Customer Reviews

Complete Columbia Recordings 1955-1961

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Who should buy this set? Well first of all anyone interested in Miles Davis or John Coltrane and especially their interplay together will probably be interested, but this set seems to have been made for the completist or armchair jazz scholar. This is more of a personal library piece, to be treated as such rather than an introduction or overview of these two jazz "giants". This set covers Miles Davis' work with John Coltrane during Miles' time with Columbia Records. The albums that this would entail are:
'Round About Midnight
Milestones
Miles At Newport
Kind Of Blue
Someday My Prince Will Come
As well as many alternate takes and live recordings not found on these albums.
So you may have heard that Kind Of Blue is a great starting point for jazz. This colletion comprises that entire album and some alternate takes, but the disc that has that album has another song at the beginning and some Miles Davis comments as well as presenting the tracks out of order from the original album order. There is nothing like putting in Kind Of Blue for the first time, hearing the low bass strumming and the explosion of Miles' first notes of "So What". Here you would have to skip to track 4 and then back around for that experience. Or what if (like me) Someday My Prince Will Come is one of your favorite albums by early Columbia Miles Davis. Sadly Coltrane did not play with Miles on every track so the album is not included here in its entirety for obvious reasons. Many times alternate takes are placed one after the other for comparison sake. Rather than listening to these discs like albums with an overall feel, these discs should really be approached as study guides and keys to the interworking of Miles and Trane.
If you are new to jazz or at least to Miles and Coltrane then buy Kind Of Blue and explore it over and over, buy Someday My Prince Will Come and listen to "Pfrancing" and see if it does not speak to you.
If you have the aforementioned albums and you do not really care about alternate takes or the liner notes, then this set was not made for you.
If you have had the aforementioned albums for some time and you love Miles and Trane, buy this set and dig deeper. Listen to the alternate takes placed next to the takes you remember from the albums. Study Miles and Trane together, the call and response, the give and take. Read the wonderful booklet enclosed with the set and learn more about Miles and trane and the other musicians in this classic quintet.

Well, if you were like me when you bought this, then you've already listened to Miles and Trane, maybe not extensively but enough to know you might want this. You've seen what the music is that's contained in the box set and listened to the samples but why should you get it? There are a lot of alternate takes on this box set, which to some people might get annoying and repetitive but if you're a musician or just a fan of miles and trane, then each of these has their own value to them. As a drummer, i love the fact that i can hear multiple tracks of Two Bass Hit which features a different solo from philly joe jones each time. If you're not a musician then i still think you should get this. Let's face it, in terms of jazz being published on cds, welllll it's probably not going to happen for much longer. Everything is going digital and sure maybe you can get this on itunes, but personally i love being able to physically have my set. Miles and trane are gone and not many people listen to jazz, so if my computer crashes, i can always at least revert back to the cds. I think if you're a fan of jazz, this collection is a must own.

As the title suggests Miles Davis and his music is my passion. This collection W/John Coltrane is the very best music in the world. I received it promptly and Was listening right away, no complaints. As always amazon is straight ahead.

Saw this collection of Miles Davis CD's recommended by the CBS Sunday Morning show and received them two days later. Great CD's and I purchased two sets for gifts. highly recommend. Thank you. AAA+

There is something about the sessions between Miles and Coltrane that are magical. This boxed set will appeal to many jazz fans,whether you are a student of Jazz, an aspiring musician or just some one who loves good music. This collaboration of Miles and Coltrane has something for everyone. From the muted trumpet of Miles on the classic "Someday My Prince Will Come" to the up tempo riffs on "Straight No Chaser" The two giants of jazz rise to the occasion, pushing each other to new highs in music. This is a must for a complete jazz collection.

Well this is the one that most jazz purists were waiting for. Released in 2000 , it is the 4th of the 8 boxes covering Miles' Columbia recordings.It would be the 1st chronologically. Two men of jazz genius defining what is jazz. Is it the best of the 8 boxes ? You decide. But in order to decide , you will need to add it to your cart , along with the other 7 !

this may be a bit expansive for those wanting to wade in the waters of miles/'trane,but for those who crave quantity this set is awesome(and the quality of the packaging couldn't be more slick!)

Though the Bill Evans Fantasy box typically takes a back seat to his Riverside (and for some, to his Verve set as well) box, there is nothing to here to be ashamed of.

Evans' artistry shines on this set of 9 CDs as he further solidifies himself as the master of crystalline chord voicings, romantic melodicism and eager experimentalism. The selections include many recordings which would become "warhorses" for Evans, and the performances stand nicely next to any in his long career.

If I have a complaint - and it's a small one - it is Evans' embracing of the electric piano. I have always seen Evans as the quintessential acoustic piano player and, for me, he simply does not translate on the electric keyboard. It is like hearing the late-period electric guitar recordings of Django Reinhardt; Django on electric just doesn't sound like Django - and neither does Evans. Evans did have an experimental side, however, so it's easy to see why he might have been open to the Fender Rhodes.

Next to his more lauded Riverside work, this set comes off as more relaxed and bit heavier on the romanticism. As a result, many Evans afficianados actually prefer the Fantasy box to the Riverside. Being a huge Bill Evans fan, I think the two sets compliment each other, with the Riverside work being a bit more aggressive and searching, while the Fantasy set seems the work of an artist very comfortable in his own skin.

A nice bonus with this box is the inclusion on disc 9 of Evans' guest appearance on the popular public radio series, "Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz". Reproduced in its entirety, it is an excellent opportunity to explore the mind of one of jazz's greatest players & composers, all while enjoying Evans' magical playing. For someone known as typically reclusive, Evans is spry and forthcoming with his hostess and seems to relish the opportunity to talk music with kindred spirit McPartland.

If you are a fan of exquisite piano playing or of Bill Evans, you'll want this in your collection. Fortunately (and unlike the Riverside and Verve boxes), the Bill Evans Complete Fantasy Recordings CD box is still in print. But, as is the case with many of these fine box sets, we never know when they'll "disappear". If you have an interest, I'd recommend getting it while you can.