The Complete Concert 1964: My Funny Valentine + Four and More [Live]

Miles Davis | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 21, 1992)
• Original Release Date: 1964
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002865
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,322 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Live, released in 1992 Songs / Tracks Listing 1.1 Introduction by Mort Fega 1:40 1.2 My Funny Valentine 14:55 1.3 All of You 14:40 1.4 Go-Go 1:43 1.5 Stella By Starlight 13:03 1.6 All Blues 8:51 1.7 I Thought About You 11:14 2.1 So What 9:11 2.2 Walkin' 8:08 2.3 Joshua 9:31 2.4 Go-Go 1:43 2.5 Four 6:28 2.6 Seven Steps to Heaven 7:46 2.7 There Is No Greater Love 10:03 2.8 Go-Go 1:21

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's Very Good, But Buy One of the New, Improved Versions, September 19, 2004

By 

Buddy Bolden (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Concert 1964: My Funny Valentine + Four and More (Audio CD)

The title notwithstanding, this is not in fact the "complete" concert; it's missing "Autumn Leaves." Additionally, the tracks are not sequenced as they were actually played, but as they appeared on the two original LP releases, "My Funny Valentine" and "Four and More." This is unfortunate, because while the actual concert was well paced, with a nicely varied mix of different tempos and song forms, in producing the LPs Columbia elected to put almost all of the ballads on "My Funny Valentine" (disc one here) and almost all of the up-tempo numbers on "Four and More" (disc two). To my ears, the homogenization that this arrangement entails dilutes the impact of the music somewhat.

The new version of this concert that appears as part of the seven-CD boxed set, "Seven Steps," (released in September 2004) includes "Autumn Leaves," sequences the songs in the order in which they were performed, and has been remastered to improve the sound. Unfortunately, while Sony is now preparing separate reissues of the individual albums that make up the "Seven Steps" boxed set, it appears that there are no immediate plans to issue an updated version of "The Complete Concert"; instead, they are releasing remastered editions of the original single albums, "My Funny Valentine" and "Four and More."

Therefore, the best way to hear this music would be 1) to buy the "Seven Steps" boxed set, assuming you can afford it and are interested in the other material it includes; or 2) get the new, remastered versions of the "My Funny Valentine" and "Four and More" albums.

For those who don't have the box set and would like to listen to an approximation of the concert as it was actually played, you can program your CD player to play the tracks in the following order: "Intro by Mort Fega," "So What," "Stella by Starlight," "Walkin'," "All of You," "Go-Go (Theme and Announcement)," "All Blues," "My Funny Valentine," "Joshua," "I Thought About You," "Four," "Seven Steps to Heaven," "There is No Greater Love," "Go-Go (Theme and Re-introduction)."

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars on fire, September 23, 2000

By 

Sean M. Kelly (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Concert 1964: My Funny Valentine + Four and More (Audio CD)

The story goes that Miles' more or less agreed to waive his normal fees for this concert and contribte all proceeds to charity. While this probably didn't matter much to Miles in terms of the money lost, it certainly must have for Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and the still teenaged drum prodigy Tony Williams, fresh from playing with Sam Rivers' group.

It's apparent from the start that the uneasiness of the evening translated into some of the most explosive live jazz ever laid down, with Williams' flailing away on his drums, getting more excitable, faster, and probably doing so just to see if Miles can keep up. Ron Carter and Herbie Hancock certainly had no problem doing so, and, to his credit, neither did Miles.

The other apparent point in the show was that tenor sax player George Coleman didn't fit in the new group, even though he played, as some said, the best gig of his life. Coleman was on Miles transitional "Seven Steps to Heaven" lp the year before, as Miles was putting together a new group after Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, Wynton Kelly (who would all form the Wynton Kelly Trio) and saxophonist Hank Mobley (who replaced Sonny Stitt who replaced John Coltrane) all left the group. (This concert was in fact the last gig Coleman would play with the band- Sam Rivers would replace him briefly, before Wayne Shorter would leave the Jazz Messengers and join the band, thus completing the 2nd great quintet)

Despite of, or because of, the tensions in the group, these live sides are some of the most ferocious ever laid down on vinyl, and are a necessary part of any jazz fan's collection.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, December 26, 2001

By 

Kenneth James Michael MacLean (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Complete Concert 1964: My Funny Valentine + Four and More (Audio CD)

This recording is one of the best jazz recordings of all time. It certainly is the best live recording I've ever heard. The liner notes to this CD recall that this 1964 concert was performed during the height of the civil rights movement. It was a benefit to register black voters in Louisiana and Mississippi. Miles decided that all of the musicians would play for free and donate, as a group, all proceeds to the movement. Backstage, some of the band members were ...[ticked] off big-time -- it was typical of Miles that he never even consulted them beforehand, but told them shortly before they were to appear on-stage. These guys came out and just literally blew the roof right off of the Lincoln Center. Everyone was hacked off, but it generated an explosive energy that each musician channeled positively into his instrument. I mean these cats just CHARGED into "So What", then sprinted through "Walkin", the 19 year-old Tony Williams back there just driving everybody to greater and greater heights. They kept it up through an inspired rendition of "Joshua", then took a break. After that break, there was no let up. They took off on "Four" and played "seven steps to heaven" like it was their very lives at stake. Ron Carter is back there walking so hard his fingers must have been falling off. During the last cut on disk 2, the band began to settle down a little, and then came out after intermission with a beautiful set of ballads. Tony Williams never liked George Coleman much, but George plays so beautifully on this date even Tony couldn't be unhappy. The two disks are both awesome, and the recording itself is technically excellent, all of the musicians can be heard pefectly.
The ballads on disc 1 are played with such feeling and deftness, it is just an absolute pleasure to listen. It is an honor, really, to be able to hear world-class musicians at the absolute top of their form. This concert is not to be missed by any true jazz lover. It is a combination of ultimate hard driving swing and beautiful ballad. The price for this great concert is ludicrous -- $... It's almost an insult to this great music, but you gotta take advantage of this. I remember I paid a lot more a while back for this 2 CD set. If you want to enjoy jazz at its finest, get this CD.