Customer Reviews

The Complete Columbia Recordings: Miles Davis & John Coltrane

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's a given that the music included here is remarkable and timeless (by Miles' or anybody's standards), covering such classic Davis albums as ROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT, MILESTONES, JAZZ AT THE PLAZA, AT NEWPORT, JAZZ TRACK, and KIND OF BLUE. How many other recordings from this era can one objectively say still offer surprises upon each successive listen? It's also a given that the sound quality is awesome--some tracks are in first-time REAL stereo, and Miles' piercing muted trumpet sounds more than ever like it is positioned right in your living room! Also, without exception Miles' chosen personnel have something above-the-ordinary to contribute to the quality of the music: from John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and Cannonball Adderley to drummers Philly Joe Jones and Jimmy Cobb...and everyone in between! And lastly, the packaging is very compact, attractive and informative (although they'd be easier to read if the booklets were removable).

Probably the question for a potential buyer is: do I need ninety minutes of alternate takes? Often successive takes are difficult to distinguish (such as on Billie Holiday's COMPLETE COMMODORE RECORDINGS), and thus a bit of a chore to sit through even if the music itself is outstanding. However, here the improvisations differ significantly from cut to cut, and the opportunity to hear such peerless musicians as Miles and Trane getting additional opportunities to put their musically-inquisitive minds and deeper-than-deep emotions on display overrides the fact that you're often hearing the "same song" two-plus times in a row. If ever you might opt to splurge for the extras, Miles Davis' music would be it. Actually, it's not much of a splurge, because to get the individual CDs if/when they are reissued--KIND OF BLUE is already available--will cost insignificantly less than to purchase this collection! And here you always have the option to skip over the extras and listen only to the original album tracks (which are noted in the liner notes).

It is true that Columbia are milking the cow for all it's worth in regard to recycling the music of Mr Davis - on the other hand when we're talking about some of the best music of the 20th century regardless of genre then I'm not one to complain. I presently have a Mastersound edition of both KIND OF BLUE and MILESTONES courtesy Japan which is the sixth edition of the former and the fourth edition of the latter I have owned. Of all the music I have, KIND OF BLUE and MILESTONES (BILLY BOY is a ring in I reckon) are the albums I have most frequently played over the past 40 years. Still they sound as fresh and wondrous as the day I first heard them. I've bought this present reincarnation of them because: a) the music is placed in context b) MILESTONES is in stereo for the first time; c)I have never heard AT THE PLAZA; d)I'm partial to the husky, minimalist,croakings of Mr Davis himself, his scratchy, gasping TEO at the end of one piece of music echoes in one's head; e) there are two versions of FLAMENCO SKETCHES one of the masterpieces of Modern Music. Mr Davis IS modern jazz. This is "can't live without" music. Genius.

What I'm struck by most after listening to this incredible brick of classic jazz is how happy the music sounds: Davis and Coltrane may have gone on to even greater challenges, but I don't think either of them ever played with such unbridled joy again. As just one example, listen to the alternate take of "Tadd's Delight" at the end of CD #1: loose, swinging like mad, it's one of the most carefree-sounding four minutes and 18 seconds of music you could ever hope to hear. But the energy and enthusiasm are only part of the story: the solos are highly demanding, endlessly inventive, and seem to change every time you hear them.

The whole set documents two of the best musicians ever to walk the earth at a special time in their development -- when they were continuing to push the envelope but were still playing in a more traditional context than they would even just a few years later. While Coltrane eventually shot beyond the confines of earth into interstellar space and Miles The Sorcerer would churn up much darker brews, these CDs still stand among the best jazz ever recorded.

Buy it and be enriched.

As music goes, this is of course great stuff. Of particular interest is hearing how quickly Coltrane's style changed and grew during these short years. The Davis-Coltrane partnership deserves to be preserved, no doubt. As a box-set, it comes across as bloated and poorly organized. The multiple takes (five versions of "Two-Bass Hit" alone) start to grate on your nerves after the first listen, and the live set from the Persian Room is nothing outstanding. The documentation is also poor; you have to do a lot of searching and cross-referencing to see what tracks are on the CD's in the set, what albums they originally appeared on, and who played during the sessions.

There are a few box sets which every fan of music must have. This is one of them. It is too hard to come up with superlatives which adequately describe this set of music. Simply put, this is one of the finest collections of music there is available. Miles Davis put together one of the sweetest sounding group of jazz musicians ever: with Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Philly Joe Jones, Bill Evans, and a few notable others. I think that the era these six discs covers is the zenith of jazz music.

Included are the essential cuts which made up "Milesstones"', "Round About Midnight" and other classic music. Whether your tasts run to the be-bop of "budo" or "Two Bass Hits" or the smooth, cool jazz typified by "So What" or "All Blues" (or the whole "Kind of Blue" album for that matter) THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE.

Somewhere, someone has created better jazz music. I just have not heard it yet. Until I do, this will more than suffice.

Others have covered the potential for duplication in your collection, the composition of the 90 or so minutes of new material (alt takes and dialogue), and the merits thereof. Simply, this release is personal, historical, and insightful. Some of the greatest musical prose of this century are contained in an economic but nicely packaged 6 CD set. The music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane is powerful yet subtle without any self impressed brilliance. You probably already bought the latest 20-bit "Kind Of Blue" release, but if you can treat yourself to this fine set which includeds 100 pages of pictures, essays, and session details, I think you will be pleased.

Bought this (metal) box set when it first came out. Listened to it straight thru. Ripped and burned the tracks that are timeless classics, even the alternate take of Milestones and forget the rest. Sold the box. There is a reason these are alternate takes. Do yourself a favor and buy the recently remasterd re-releases of these 4 albums on cd (2003). Better sound quality, less filler and an overall better, more digestable presentation, the way Miles and Teo wanted it to be heard. ... That's why there is a ton of these for sale used.

I do not have much to add about the value of the music included in this great box set, just one thing.Concerning the review of Mr Darryl Harris Jr, this is the complete Miles and Trane at Columbia.The reason those tracks are not included from "Someday My Prince will Come" is that on them Hank Mobley plays the tenor sax and not John Coltrane.They are fine tracks and a nice album to have but Coltrane made just a "guest" appearance on it, since he was recording mainly on his own by then, and that is why some tracks are missing.Besides those two tracks featuring Coltrane are probably the best of the album.That's all folks!

Go to both the players and Sony for this set. Sony has given the jazz world incredible music with all of their Miles reissues and box sets, and this has to be the best yet. Never before has the beauty and dynamics of this group been brought to the forefront like on this collection. Maybe because they are all in one box, or because there are extra takes which let you in on the creative process, or just because the power of the music is heard the way it should be, but it`s here to be heard and marvelled at.

Like with the Louis Armstrong set, the engineers have again brought out the majesty of the music with their care and love. The sound is clearer and instrutmentation is precise and glorious. To have all the recordings that Miles and `Trane did together is enough of a reason to hear this but to hear it in this manner is worth the purchase price alone.

Featuring both studio and live cuts, along with recordings made when Coltrane after he left to form his own group, this is a road map through one of Jazz music`s most incredible time. Even the alternate takes stand alone as wonderful recordings, showing that this group was inventive and restless. As with other Miles box sets, these are essential tracks to help complete your collection. A thing of beauty and importance.

I'm not a big fan, in general, of Jazz box sets. It seems very academic to me to collect 20 different takes, with minor variations, of a single tune played by a single ensemble, no matter how good they are. I'd rather spend my money on more CDs from different artists.
But, this box set (like the Miles Davis Quintet box) is worthwhile. It seems like just about everyone's favorite jazz album is "Kind of Blue," and this is one of the best ways to get more recordings like that. Yeah, I don't really need to hear four different versions of "Sweet Sue, Just You." But, there are so many other treasures on this album, so many other great tracks. This is a great way to get all ther recordings that Miles and Coltrane made together in the early 60's; you can always skip through some of the more repetitive alternate takes. Plus, if you haven't heard some of the live recordings before, then you will be in for a real shock because some of them are truly incredible performances.
I strongly recommend this set.