Complete Columbia Studio Recordings [Box set, Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Miles Davis, Gil Evans | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 11, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 6
• Format: Box set, Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0002199H2
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,584 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #51 in Music > Jazz > Orchestral Jazz

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

From their first work together on the Birth of the Cool sessions in 1949, Miles Davis and Gil Evans forged a unique relationship as great soloist and brilliant arranger. The real opportunity to explore their shared vision didn't come until 1957, however, when Davis had forged a relationship with a major record label able to support it. Though a product of the big-band tradition, Evans was never limited by sectional voicings and riffs. He had an interest in unusual instrumentation and a talent for creating subtle mixes of distinct voices, adding French horns, oboe, bassoon, and harp to the conventional big band and thinning its saxophone, trumpet, and trombone sections. His arrangements for Davis are like settings for the finest jewels, whether he's creating rich, brass chords or adding only light percussion to the trumpeter's solitary lament. Together Davis and Evans produced three orchestral masterpieces: Miles Ahead (1957), Porgy and Bess (1958), and Sketches of Spain (1960). They're all here, along with less-inspired, later projects like the Quiet Nights bossa nova album. What most distinguishes the box set is the archival work of Phil Schaap, who has compiled a wealth of alternate takes. They reveal much about the processes that went into these works, including extensive editing and even some overdubbing. As early as 1957, Evans and Davis were already beginning to use the studio itself as an integral part of their music. --Stuart Broomer

Product Description

This monumental, Grammy-winning 6-CD set has just been re-released in longbox form *for $40 less* than its original incarnation! Together, Miles and Gil formed one of the great collaborations in jazz history, and inside are the three legendary albums they produced- Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain -complete and newly remastered with tons of alternate takes. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Miles Davis and Gil Evans Box Set - Great Remasters And Incredible Scope For The Completist, September 4, 2008

By 

Mark "Technology, Music and Movies" (East Coast) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)   

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This review is from: Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (Audio CD)

The Miles Davis and Gil Evans: Complete Columbia Studio Recordings box set is a treasure trove for those who must have every recording. Less serious fans may want to start with less expensive issues of the individual albums.

Miles Davis has many box sets devoted to him, and this one is by far the most unique. After purchasing several of the Miles Davis box sets that have been re-released by Columbia, I have to say that I am very pleased. Eventually I will get them all, but my love of Gil Evans in addition to Miles is what made me pull the trigger on this set.

For starters, what comes through this set even with a casual listen is the incredible influence that Gil had on the arrangements and approach taken during their greatest collaborations. On many of the tracks, the horn arrangements and solos are pushed center stage, with Gil's play only providing a subtle backdrop. That's typical Gil, though I do wonder what the outcome might have been if he had allowed himself to step forward more in those early years.

Still, the tracks manage to be both incredibly traditional and daring at the same time, and this especially true of the alternate takes. Once you hear the alternate takes, rehearsal tracks, and overdubs it's clear that the sound has to be in large part to Gil's credit. In fact, the only way to describe the sound on some of these tracks is *large*. The encyclopedic inclusion of various alternate takes and rehearsal takes provides tremendous insight and could easily be used by students of this music and history who want to get inside the minds of these recording artists and compare against the final product.

That's another reason why this reissue is so worth getting. While I have no complaints about the original recordings, several of the tracks are so greatly improved by the remastering to almost make the listening experience completely new for me. I am slowly being converted to the remastering camp. If all the reissued box sets sound this good, I may start to purchase multiple copies of each of them. :)

I was somewhat confused by the *placement* of many of the tracks, especially the way certain retakes are split between different disks. At times they correspond to the original albums and at other times they don't. I don't know why Mr. Schaap chose to do it this way, but I am pretty certain there were very good reasons. It does make you wonder, but it doesn't change the fact that these are very listenable disks.

Now because this is a set of the complete studio recordings, there are some tracks here that I am not particularly crazy about. Among them are "Blue Xmas" and "Nothing Like You." Those tracks made me glad that not every song on here has alternate and rehearsal takes included.

The box is certainly attractive, though understated. It is certainly more durable and functional than other recent boxes I have purchased.

As with all Miles Davis sessions under Columbia, these recordings showcase fantastic musicians. Miles Ahead and Porgy and Bess are clearly the most highly regarded albums that resulted from Gil's work with Miles, but Sketches of Spain will probably always be my personal favorite of the group. I am also a fond of Quiet Nights, which has probably been over-criticized IMHO. Yet the extra takes means that even if you own those albums you still have a very good reason to purchase this set.

If you haven't yet purchased this set, take this opportunity to add it to your collection.

Enjoy!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deserves Superlatives, May 12, 2000

By 

George Grella "Urbane citizen" (Brooklyn) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (Audio CD)

A great collection. Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain are three of Miles' greatest works, meaning three of the greatest jazz albums, and Porgy and Bess may be the finest recording of that music ever.

The collaboration with Gil Evans was an odd one if you consider the two personalities, but a wonderful one musically. Both were always curious and restless about what could be done, and Evans created this beautiful sound [heavily indebted to Stravinsky] as a bed for Miles' lyricism.

What the set collections is every bit of recording behind the original albums; not just alternate takes but false starts. It's interesting to hear how these extras show that the ensemble flaws in Porgy and Bess are probably attributable to Evans conducting. There are plenty of other curiousities, especially the 'Quiet Nights' session, which, although Miles vehemently objected to its release, is not a bad record, just not up to the previous standards. Another thoughtful bit is the bit of empty space that can be programmed in to break up the constant flow of one tune to the next on Miles Ahead.

I think the previous reviewers complaints about the transfer are unfounded. I've gone through the original vinyl, the first CD reissues and now this set, and while this set is superior to the first CDs, it is also no inferior to the vinyl. The CD sound is brighter and more transparent, and while the bass has less presence than on the LPs, it also has a clearer tone and timbre, where it is often just a thud. It's a matter of taste, and this set is the sweetest of all.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent listening, September 24, 2000

By 

Sean M. Kelly (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (Audio CD)

The old addage goes that opposites attract, and in the world of music, this is, in many cases, a recipe for absolute disaster or absolute inspiration. In the case of Miles Davis and Gil Evans, only inspiration came from this.

The works that comprise the lps "Miles Ahead," "Porgy and Bess," "Sketches of Spain," and "Quiet Nights," are meshing jazz with orchestral sensibilities, with Miles' lyricism not dissimilar to Nat King Cole singing standards behind an orchestra. More than many of his jazz lps, the depth of Miles Davis is found in his ensemble playing on these recordings. The works were no easy task for him to play- demanding parts, to be sure- but Miles rose to the occasion again and again, with Evans' parts coaxing pure magic from the Man With the Horn.

The heretofore bootlegged unreleased tracks from Miles X-Mas songs to a session from 1968(!) are even more valuable additions to your collection and again show the breadth and depth of Miles as both a loyal friend to Evans, and as a player.

Amazing tracks, and an amazing collection.