Miles Davis - trumpet & flugelhorn
Gil Evans - arranger & conductor
with various concert band ensembles.
1. My Ship
2. Miles Ahead
3. Blues For Pablo
4. Gone
5. My Man's Gone Now
6. It Ain't Necessarily So
7. Summertime
8. I Loves You Porgy
9. Concierto De Aranjuez
10. Wait Till You See Her
11. Corcovado
12. The Time Of The Barracudas
This compilation is drawn from the albums " Porgy
& Bess", "Miles Ahead," Sketches Of Spain" and "Quiet Nights.
" The only reservation I have about its release is that it contains
such classic material that anyone who enjoys it will wish to own the
original sessions in their entirety. Once again this disc asks the
question as to whether we need so many compilations - perhaps they
will attract new listeners, but there is a strong feeling that these
releases might, in fact, cut down on the sales of the genuine albums,
which were , in the most part , issued as concept records.
"Porgy & Bess" was perhaps the first music of
Miles Davis that I really appreciated - it seemed much easier on my
ear than some of the small group recordings - with experience as a
listener I came to appreciate the other side of Davis just as much,
both in his earlier and later offerings. There are still a great many
delights from this session which do not appear here such as "Prayer"
and "The Buzzard Song". The same can be said for each of the albums
represented here. This is wonderful modern orchestral Jazz in which
the arrangements and concepts of Gil Evans form the perfect marriage
with the trumpet and flugel horn of Miles Davis.
This is lyrical Jazz at its best and has been written
about more times than can possibly be mentioned. All I will say is
if the listener is unfamiliar with this music, then buy it by all
means - it is cheap enough - however for anyone who is already acquainted
to any degree with these records I would strongly advise them to seek
out each session in its complete format - they are all readily available.
Dick Stafford
CD Reviews
Columbia Jazz SMM
