Miles Davis was born in Alton, Illinois in May, 1926. His parents encouraged
him in music at a young age, giving him a trumpet and starting him in lessons
(his father gave him the trumpet while his mother encouraged the piano). Davis
moved fast and started playing professionally locally at only 16 years of age
while still in High School. After graduating, he moved to New York City where
he began music studies at the Juilliard School of Music. While in New York he
began playing regularly at jam sessions in some Harlem nightclubs. Eventually,
Davis dropped out of school to concentrate on performing, bouncing between many
jazz bands including a stint with Charlie Parker Quintet where he also
contributed on their recordings. After Miles and Charlie Parker separated ties
(band friction caused by drugs and money issues), Miles began working mainly as
a freelancer. Fast forward several years of playing with some of the most
influential jazz musicians and battling a heroin addiction, Miles signed a
contract with Prestige records in 1951 where he began his solo career.
Green Haze was released in 1976 and is a rerelease of Miles’ first
two albums with Prestige Records: The
Musings of Miles; and Miles – The New
Miles Davis Quintet.
The Musings of Miles features Red Garland on piano, Oscar
Pettiford on bass, Philly Joe Jones on drums and, of course, Miles on
trumpet. This is the first 12" LP released by Miles, however he had
released some budget 10" LP's with Prestige prior. It was recorded
June 7th, 1955 at Rudy Ban Gelder's home studio (Gelder was a fames Jazz
recording engineer). This is a great introduction to Miles, an easy listen
with 4 traditional jazz songs and 2 originals. Wait until you hear the sound
quality they achieved in the 50’s... if only all albums were mixed this good.
Following the release of The
Musings of Miles, Davis’ band made a few switches. Paul Chambers replaced
Oscar Pettiford on bass, and John Coltrane was added to the lineup on tenor
saxophone, forming The New Miles Davis Quintet. The Miles album was his second full length LP but there were actually
recordings made between this album and The
Musings of Miles. After Musings
was released, Miles played at the Newport Jazz Festival where he was noticed by
Columbia Records executive George Avakian, who offered them a contract. They
reached an agreement where they could start recording, however, the material
could not be released until after Miles fulfilled his contract with Prestige.
So, while the album Round About Midnight
was recorded in November 1955, the previous month, they could only release it
when they were released from Prestige (this album was eventually released in
March 1957, their first from Columbia).
This album has a mix of Jazz standards and pop with “The Theme”
being the only song composed by Miles Davis. While I really like both of these
albums, I’d have to pick The New Miles
Davis Quintet as my favorite. Of course, the obvious introduction of John
Coltrane to the lineup sways my choice, but also Paul Chambers' addition on
bass also plays a major role. Chambers' bass playing is very modern sounding
for the time period, almost sounding like he could handle all of the rhythm
alone with his fast scale runs and tight timing. It’s pretty impressive
considering that the liner notes insists he was completely wasted drunk during
these sessions. He proved to be very influential to the genre.
I really like these early Prestige recordings of Miles, now begins
the quest to track down all those early 10” releases.
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