Customer Reviews

Broadcast Sessions 1958-1959

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Approximately 70 minutes,digitally mastered. The sound is fine for tracks recorded fifty years ago,even the bass has it's own individual sound-not to muddy. This is a nice example of what Miles Davis was playing in concert(and in the studio) during this time. Any tracks that include Davis' first great group will excite the jazz/Davis devotee. Be aware that track four,labeled incomplete,is just that-a few seconds of music and then announcer talk over it. It would be nice to have complete tracks but the announcements,that are interspersed throughout,give a feel for the time these recordings were made, some people may find them annoying.

By now everyone knows these tracks (but if you don't are you in for a treat )so no comment is needed. Track eight is a bit different in that there is a fairly long percussion duel at the end. The rest of the tracks are what Miles Davis is all about. Having Coltrane,Bill Evans,"Cannonball"Adderley,and the rest of Davis' first great group playing as only they could is to hear jazz at it's finest. Track eight includes Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax which lends this song something extra.

The booklet gives pertinent information as it relates to these sides and the times when they were recorded. Outside of a couple of things such as no individual track times and spelling Wynton Kelly's name as "Wyonton",and a few mix-ups with who is playing when,the information gives a better insight into this music. If you like Davis during this period-pick this up,you won't be disappointed.

This is a reissue of the compilation "Miles Davis All-Stars Live in 1958-59" long available on the Jazz Band label. My original review of that record is below. Note that Miles is NOT present on track 8, "What is This Thing Called Love?".

This is one of the best collections of live jazz performances out there. In various combinations, these are the bands that created both Milestones and Kind of Blue. Considering the quality and quantity of the music on this disc, it's one of the best bargains for your buck. The first song is a fourteen minute live version of "Bags' Groove," the only recording of Miles playing this song live! The last song, an 11 minute "all-star" TV performance of "What is This Thing Called Love?" does not even have Miles Davis playing on it, but it doesn't matter. If you like Miles, Cannonball, Trane, Bill Evans, et. al., you HAVE to get this disc. Hurry before the supply runs out. If another label issues these tracks, the price is sure to increase. One of my most prized Miles recordings.

This CD contains 3 Miles Davis sessions with Coltrane and (on some) Cannonball, plus the weirdly inappropriate Track 8.
The same 3 sessions, minus track 8 but plus a fourth broadcast (3 tracks w/ Adderley, Trane, and Bill Evans from the Spotlight Lounge, Washington D.C, June 30, 1958) NOT included here are available as "Radio Broadcasts 1958-1959 [IMPORT]." I'd go with that instead.

Tr 8
"What is this thing called love" is listed incorrectly as a Miles Davis item. It is a Gerry Mulligan session dated November 1958.
Art Farmer (tp) Jimmy Cleveland (tb) Gigi Gryce (as) Gerry Mulligan (bar) Jimmy Jones (p) Kenny Burrell (el-g), Vinnie Burke (b) poss. Barry Miles (d) Candido Camero (cga)
TV-Cast "Art Ford Jazz Party", New York, November 20, 1958.

Except for this blunder - a great addition to the canon. Can never be enough of Cannon, Trane, Bill and Miles.

I agree with the other reviewers that the music on this disc is excellent but the often inane radio hosts' commentary interspersed between (and sometimes OVER) the music ruined it for me. The only way I will listen to this disc more than a couple of times is to port it to my computer and edit out all the hokey 50's-era radio drivel that was unfortunately included with the music. The commentary isn't informative and is sometimes embarrassing The disk starts out with the announcer calling Miles "controversial" and saying many or most people don't like his music. Give me a break. Miles was at the peak of his career when these recordings were made and this was very much main stream. Great music poorly packaged.

Great playing,that fills a gap between the seminal Milestones and Kind of Blue albums. Trane is a little more experimental,as he was wont to be in concert, and Cannonball is upbeat and refreshing. Too bad a few Trane solos are cut off by the announcer. Still there is more great playing here than most albums of the time.

A most interesting CD of previously unreleased material of Radio Broadcasts. The Band sounds curiously laid back on the first couple of tracks with , suprisingly ,an almost ' West Coast ' feel . The booklet has a number of mistakes that more careful editing should have eradicated -- Nat Adderly plays trumpet/cornet not Clarinet on Track 8, which also features a splendid Kenny Burrrell solo although he does not get a mention anywhere , neither does the Bassist. I doubt that Miles plays on this track at all as it appears to be Nat throughout --- otherwise a First Class issue that ,Track 8 excepted ,adds a further dimension to this Band's limited Live material. A 'Must Have ' CD.

This CD really makes me nostalgic about the Fifties. Miles on the radio. Billie Holiday on Omnibus. Jazz on the Ed Sullivan Show. Even Symphony Sid. Super performances in what was probably a discomfiting environment. When you're great, you're great!!!