Miles Davis

Miles Davis’ quintet was formed in 1955 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest combos in jazz history. Miles had been recording for the small jazz label Prestige, which didn’t have a wide distribution. However, after his success at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival, he received a substantial offer from the recording giant Columbia. The sides included on this CD all come from Miles’ initial years with that big label. “Little Melonae”, “Budo”, “Sweet Sue, Just You”, and “Two Bass Hit” were recorded in 1955-56, during the sessions that also produced Miles’ first LP for Columbia, ‘Round About Midnight. “Fran-Dance”, “Stella by Starlight” and the studio version of “On Green Dolphin Street” come from an amazing 1958 session by the Miles Davis sextet including Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, John Coltrane and Bill Evans. After Coltrane left Miles in 1960, the trumpeter had a hard time finding a replacement. His first choice was Sonny Stitt, but by March 1961 the saxophonist had already left the group. The LP Someday My Prince Will Come marked the first time Miles recorded with Hank Mobley. The track featuring Mobley which is included here (A4) gives clear evidence that the saxophonist’s playing fit the group quite well.

PERSONNEL:

MILES DAVIS, trumpet, on all tracks, plus:

A1-A3 & B4: John Coltrane (ts), Red Garland (p), Paul Chambers (b), Philly Joe Jones (d).
New York, October 26, 1955 (tracks A1-A2 & B4) & September 10, 1956 (track A3).

B1-B3: Julian “Cannonball” Adderley (as), John Coltrane (ts),
Bill Evans (p), Paul Chambers (b), Jimmy Cobb (d).
New York, May 26, 1958.

A4: Hank Mobley (ts), Wynton Kelly (p), Paul Chambers (b), Jimmy Cobb (d).

Recorded live at the Blackhawk, San Francisco, Friday, April 21, 1961.

Original recordings produced by Teo Macero (A1-A3 & SIDE B), & Irving Townsend (A4).

SIDE A:
1 LITTLE MELONAE (Jackie McLean) 7:22
2 BUDO (Bud Powell-Miles Davis) 4:17
3 SWEET SUE, JUST YOU (Victor Young-W. Harris) 3:40
4 ON GREEN DOLPHIN STREET [Live version] (Bronislaw Kaper-Ned Washington) 12:12

SIDE B:
1 ON GREEN DOLPHIN STREET [Studio version] (Bronislaw Kaper-Ned Washington) 9:49
2 FRAN-DANCE (Miles Davis) 5:49
3 STELLA BY STARLIGHT (Victor Young-Ned Washington) 4:43
4 TWO BASS HIT (John Lewis-Dizzy Gillespie) 3:45