On June 7, 1955, Miles Davis recorded Musings of Miles for Prestige. One of the tracks for the album was “A Gal in Calico," composed by Arthur Schwartz. It was introduced in the 1946 film The Time, the Place and the Girl.
Musings of Miles was the trumpeter's first 12-inch LP (earlier ones were 10 inches). The musicians were Miles Davis (tp), Red Garland (p), Oscar Pettiford (b) and Philly Joe Jones (d). Garland and Jones would go on to join Davis's first great quintet later that year when they began to record for Columbia after Davis signed with the label.
What's special about this track is the thinness of Davis's trumpet lines. Instead of blaring, which was in vogue then with Clifford Brown and other hard bop trumpeters, Davis sounded as if he was talking to himself about weighing options and not being able to make up his mind. The sound was both fragile and confident, not to mention lyrical.
The other element that makes this track sublime is Red Garland's piano. He opens the song with a modified swinging fanfare, shifting to block chords halfway into his solo. Garland was elegantly bluesy and ideal for Davis.
Here's Miles Davis playing A Gal in Calico...
Musings of Miles was the trumpeter's first 12-inch LP (earlier ones were 10 inches). The musicians were Miles Davis (tp), Red Garland (p), Oscar Pettiford (b) and Philly Joe Jones (d). Garland and Jones would go on to join Davis's first great quintet later that year when they began to record for Columbia after Davis signed with the label.
What's special about this track is the thinness of Davis's trumpet lines. Instead of blaring, which was in vogue then with Clifford Brown and other hard bop trumpeters, Davis sounded as if he was talking to himself about weighing options and not being able to make up his mind. The sound was both fragile and confident, not to mention lyrical.
The other element that makes this track sublime is Red Garland's piano. He opens the song with a modified swinging fanfare, shifting to block chords halfway into his solo. Garland was elegantly bluesy and ideal for Davis.
Here's Miles Davis playing A Gal in Calico...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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