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Falling in Love with Jazz
by Ludovico Granvassu
This week we dive into the music that got me hooked on jazz, from crossover hits like Miles Davis' Bitches Brew and Dave Brubeck's “Take Five" to maybe lesser-known, but equally fabulous, tracks by Marc Ribot, Dave Holland, and more. If you don't usually listen to jazz, this episode could be a good place to start. Some of these songs are accessible enough to have a made a dumb teenager in New Jersey (me) pay attention--and they still ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis, John Coltrane: The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6
by Maurizio Comandini
Quante volte avete sentito qualche appassionato affermare che Kind of Blue di Miles Davis è il miglior disco da consigliare ad un amico che vuole iniziare ad ascoltare il jazz? Bene, il consiglio è certamente pertinente, anche se ci sono ovviamente altri mille dischi che possono fungere da entry point. Con questo cofanetto di quattro CD appena pubblicato nella Bootleg Series della Sony, avrete l'occasione di proporre anche un'alternativa registrata dal vivo. Un'alternativa che resta comunque nell'ambito stilistico dell'hard bop ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: Miles Davis & John Coltrane - The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6
by Doug Collette
It's a measure of Miles Davis' great respect for John Coltrane that the well-established jazz icon would ask the jazz icon in-the-making to do one more tour (of Europe) as the final component of latter's second stint in a quartet led by the man with the horn. The closure had begun with Coltrane's prior resignation, as noted in Ashley Kahn's scrupulously-detailed liner notes, which may account for both the familiarity of the chosen repertoire here as well as the sense ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: Miles Davis & John Coltrane - The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6
by Mike Jurkovic
As discussed at length in the liners by Ashley Kahn, the general consensus at the time (and a theory Miles' held strongly too) was that his landmark Quintet --Miles Davis, John Coltrane, bassist Paul Chambers, drummer Jimmy Cobb and flight fingered pianist Wynton Kelly--was on its last leg, and you could cut the personal and creative tension with a dull knife. But Kahn also argues that one can look at conflict of any kind as 1) a PR move to ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: Milestones
by C. Michael Bailey
Milestones was Miles Davis' third Columbia release after 'Round About Midnight (1957) and Miles Ahead (1957). The recording was made during one of Davis' most creatively intense periods, preceding his recording of the soundtrack for Ascenseur Pour L'echafaud (Fontana, 1958) in late 1957 and the subsequent recordings of Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else (Blue Note, 1958) and the repertoire that would become Kind of Blue (Columbia, 1959). Milestones is significant as a creative hinge period between Davis' bebop/hard bop ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis Quintet: Relaxin’ With the Miles Davis Quintet
by C. Michael Bailey
Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet was the second of four releases resulting from Davis' famous May and October 1956 marathon sessions. The other three recordings were Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet (1957), Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet (1959), and Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet (1961). All of the music from these sessions would eventually collected and released on The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions (2006). Chronologically, Relaxin' shows up between Bag's Groove (Prestige, 1957) and Miles Davis ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: Freedom Jazz Dance: The Bootleg Series Vol. 5
by Maurizio Comandini
Sony Music continua a distillare preziose testimonianze tratte dalla lunga carriera artistica del trombettista Miles Davis, l'icona più trasversale e significativa espressa dalla musica nel secolo passato. Questa volta ci troviamo alle prese con il quinto capitolo della saga intitolata “The Bootleg Series" e assistiamo incuriositi ad un cambio di rotta strutturale davvero importante. I primi quattro volumi, eccellenti, avevano avuto il merito di proporre tutta una serie di esibizioni dal vivo dei gruppi di Miles Davis, questa volta invece ...
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