as a Mingus arrangement with its loping bass and dissonant 3rd stream horn and vibe interplay. This album is also notable (as mentioned in an above post) for its short running length of 26 minutes and 46 seconds, which was explained as being due the record being cut at 160 lines per inch VS the norm of 210 to 260 lines. This equaled wider and deeper grooves and yielded the benefit of extended bass frequencies which the recording definitely has.I should note that I would kill for a 24/96 and above transfer of this session from the master reels! This is not only one of my favorite Miles recordings, but one of my favorite jazz albums of all time! Since the first time I heard it over 20 years ago I have been in love with its dreamy, mellow vibe mixed with the amazing touch of surrealism and weight that comes with working with Mingus. Blue Moods Debut Records DEB-120 Released 1955 Recorded by Rudy VanGelder Hackensack, NJ Produced presumably by Charles Mings as it was his label. 1. "Nature Boy" 6:14 2. "Alone Together" 7:17 3. "There's No You" 8:06 4. "Easy Living" 5:03 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Moving a month ahead to the 5th of August is one of the last Miles sessions of the 1950's to not feature the 1st great Quintet. While these sessions would site both Miles and Milt Jackson (vibes) as co leaders, although Jackson gets 2nd billing, this session is oft described as an all star session and also includes Jackie McLean on alto sax (although only on his own compositions), Ray Bryant on piano, Percy Heath on bass and Arthur Taylor on drums. This is another 4 song session and the resulting album is only just over 31 minutes long. In many ways this album is the complete antithesis of the mellow, spacey and often abstract Blue Moods and is much more of a hard bop affair that sounds much more like many of McLean's early albums than a Miles session, despite his only playing on two of the album's four cuts. The whole album is much more centered on blues style changes and the mellowest track Changes is still pretty jaunty. Although he delivers some very beautiful work on these sessions, Milt Jackson's role does not strike me as much of a leader in the proceedings. In contrast his playing is much more precise and bold that the smooth abstraction that Teddy Charles brings to the table on Blue Moods. Overall this is a very fine album, it is executed and recorded well...and yet probably based on the pure love I have of the two albums mentioned above as well as what we all know would come after it in a few short months, its an album I largely skip over and forget about. At the end of the day to me, its just well played, but largely average run of the mill 1955 jazz. Quintet / Sextet Prestige PRLP 7034 Released 1955 Recorded by Rudy VanGelder Hackensack, NJ Produced by Bob Weinstock 1. "Dr. Jackle" 8:55 2. "Bitty Ditty" 6:37 3. "Minor March" 8:18 4. "Changes" 7:11 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now we move over to the first recordings of Miles Davis regular working band and his first great Quintet on October 26th. These sessions were also his first for Columbia records, although only one song from this four song session would make the final release a year later when released on his columbia debut 'Round About Midnight. At this session, Miles Davis, John Coltrane (Tenor Sax), Red Garland (piano), Paul Chambers (Bass) and Philly Joe Jones (Drums) would record various takes of: Two Bass Hit, Ah-Leu-Cha, Little Melonae & Budo. The sessions where at Columbia's Studio D in New York from 3:30 to 8:30 pm with George Avakian producing. Only Ah-Lei-Cha would make the cut on 'Round About Midnight, while all the rest would end up on compilations over the years: Two Bass Hit on Circle In The Round in 1979, Little Melonae on 1973's Basic Miles, an alternate take of Budo was released on 1988's Columbia Years Box Set while the master take of Budo (the only other track to be released in the 50's) was released in 1957 on a Columbia multi artist compilation Jazz Omnibus. A further alternate take of Two Bass Hit and two more of Ah-Leu-Cha were finally released on the Miles and Coltrane Complete Columbia Years Box Set in 2000. The good news is its all there for Miles completists. Since its just the one track, I'll skip talking about the rest of 'Round About Midnight for now. The only last thing I will mention is that it strikes me as odd or unfortunate that Columbia worked so fast to get a Miles session in the can, and yet only one song was deemed good enough for the initial release. However if you get past the rarity of the sessions and the whole...It's Miles and Trane hype, its actually easy to see why especially when you compare these takes to the songs that make up the rest of 'Round About Midnight and the next few Prestige sessions. They actually sound rushed, a bit ragged and to my ears lack the magic of Midnight, Miles, Workin', Cookin, Steamin & Relaxin. Even the released Ah-Leu-Cha is my least favorite song on 'Round About Midnight. However I think that these sessions did well to initiate this band in the studio and in a large way contributed to making the next Prestige session so magical. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And as such we head to the last session of 1955 which was recorded on November 16, 1955 back with Van Gelder. This is the literal beginning of the end for Miles and Prestige and yet, what a run it would be! Compared to the initial Columbia trial run, this session has a much better feel and swing to it. The band sounds much more comfortable with each other and the arrangements. I also wonder what it must have felt like going from the huge cavernous Columbia studio D which was once a church back to Van Gelder's Hackensack space, which was in reality a converted living room (as this was prior to his move to the purpose built Englewood Cliff's facility). In any case, the magic of this band is evident from the feel and tone of Mile's opening notes on Just Squeeze Me right after the bands brief intro. The mellow songs are open and beautiful with Mile's dusty tone, and the cookers here are much more centered and successful than the previous month's uptempo numbers at Columbia. Interestingly Coltrane is the weakest link here...now before you jump on me, being the weakest giant in a room of giant's, still makes you a giant. Its just that you can hear that he has not yet become the undefeatable soloist that he will evolve into as 1956 and 1957 roll on. In fact Coltrane lays out on the ballad "There Is No Greater Love". No matter how you slice it though, this album is light years from the Quintet / Sextet album and 75% of every Prestige album prior. Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet (aka Miles) Prestige PRLP 7014 Released 1956 Recorded by Rudy VanGelder Hackensack, NJ Produced by Bob Weinstock 1. "Just Squeeze Me" 7:27 2. "There Is No Greater Love" 5:19 3. "How Am I to Know?" 4:39 4. "S'posin" 5:15 5. "The Theme" 5:49 6. "Stablemates" 5:18 and thus endeth 1955
Basic Miles also gave "Budo" another vinyl release (although this LP is largely a fake-stereo nightmare and best avoided).
