# Miles Davis



## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

Miles Davis may be one of the only artists towards whom I tend to be a completist. I have all his major releases from the late 1940s to the late 1980s. I don't have the unofficial bootlegs but I've been purchasing the official ones. This thread is sparked by the recent release of the latest of these, _Miles at the Fillmore_ (Columbia Legacy, 2014) -- which I've yet to buy, but I likely will soon:










This has gotten superb reviews from various magazines and newspapers. I read griping here and there on certain jazz websites about the way the recording has been cleaned up, the murk has washed off and there is a new clarity to the sound -- as if to tame its rowdy surface.

What Miles Davis do you enjoy? Favorite records? Tracks? Anecdotes? Quotes?

I must confess that I pretty much enjoy it all, but I do have preferences. A top 10:

1. _Kind of Blue_ (1959) -- The perfect jazz record, as many have noted. Read Ashley Kahn's _Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece_ (DaCapo, 2007).

2. _Bitches Brew_ (1970) -- I still listen to this perhaps once a month and continue to savor its brilliance. I discovered this right when it came out in 1970 and discovered Stravinsky's _Rite of Spring_ at almost the same time -- and the two helped me hear what was going on in each.

3. _Sorcerer_ (1967) -- for me the greatest of the great 2nd Quintet (Miles, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter). For a musicological analysis, read Keith Waters' superb _The Studio Recording of the Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68_, Oxford Studies in Recorded Jazz (Oxford University Press, 2011).

4. _In a Silent Way_ (1969). Miles goes fully electric. As revolutionary as when Dylan did it -- except this is pretty mellow, especially given where he will end up.

5. _My Funny Valentine_ (1964). One of the greatest of his live concerts. This is the ballads. The uptempo numbers are on _"Four" & More_, which includes a brilliant rendition of "Joshua." That said, it's hard to sheer beauty of these.

6. _Pangaea_ (1975). The wildest, darkest of Miles' live recordings. Magnificent. Get the Japanese DSD remaster.

7. _Miles Ahead_ (1957). For me, the best of the Miles-Gil Evans collaborations.

8. _Walkin'_ (1954). My favorite of his earliest records, though the 1954 _Bag's Groove_ is also outstanding.

9. _E.S.P._ (1965). The first studio recording of the 2nd Quintet.

10. _On the Corner_ (1972). Controversial, I realize, prophetic anticipation of hip-hop and electronic music -- yet it's largely played with acoustic instruments.


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## Piwikiwi (Apr 1, 2011)

1. Birth of the cool
2. Something else (cannonball adderley album)
3. Kind of blue.
4. Porgy and bess.
5. Milestones.

I personally don't like his electric stuff


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

I'd highly recommend the complete mono recordings box set. Stereo recordings back then were very undeveloped and instrumentally way off balance. The mono just sounds so right for his earlier recordings.

http://www.amazon.com/Original-Mono-Recordings-Miles-Davis/dp/B00ESEYE60/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396633465&sr=8-1&keywords=miles+davis+mono


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

My favorite period is definetely that of the second quintet.

1. Miles Smiles
2. Nefertiti
3. Bitches brew
4. E.S.P
5. Filles de Kilimanjaro
6. Kind of blue
7. Sketches of Spain
8. My funny Valentine
9. Ascenseur pour l'échafaud 
10. Birth of the cool


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Miles In The Sky is the only album I've listened to lately. Not as popular as the other 60s quintet albums, but great music nevertheless. 

Miles was right. Tony Williams was the baddest motherf#cker ever to play a set of drums.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I like virtually all of his Columbia output up until the mid-70s hiatus. The only studio albums I'm missing from 56-75 are Get Up With It and Quiet Nights. As for his later work, I'm not that keen, to be honest.  I know Miles wanted to renew himself and keep abreast of contemporary trends especially if he felt he could incorporate them into his music but paradoxically the instrumentation and production values on some of his later output has made the material of that time sound far more dated than, say, the bubbling, murky funk of the 70s. Plus I just don't think it's all that good, sadly.


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## Gilberto (Sep 12, 2013)

Favorite albums/time periods:

The Prestige Walkin' and Steamin' albums. My first exposure to Miles. I'm a bit sentimental about these recordings.

The Gil Evans collaborations ...Miles Ahead, Porgy & Bess, Sketches Of Spain. This stuff is pure gold.

Seven Steps To Heaven. I have always seen many people quick to jump to Kind Of Blue when asked about favorite Miles albums. Seven Steps is my Kind Of Blue. 

On The Corner - Big Fun - Get Up With It ...the box set Complete On The Corner Sessions lays out everything in that time period very nicely. 

The "come back" years...Star People is the best of the bunch IMO. A lot of people turn up their nose at his 80s music and I guess they have a point. This was the only period that I was able to see him in concert (approx 8 times) so I tend to give it a pass based on my familiarity with what I heard in a live setting.

Miles Davis & Quincy Jones - Live At Montreux ...Miles goes back to his roots with the Gil Evans material. Not bad for an old man.

PBS did a wonderful documentary for Great Performances, I think it was called The Music Of Miles Davis. I just watched it recently on youtube and recommend it for anyone who hasn't seen it.


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

Gilberto said:


> The "come back" years...Star People is the best of the bunch IMO. A lot of people turn up their nose at his 80s music and I guess they have a point. This was the only period that I was able to see him in concert (approx 8 times) so I tend to give it a pass based on my familiarity with what I heard in a live setting.


I speant a weekend a couple of years ago playing all the later Miles albums from Man With The Horn on, and the one that really stood out was...Tutu. Many listeners wouldn't have been able / won't be able to get past the Marcus Miller production that situates the album as very 1986, but unlike the rest of the later albums where Miles is content to add just a splash of colour here and there on Tutu he's playing and playing with an energy and stamina exceptional in those later years. I had a sentimental attachment to the album before, but after the marathon also a new respect.

The Penguin Guide raved about the Aura album, but I always had mixed feelings, considering it promising but a missed opportunity. I was happy to see that view seconded by the extensive criticism of it in Richard Cook's indispensable book on the Miles discography "It's About That Time".


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## Gilberto (Sep 12, 2013)

SimonNZ said:


> I speant a weekend a couple of years ago playing all the later Miles albums from Man With The Horn on, and the one that really stood out was...Tutu. Many listeners wouldn't have been able / won't be able to get past the Marcus Miller production that situates the album as very 1986, but unlike the rest of the later albums where Miles is content to add just a splash of colour here and there on Tutu he's playing and playing with an energy and stamina exceptional in those later years. I had a sentimental attachment to the album before, but after the marathon also a new respect.
> 
> The Penguin Guide raved about the Aura album, but I always had mixed feelings, considering it promising but a missed opportunity. I was happy to see that view seconded by the extensive criticism of it in Richard Cook's indispensable book on the Miles discography "It's About That Time".


I may have to revisit that Aura album. For whatever reason, I've hardly listened to it at all; the few times I have it didn't do anything for me.

Re: Tutu ...my choice of the Marcus Miller/Jason Miles stuff would be Amandla. The studio performances during this time seem sterile. The live performances I attended and have heard from audience recordings certainly bring it to life a bit more.


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## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

There is, for me, one great record from Miles in those final years:










The chemistry between him and Kenny Garrett is excellent. And in a live setting that 80s style keyboards actually works reasonably well.

Norman Bates mentioned in an earlier post how much enjoys the 2nd Quintet. While I very much enjoy the Bitches Brew period, that 2nd Quintet is the one I return to most often. I mentioned in the opening post Keith Waters' book, _The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68_ in Oxford University Press' new "Oxford Studies in Recorded Jazz." Packed with insights about what they were doing musically. I strongly recommend diving into it.


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## helpmeplslol (Feb 1, 2014)

Favourite track (and Album) - Milestones






I don't get his later stuff like Bitches Brew. Anyone care to explain the appeal?


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

Alypius said:


> There is, for me, one great record from Miles in those final years:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It seems definitely an interesting reading, thank you. Actually the track I like more on Bitches brew is the last Shorter wrote for the group (Sanctuary) that is one of his masterpieces imho. Hancock and Tony Williams are great musicians, but I think that when Shorter abandoned the band was the greatest loss for Davis. I think that with him and especially with his compositions the level of the albums after BB would have been much higher.


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## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

helpmeplslol said:


> I don't get his later stuff like Bitches Brew. Anyone care to explain the appeal?


Because I found Bitches Brew immediately accessible, I might not be a good one to explain the appeal. Having grown up listening to the electric blues of Jimi Hendrix, Allman Brothers, and Eric Clapton's Cream, the electric sound of the record made a certain immediate sense. And as I noted above, I discovered Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring at almost the same time. Both Bitches Brew and Rite of Spring are organized rhythmically in very complex ways, made up of small, often repeated melodic cells. Stravinsky did it on a written score, Teo Macero did it by splicing together materials from the studio. The result is similarly riotous -- both in the sound and in the audience response. If one comes at it from what came before -- whether one comes at Stravinsky's music from the vantage point of late romanticism and whether one comes at Miles Davis from the vantage point of bebop and West Coast cool -- then one can be disoriented. The old landmarks are gone. When Stravinsky's dancers expressed confusion about keeping the count in performing the Rite of Spring, he instructed them to listen, to feel it, to let it in. I would give the same advice about Bitches Brew.

Now let me reverse the challenge. Can you explain why it doesn't appeal? Given the widespread acceptance of its genius, I believe that those who dislike Bitches Brew now have the burden of explaining why it doesn't appeal to them. Have they allowed themselves to hear it in their bones? I can appreciate that one might say that all modernist music is aesthetically displeasing. So be it. But it seems to me at this point historically that one cannot dispute the genius of Bitches Brew anymore than one can dispute the genius of Rite of Spring.

I should add that the best analyses of the construction of Bitches Brew that I have seen are the essays by Bob Belden and Michael Cuscuna (sp.?) in the massive book that accompanied the Complete Bitches Brew Sessions which came out in a metallic-spine case in 2004 and was reissued in a bookshelf style a bit later. I have not seen the later 40th anniversary edition, whether it keeps the book and thus those valuable analyses. (Carlos Santana also had an interesting essay in the same volume -- he is unusually articulate about how he as a musician heard Miles' electric turn in the late 1960s).


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Miles Smiles is my favorite, and just about my favorite thing ever (including food, people, etc.).

Kind of Blue and Filles de Kilimanjaro are right up there, as is Relaxin' with Miles and the rest of the first quintet. 

I tend not to like his late stuff quite as much, but I don't dislike it. I even think Time After Time is great.


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

After much head-scratching I came up with this list of my top ten (in bold)Miles studio albums for a desert island / replace first after burglary:

Birth of the Cool - Conception - Blue Period - *Dig* - Miles Davis and Horns - Miles Davis Volume 1 - Miles Davis Volume 2 - *Blue Haze* - Walkin' - Collectors' Items - Bags' Groove - Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants - Musings of Miles - *Blue Moods* - *Quintet / Sextet* - Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet - Cookin' - Relaxin' - Workin' - Steamin' - 'Round About Midnight - *Miles Ahead *- Ascenseur pour l'échafaud - *Milestones* - Somethin' Else - Porgy and Bess - 1958 Miles - *Kind of Blue* - Sketches of Spain - Someday My Prince Will Come - Quiet Nights - Seven Steps to Heaven - *E.S.P* - Miles Smiles - *Sorcerer* - Nefertiti - Miles in the Sky - Water Babies - *Filles de Kilimanjaro* - In a Silent Way - Bitches Brew - Jack Johnson - - On the Corner - Big Fun - Get Up with It - Circle Inthe Round - Directions - The Man with the Horn - Star People - Decoy - You're Under Arrest - Tutu - Music from Siesta - Amandla - Aura - Dingo - Doo-Bop

Directions and Dingo are the only two from that list I don't own, in fact I've never seen a physical copy of Directions either for sale or in the collection of a friend.

What might raise an eyebrow at my choices is the preference for the early Prestige albums over those with the First Quintet, but thats how it is.


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

I like Birth of the Cool, and find it amusing that it sounds nothing like the idea of cool jazz I've had my entire life, with its dense polyphonic bits and big orchestral sound. Some of his other albums are OK. Some are bad. Some are just blowing sessions that aren't really good or bad.


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## Piwikiwi (Apr 1, 2011)

regressivetransphobe said:


> I like Birth of the Cool, and find it amusing that it sounds nothing like the idea of cool jazz I've had my entire life, with its dense polyphonic bits and big orchestral sound. Some of his other albums are OK. Some are bad. Some are just blowing sessions that aren't really good or bad.


You might want to check out the gerry mulligan sexter

Gerry Mulligan Sextet 1956 - Ain't It The Truth:


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

and also the 1952 "Pianoless" group that featured Chet Baker:


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## Piwikiwi (Apr 1, 2011)

SimonNZ said:


> and also the 1952 "Pianoless" group that featured Chet Baker:


hmm, I'm not a big Chet Baker fan and I prefer Mulligan's playing on the sextet and Concert Jazz Band recordings.


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

Fair enough, but the '52 "Pianoless" group was an important milestone in the West Coast "cool". And I enjoy them.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Recommended by me is Miles Davis' album, "Jack Johnson".


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

_Sketches of Spain_ is the MD album I enjoy most. _Kind of Blue_ is more brilliant, and it is the album that revealed revealed to me what "genius" in music means, and it would be second.

I have 16 more of his albums, including several mentioned here but I haven't listened very much to most of them and I couldn't be confident picking a third favorite. If you forced me, it'd be between _On the Corner_, _Bitches Brew_, and _Birth of the Cool_. In one order or another those would be my top five, I think. That's what I think I think. _In a Silent Way_ and _My Funny Valentine_ would probably be six and seven.

Just in case my selection of _On the Corner_ didn't alienate me, I might select _Get Up With It_ as my eighth favorite.

And then - emphasizing that I don't really know that these would be my choices - I guess I'd round out my top ten with _Milestones_ and _Agharta_.

Or maybe _Porgy and Bess_, _Someday My Prince Will Come_, and _Nefertiti_.


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## Rach Man (Aug 2, 2016)

I just recently realized that, in all my CDs, I have Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. I just started to listen to it and I have found it to be as wonderful as many have before me. But I also have found that the recording is a bit lacking and, in some spots, there is an annoying buzz or distortion.

I know that there are some remastered copies of this great CD. Does anyone know if any of the remastered copies have corrected this flaw in the recording?


Thanks.


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

Kind of Blue was the first CD I bought for my first CD player. Like a lot of Macero's productions, it's been cut apart and spliced together from studio jam sessions, and some of the joints are rough. All that talk about "modal jazz" is just recognizing that improvisation is a bigger part of the process...

A lot of early Miles CDs were badly engineered. Bitches Brew had entire tracks dropped out. The later remasters have generally been much better across the entire Columbia catalog IMO so updating is probably a good idea.

I'm a sax player, but I was never a big fan of BotC or Jerry Mulligan either, except with Chet Baker. Maybe I'm not old enough. For me, the Prestige sessions with his first Quintet, the Columbia sessions with the second quintet, Bitches Brew, and most of the electric live dates up to his injury in the 70s are essential. Big Fun includes Indian instruments, and Live at the Philharmonic contains just one of many versions of "Ife" and may be the best...

Also a few others like the All-Star and Monk dates for Prestige... for a semi-electrified revisit to the mood of Kind of Blue, on the way to Bitches Brew, try In a Silent Way... Jack Johnson is almost a McLaughlin album with Miles as a guest partner...

PS. a hidden Miles album would be Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi...


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

This is my other favorite John McLaughlin album


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I wouldn't say I'm a completist with Miles (I likely have miles to go before I compile all his albums), but I do have a couple hundred, and my collection includes such things as "The Complete Columbia Album Collection" (70 CDs), "The Genius Of Miles Davis" (43 CDs in a trumpet case), United Archives "Live Recordings 1948-1957" (13 CDs) and "On The Air 1958-1959" (2 CDS), the Intense Media box set "Out Of The Blue" (10 CDs) and the Le Chant Du Monde box set "Waiting For Trane" (9 CDs), as well as dozens of vinyl and dozens more CDs, including "Doo-Bop"! I enjoy cookin', steamin', and relaxin' with Miles, and I do so quite often; hardly a week can go by that I didn't spin something by Miles. (Just yesterday I took on the Jazz Images 180 gram vinyl release of "Birth of the Cool"). Though I probably favor the late '50s / early 60's era recordings ("Kind of Blue" still rules!), I often find myself exploring his earliest work as often as I find myself listing to electric Miles.

One strong positive about Miles is that his output is so varied one can usually find something to fit any mood, and for those of us who are very moody, having handy a handy collection of Miles Davis selections is good therapy.

I remain a staunch fan of "Kind of Blue", "Tutu", "Bags Groove", "In a Silent Way" and "Dark Magus" (to name a handful) and am especially fond of listening to the "live" recorded-in-concert albums (such as "Live At Montreux", "At The Fillmore (Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3)" and (on two colored vinyl LPs, green and yellow) "Live At Teatro Tenda Pianeta, Rome, Italy, 26 April 1982". In fact, I hope I stay a moody person just so I can continue to enjoy the vast expanse that is the music of Miles Davis.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Does anyone know why Columbia/Legacy didn't include _Agharta_ and _Pangaea_ in their re-release project in the late 90s?


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

elgars ghost said:


> Does anyone know why Columbia/Legacy didn't include _Agharta_ and _Pangaea_ in their re-release project in the late 90s?


No idea, but I'm sure most Miles enthusiasts scarfed up the Japanese editions. I think Agharta is still available at CDJapan.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Just ordered this 4 disc set that was released last year. Includes live concerts from Paris, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. From what I've read these are the best sounding remasters of this material that has been available on other releases. Also includes the Coltrane interview that was released years ago on the Complete Stockholm sessions on the Swedish Dragon label.

Wynton Kelly - piano
Paul Chambers - bass
Jimmy Cobb - drums


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

^ I have most of the recordings except for the Paris concert. It is available as mp3 download but the sound quality is very bad. If the sound of Paris concert in that set is good, I am interested in getting it.

I just found this new release. (8/16/2019)
Miles Davis: The Lost Recording (Sleepy Night Records)








Recorded on 11th May 1969 in Rotterdam. I think this has not been released before.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Tortkis, I'll report back here after I've listened to the set. I'm still waiting for it too arrive. For years I wanted the Miles w/ Coltrane/Stitt Stockholm 4 disc set which I never did purchase, so I hope I'm happy with this Bootleg Series edition.


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

starthrower said:


> Tortkis, I'll report back here after I've listened to the set. I'm still waiting for it too arrive. For years I wanted the Miles w/ Coltrane/Stitt Stockholm 4 disc set which I never did purchase, so I hope I'm happy with this Bootleg Series edition.


Thank you. I have 3 sets of the same Stockholm recording: the single disc version (DIW), 4-disc set including the concerts with Stitt, and another 4-disc set All of You including only the concerts with Coltrane. That's the reason I hesitate to get the Bootleg set, but I really love the 1960 group with Coltrane.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

The 4 disc Stockholm set is a bit more affordable now. But I wish I had picked up more Miles sets when they were in print. I could kick myself because several years back Grooves inc was selling several of the re-issued boxes for 20 dollars. But the only one I bought is the 60s quintet. I wish I had grabbed the Seven Steps box and a couple others.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

tortkis said:


> ^ I have most of the recordings except for the Paris concert. It is available as mp3 download but the sound quality is very bad. If the sound of Paris concert in that set is good, I am interested in getting it.
> 
> I just found this new release. (8/16/2019)
> Miles Davis: The Lost Recording (Sleepy Night Records)
> ...


Can't seem to track this down. Can you post a link to where you found it please. Much appreciated. I have a November 1969 of his band in Rotterdam but not a May recording.


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

I found it at Presto Jazz.
https://www.prestomusic.com/jazz/products/8625169--miles-davis-the-lost-quintet
Label: Sleepy Night Records
Catalogue No: SNRCD013

_Miles and his Quintet were on their 1969 European tour, promoting the 'Bitches Brew' album.

Recorded on 11th May 1969 in Rotterdam, the recordings were lost for years and now available brilliantly remastered as a CD._

The title seems to be Miles Davis The Lost Quintet. The label page does not contain any info.
https://www.sleepynight-shop.com/product/coming-soon-miles-davis-the-lost-quintet

Actually, I cannot find a record of the quintet's Europe tour in May 1969. I am not sure if that recording date or the location is accurate. It's better to confirm before purchasing.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

tortkis said:


> I found it at Presto Jazz.
> https://www.prestomusic.com/jazz/products/8625169--miles-davis-the-lost-quintet
> Label: Sleepy Night Records
> Catalogue No: SNRCD013
> ...


I have to admit, like you, I have my doubts about the provenance of this "Lost recording". I'm pretty sure they were never in Rotterdam in May 1969. I'd need to hear it and compare it with the November recording I have to see if it's the same thing and a mis-dating.


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

According to this Miles Davis concert map, there was a concert in Philadelphia on May 11, 1969.

https://www.setlist.fm/stats/concert-map/miles-davis-3d6b58b.html?year=1969
The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
May 11, 1969


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

So either we are going to get a cd of the Philly gig (correct date) or the Rotterdam gig (wrong date!). I'll sample it when it gets released and hear if it sounds the same as the Rotterdam cd I have. The timings might give it away but hearing is believing.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I'm groovin' to the Miles & Coltrane Paris Concert 1960 from the Sony Bootleg Series Vol 6. It sounds pretty darn good! There is a touch of distortion on some of the louder trumpet phrases, but it's not a major issue. I'm sure it's better than that MP3 Tortkis heard. Whether or not one is a fan of Coltrane's mercurial solos on this tour is another matter. To my ears it's not some of his better playing, and I enjoy it more when he's not soloing. The set comes with a very classy booklet containing some great photos I've not seen before. For 20 dollars it's a great set!


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)

As a kind of limited Top 10 overview I go with:

Birth of The Cool
Cookin'
Miles Ahead
Ascenseur Pour L'echafaud
Kind of Blue
...at Carnegie Hall
Miles Smiles 
Filles de Kilimanjaro
In A Silent Way
Jack Johnson


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## NLAdriaan (Feb 6, 2019)

My top favourite Miles album is the recording of the complete live concert at Lincoln Center NY, February 12, 1964, originally issued on two strange separate albums (one for the ballads and one for the uptempo): Four & More and My Funny Valentine.

Fortunately, the album was issued in 1992 as:








This is the most energetic jazz quintet imaginable, with Tony Williams as the force of nature, who constantly changes tempi to push everyone upto the limit...and beyond.

In Miles Autobiography, he writes that there was a fight within the band over payment or whatever that day, which they are clearly fighting out during the concert.

Anyhow, from all Miles albums, this one I like best.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

NLAdriaan said:


> My top favourite Miles album is the recording of the complete live concert at Lincoln Center NY, February 12, 1964, originally issued on two strange separate albums (one for the ballads and one for the uptempo): Four & More and My Funny Valentine.
> 
> Fortunately, the album was issued in 1992 as:
> View attachment 121601
> ...


Relatively recent purchase of mine. One of the on-line audiophile stores had the MFSL masterings of each album on sale for $15 (IIRC). I'm not a big believer in audiophile live albums, but I figured why not. While I started with the first quintet, I've now grown to prefer the second quintet overall, and these include 80% of them.

MFSL has recently released remastered versions of "Miles Smiles" and "Porgy and Bess." Even though I have both albums (including the early Sony SACD of "Miles Smiles"), they are on my wish list.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

NLAdriaan said:


> My top favourite Miles album is the recording of the complete live concert at Lincoln Center NY, February 12, 1964, originally issued on two strange separate albums (one for the ballads and one for the uptempo): Four & More and My Funny Valentine.
> 
> Fortunately, the album was issued in 1992 as:
> View attachment 121601
> ...


that version of My bloody Valentine is amazing. Maybe not the most the one I would recommend to someone who doesn't know the melody of the tune, bu t a really deep version of the song witouth a doubt


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

FYI - Tidal will sell you the complete "Live from the Plugged Nickel" set as a download. $37 for MP3; $67 for FLAC. I'm pretty sure you don't need to be a suscriber. I've streamed it, but haven't pulled the plug (pun intended) on a purchase.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Miles In Tokyo with Sam Rivers is another excellent live disc.


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

starthrower said:


> I'm groovin' to the Miles & Coltrane Paris Concert 1960 from the Sony Bootleg Series Vol 6. It sounds pretty darn good! There is a touch of distortion on some of the louder trumpet phrases, but it's not a major issue. I'm sure it's better than that MP3 Tortkis heard. Whether or not one is a fan of Coltrane's mercurial solos on this tour is another matter. To my ears it's not some of his better playing, and I enjoy it more when he's not soloing. The set comes with a very classy booklet containing some great photos I've not seen before. For 20 dollars it's a great set!


I listened to the bootleg series vol. 6. Yes, the sound of the Paris concert (March 21, 1960) is very good. The bass sound is clearly captured and I was impressed with Chambers's performance. The Copenhagen concert recording (March 24, 1960) sounds much better than "All of You: The Last Tour, 1960". Miles Davis's playing is very good in these concerts - precise, restrained yet strong. These tour albums and the 1961 Village Vanguard are my favorite Coltrane recordings. I listened to the Stockholm recording many times but it still sounds quite thrilling.

I've been listening to some bootlegs recently. The recording sounds of these albums are relatively good.

Shinjuku Kosei Nenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan, June 19th, 1973








Powerful and intense. Superb.

Live at the Hollywood Bowl, September 25, 1981








Miles's trumpet was still unstable and Evans (sax) is not so interesting to me, but I love the 1981 band very much. It is jazzier and there are some loose, spontaneous and pleasant moods.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

norman bates said:


> that version of My bloody Valentine is amazing. Maybe not the most the one I would recommend to someone who doesn't know the melody of the tune, bu t a really deep version of the song witouth a doubt


I'm thinking it might be My Funny Valentine rather than the indie band!


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

Barbebleu said:


> I'm thinking it might be My Funny Valentine rather than the indie band!


yes, definitely a lapsus :lol:


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Barbebleu said:


> So either we are going to get a cd of the Philly gig (correct date) or the Rotterdam gig (wrong date!). I'll sample it when it gets released and hear if it sounds the same as the Rotterdam cd I have. The timings might give it away but hearing is believing.


According to a comment by Tracy Parsons on this youtube clip, it is the Rotterdam concert in November 11, 1969.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Miles Davis is one the artists I would take to my desert island. His entire recorded collection is filled with masterpieces of Jazz. But for me the sweetest spot is the period from 1955-1967.

This 12 year span included these recordings (live and studio) - Title (recording date):

_Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet _(1955)
_Cookin'_ (1956)
_Relaxin'_ (1956)
_Workin'_ (1956)
_Steamin'_ (1956)
_'Round About Midnight_ (1955-56)
_Miles Ahead_ (1957)
_Milestones_ (1958)
_Porgy and Bess_ (1958)
_Kind of Blue_ (1959)
_Sketches of Spain_ (1959)
_Someday My Prince Will Come_ (1961)
_In Person Friday Nights at the Blackhawk, San Francisco_ (1961)
_Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall _(1961)
_Seven Steps to Heaven_ (1963)
_Miles Davis in Europe_ (1963)
_My Funny Valentine_ (1964)
_Four & More_ (1964)
_Miles in Tokyo_ (1964)
_Miles in Berlin_ (1964)
_E.S.P. _(1965)
_At Plugged Nickel, Chicago_ (1965)
_Miles Smiles_ (1966)
_Sorcerer_ (1967)
_Nefertiti_ (1967)

This period contains both the Great Quintets; the three classic collaborations with Gil Evans; as well as the greatest Jazz record ever made, _Kind of Blue_.


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