Miles Davis's Miles Ahead: Miles +19 for Columbia is one of jazz's most exquisite orchestral albums. The LP was arranged by Gil Evans, who, with Davis, selected nine jazz songs plus an Evans-Davis original and dressed them up in a modernist, Thornhillian style.
The result is spectacular. Davis on flugelhorn is gentle and at times even meek as Evans's orchestrations descend on him like a violet mist. It's pure musical poetry.
One should note that Evans and Davis were together on Davis's Birth of the Cool recording sessions in 1949 and 1950. In some ways, Miles Ahead is an expanded articulation of the airy feel on those earlier nonet recordings.
Back in 2009, I posted on the inspiration for each song on Miles Ahead. It's fun to listen to the originals on YouTube, so you can hear how Evans dressed them up.
The Miles Ahead personnel: Miles Davis (flghn); Bernie Glow (lead tp); John Carisi, Taft Jordan, Louis Mucci and Ernie Royal (tp); Joe Bennett, Jimmy Cleveland and Frank Rehak (tb); Tom Mitchell (bass tb); Jim Buffington, Tony Miranda and Willie Ruff (Fr hn); Bill Barber (tuba); Lee Konitz (as); Danny Bank (bass cl); Sid Cooper and Romeo Penque (fl,cl); Paul Chambers (b), Art Taylor (d); Wynton Kelly (p) and Gil Evans (arr,conductor).
Here's the complete Miles Ahead: Miles Davis +19 without ad interruptions...
The result is spectacular. Davis on flugelhorn is gentle and at times even meek as Evans's orchestrations descend on him like a violet mist. It's pure musical poetry.
One should note that Evans and Davis were together on Davis's Birth of the Cool recording sessions in 1949 and 1950. In some ways, Miles Ahead is an expanded articulation of the airy feel on those earlier nonet recordings.
Back in 2009, I posted on the inspiration for each song on Miles Ahead. It's fun to listen to the originals on YouTube, so you can hear how Evans dressed them up.
The Miles Ahead personnel: Miles Davis (flghn); Bernie Glow (lead tp); John Carisi, Taft Jordan, Louis Mucci and Ernie Royal (tp); Joe Bennett, Jimmy Cleveland and Frank Rehak (tb); Tom Mitchell (bass tb); Jim Buffington, Tony Miranda and Willie Ruff (Fr hn); Bill Barber (tuba); Lee Konitz (as); Danny Bank (bass cl); Sid Cooper and Romeo Penque (fl,cl); Paul Chambers (b), Art Taylor (d); Wynton Kelly (p) and Gil Evans (arr,conductor).
Here's the complete Miles Ahead: Miles Davis +19 without ad interruptions...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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