Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Jazz 101: The Miles Davis Quintet

One of the most storied groups in this history of jazz, The Miles Davis Quintet played together for only a short period from 1955-1957--but they were some very good years!

In this post I call your attention to four must-own releases from the Quintet. These LPs were culled from two recording sessions. They're impressive because of the familiarity born out of playing so many live dates together. Read the reviews and check out the samples below.

Five Superb Musicians
Miles Davis (Trumpet)
John Coltrane (Tenor Sax)
Red Garland (Piano)
Paul Chambers (Bass)
Philly Joe Jones (Drums)
+
Two Legendary Recording Sessions
=
Four Great Albums
Cookin' With The Miles Davis Quintet
Relaxin' With The Miles Davis Quintet
Workin' With The Miles Davis Quintet
Steamin' With The Miles Davis Quintet

Here is one number from each album:

The Miles Davis Quintet - My Funny Valentine (buy Cookin')
The Miles Davis Quintet - Oleo (buy Relaxin')
The Miles Davis Quintet - It Never Entered My Mind (buy Workin')
The Miles Davis Quintet - Well, You Needn't (buy Steamin')

I believe that all four albums are available for a very reasonable price at E-Music (a service worth checking out).

If you are interested in jazz trumpet, then please visit my recent "jazz" post over at the Star Maker Machine blog, which include a song from another great LP by the Miles Davis Quintet:

Four Trumpeters From The Golden Age Of Jazz

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I;m enjoying these Jazz 101 posts. I'm a lover, but a not very informed one, of jazz and these posts are great to helm me learn a bit more.

I can argue, however, for Davis' band that recorded 'Kind of Blue'. The one that included Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley.

Anonymous said...

Kind of Blue is my No. 1 favorite Jazz Album.

Anonymous said...

Free man - Have you checked out "Something Else" by Cannonball Adderly? It's quite similar to Kind of Blue and pretty much the same band. Another great album.

Glenn said...

For '50s Miles, I'll put in a vote for Milestones. But all the records mentioned here are unimpeachable.

Anonymous said...

Couple sources that I think might be useful to casual jazz fans who wants to learn more about it, including artists who are not, you know, dead.

http://jazzitude.com/

http://floodwatchmusic.com/category/jazz-is-for-wankers/

(I do wish Flood would write more about jazz and less about hip-hop and metal, and I also which he'd keep the mp3s up longer, but everything he writes is interesting, and his jazz taste is impeccable)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the links godoggo.

The vast majority of music I like (jazz and country especially) was performed by people who are now dead.

Santo said...

Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet was the first album in what has grown to be a pretty extensive jazz collection, and what a great way to start to get to know the genre. "If I Were A Bell" still ranks as one of my all-time favorites.

This has been my favorite music blog for the past several months -- please keep it comin'!

WZJN said...

You are spot on with the Davis post. When you realize the giants that he had with him at the moment - all in one band, you can't help but be humbled. Great post!