Released: 1956
Tracks: ‘Round Midnight; Ah-Leu-Cha; All of You; Bye Bye Blackbird; Tadd’s Delight; Dear Old Stockholm
Best track: too hard, I guess I’ll pick ‘Round Midnight
Track to skip: none, duh!
I have to admit that I have never really actively listened to this album. I’ve had it for a few years and every time I played it, I just kinda had it on in the background. I never really listened to what each player was doing (and still on one listen it’s pretty hard when you have Davis, Coltrane, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums; they’re all great players), so it’s almost like I’m experiencing this album with fresh ears. Even this early in his career (11 years) Miles was just playing the perfect things all the time. Coltrane is a little bit subdued compared to what he’d become, but his tone is beautiful. Red Garland doesn’t get too many piano solos, but when he does it’s great. So yeah, this is mostly about Miles and Trane.
Miles does a fantastic solo in Thelonious Monk’s ‘Round Midnight. It’s so gorgeous. I have no idea why I never noticed Miles’ part on the main theme of Ah-Leu-Cha, because it’s awesome. At first it sounds pretty chaotic, with Miles and Coltrane playing totally different melodies on top of each other, but when you actually concentrate on what each player is doing it’s rather incredible. All 6 of these songs are really good and the solos and band interplay show why this is probably the most famous jazz quintet ever.
The remastered version of this album came out a few years ago and it features 4 bonus tracks. I’m so tempted to go get that, but I know that all the tracks are on the Miles Davis/John Coltrane box set. This is a great album with even better stuff to come. It’s more than worth your time.
Rating: 93
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