Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the Wait, June 5, 2003
This review is from: In Person Friday & Saturday Blackhawk (Audio CD)
This is the first time I've pre-ordered a CD, but the announcement last January that this session would be reissued in a definitive, complete, authoritative edition was enough for me. Moreover, after the "Ellington at Newport" and "The Complete Lady Day" reissues, I've come to trust the Columbia/Sony people in doing these things right. If you're considering purchase, you probably know about the circumstances of the music already. For me, this "transitional" group between Miles' first great quintet with Coltrane and second with Shorter is the equal of the first ensemble and more satisfying than the second. Miles' chops were never better, and as if too make up for the absence of Coltrane, he plays with uncharacteristic fire and pyrotechnical flare. Jimmy Cobb has by now erased the memory of Philly Joe and fits in perfectly with Chambers and Kelly. No rhythm section ever achieved a greater sense of vitality and vibrancy within the conventional 4/4 walking-bass pattern of mainstream modern jazz. (Many drummers would do well to listen just to Cobb's ride cymbal, noting how little else is required to keep the music fresh and flowing.) But for me the most compelling reason for owning the set is Hank Mobley, whose innate lyricism blossoms to a degree not possible on his Blue Note/Van Gelder recordings. His sound is present but never "boosted"; it's close and personal but at the same time totally natural, in keeping with the spacious acoustics favored by the Columbia engineers. And his playing in this musical context is so heartfelt and inspired, not to mention melodically inventive, that I can't help but rethink Miles' later published criticisms of him: perhaps Miles considered him less a drag on the group than a personal threat. His solo on "Blackbird" is simply astonishing, a rare example of a musician willing to take every risk and hold nothing back in an unguarded, naked pursuit of all the beauty the moment is capable of yielding. Following two choruses by Miles, Mobley goes to work, through four inspired choruses, each phrase exceeding the previous in imagination and intensity until reaching a climax that is not so much arbitrary as the natural outcome of the musical journey itself. For me, it ranks with Coltrane's "I Want To Talk About You" and Dexter's "Body and Soul." Nothing seems the least bit contrived, formulaic, or played for effect (though I'm emotionally spent after each listening). On Saturday night Miles did not call tune.
The audio overall is superior, though not perfect. The separation of piano (left speaker) and bass (right) seems overdone. I found myself rolling back the bass a bit and boosting the treble. But the balance and sound are still more natural and believable than countless current studio recordings where the primary requirement for every musician is to wear headphones. And the previously unreleased material is of such a high order as to make you question some of the choices on the earlier editions. But best of all, at the end of Mobley's "Blackbird" solo you can hear someone in the audience shout "Bravo" three times. I'd like to meet that person, if only to express my thanks.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Raiders of the Lost Art, September 20, 2003
This review is from: In Person Friday & Saturday Blackhawk (Audio CD)
It says something about the state of jazz today that this stuff sounds about a thousand percent better than recent live releases by the likes of Joe Lovano etc. You can speculate as to why it is that a gig by Miles Davis in 1961 sounds fantastic and a gig by Joe at the Village Vanguard in 2003 sounds appalling. Maybe record companies cannot be bothered trying to get decent sound set ups for jazz anymore. Now to the music itself. This was one of the first live jazz albums I ever owned and to have it now complete on CD with terrific remastered sound is a revelation. It grooves like mad and the playing is exemplary. I suppose that Hank Mobley was not having his greatest night in a technical sense- reed squeaks all over the place, a couple of missed starts and so on. Perhaps that is why Miles was unhappy with him. But his playing is still very effective in this context and it provides a good contrast to the fire and brimstone of the leader. If you love jazz buy this CD, it's that good. If you want to love jazz but you haven't been able to up to this date then buy this CD. It will win you to the music just by itself. So much of what gets put out these days is either unlistenable (e.g. virtually any thing by critics' darling Greg Osby) or just tired sounding retro (e.g. the recent effort by the usually excellent Branford Marsalis). Is jazz really a lost art? I hope not. But any jazz musician listening to this could learn that you CAN make thrilling and daring music without sending the audience rushing out of the theatre! Music spoken here.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Miles Davis live -- who could ask for anything more?, June 4, 2003
This review is from: In Person Friday & Saturday Blackhawk (Audio CD)
In 1961, Miles Davis had two full nights of sessions at the Blackhawk in San Francisco recorded for a live LP, and now finally the entire two nights, uncut, are remastered on four CDs in a boxed set. The sound is terrific -- the Blackhawk was apparently a small, intimate club along the lines of the Village Vanguard, but the crowd is so hushed that if it wasn't for the applause at the end of a given set, you'd never know they were there. What I wouldn't give to have tapes this good of the nights in 1957 when Thelonious Monk played at the Five Spot in Greenwich Village with John Coltrane! About the performances all you need to know is that it's Miles Davis at the top of his game. For those who are familiar with other Davis performances of these tracks, you will be surprised at the differences. He indulges his alchemic musical taste for making gold out of the most unlikely material (such as "Someday My Prince Will Come" from the 1937 Disney cartoon "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"), and he's backed up by a group that, although not as famous as the sidemen he had before and after this recording, definitely hold their own. There's not much else to say. If you're a Miles Davis fan, you need to buy these CDs pronto. If you're not a fan, and you buy these CDs, you will be. From the first few bars of the opening track of the first CD, you feel as if you're instantly transported to a ringside seat at a legendary nightclub, where one of the greatest of all jazz artists is playing just for you. It doesn't get much better than that.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
