Customer Reviews

Quiet Nights

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

 

 

Ah, the poor lamented 'Quiet Nights.' An album I recently saw referred to as the "wicked step-child" of Miles' output. And here it is, re-mastered and souped up with a beautiful new set of liner notes (which, as it happens, have little nice to say about it). The album that Miles decryed instantly, that sent Gil lamented, that caused Columbia to rethink the strategy of the Miles-Gil teamups. But is it really all that bad?

As it turns out, no. If this album were made by, say, Frank Sanchez and the Red Cloud Rumblers it would be remembered (if it were remembered at all) as a bit too-short middle of the road excursion into Bosso Nova. The problem is that this was the follow up (of sorts) to 'Sketches of Spain' and it was by Miles Davis and Gil Evans, they of 'Miles Ahead' 'Porgy and Bess' and the aforementioned Spanish excursion. So it is a huge letdown, though Miles gets a few good moments. Really though, this shouldn't have been released. Many of the tracks were pieced together by Teo Macero (to Miles' horror) and even then they only had half an album. Columbia let that sit in the vaults for a couple of years, then tacked on "Summer Nights" which Evans had no involvement with whatsoever. Strangely, it is here that the album gets interesting.

The song (6:03 long, by the way, not 3:19 as the cover says...the original cover has it right on the inside jacket!) was a leftover from the brief quartet sessions of April 1963 that produced one half of 'Seven Steps to Heaven' (yes, I said Quartet...the cd gets it wrong again in listing George Coleman as playing). The song is great cool bop, and it's always a joy to hear Miles pull out his mute. Here the original album ended, but now we get the REAL treat.

Admittedly, you probably won't want to put "The Time of the Barracudas" on the same level as 'Miles Ahead' but compared to 'Quiet Nights' it is invigorating. Miles and Gil both sound more into it, and the piece has some wonderful passages, especially early on where the interplay between Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and Ron Carter is unreal. Williams, in fact, is the central thing that makes this a minor-league gem. His drumming propels, pummels, and even eases throughout the course of this work. One only wishes this group would have spent more time here, and perhaps developed the true album that seems to want to come out.

So in the end you have the tale of two albums: one that shouldn't have been released but was, and one that should have but wasn't. Ultimately I can think of worse ways to spend twelve dollars, and if you're a Miles fan you'll have to have it (just for the last two songs). But most will want to let 'Quiet Nights' simply rest in peace.

I read a bunch of quite negative reviews here which base most of their negativity on details extraneous to the music, like "Miles said this" or "The studio dates that." I've liked Miles for almost twenty years; I have many of his albums, including the officially "good" ones, and Quiet Nights remains one of my favorites of his or of anyone's. It is a project like Sketches of Spain, with a softer, more sensual, and darker (night-time) feel. I have always thought the cover expresses the mood of the album well. I feel as if I've stepped out of a Jobim cocktail party onto a night patio overlooking the lights of Rio de Janeiro when I hear it. Whatever its liner note details, this is an album made by Miles in his prime, and Gil Evans in his prime, and it doesn't matter that it's twenty-seven minutes long (or short) unless you are the kind of person who thinks small paintings are necessarily worse than big ones and short books are worse than long ones. There is no softer or warmer Miles album than this. Don't be afraid of this album. Miles doesn't have to sound "cool" all the time.

Maybe Quiet Nights isn't one of Miles's freshest albums, but it is a great orchestral effort from him. It sometimes sounds like Sketches Of Spain, but really carries that bossa nova groove that was so popular in 1962. It is a shame that the album wasn't finished, yet it is great that the song used to fill the album is "Time Of The Barracudas". This was a soundtrack song used to a short-lived stage play starring Laurence Harvey, and it lasted about a month. It is a medley of many other pieces, including "Barracudas", "Hotel Me Blues", and other pieces that are not named. It is a great effort, and the last orchestral effort from Miles and Gil Evans. As for the other bonus track, the beautiful "Summer Night", Miles joins Victor Feldman, Ron Carter and Frank Butler for a ballad that was recorded the same time as Seven Steps To Heaven was. Quiet Nights has nice portions of bossa nova("Aos Pes De Cruz, "Song #2"), and many others, but I saw right through what they did on "Corcovado". They sampled "On Green Dolphin Street", a previous Miles recording, along with an attachment from an alternate take of "Aos Pes De Cruz" to finish the song! Disorganized yes, but classic, yes too.

In the lengthy Miles Davis discography "Quiet Nights" is an enigma. The mystery is why it was ever released in the first place. Miles blamed producer Teo Macero for messing it up, except Miles did not use the word "messing"; he used a stronger word! When the recording first came out it totaled only 27 minutes of playing time. Only six of the seven cuts on the original recording featured Miles with the Gil Evans orchestra. The seventh cut is a quartet number with Miles, pianist Victor Feldman, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Frank Butler (I suspect it was recorded as part of Miles's "Seven Steps To Heaven" recording session but not included on that wonderful CD.) Adding to the "Quiet Nights" woes is some very shabby editing. OK so that's the bad news. Now here's some good news: I still like this recording. Gil Evans's arranging (what there is of it) is gorgeous and Miles plays with his usual poignant lyricism. The quartet number is moody and touching. And so when I listen to this CD I focus on the positives and try to ignore the negatives.....but oh what a wonderful recording this could have been! The "Quiet Nights" release I am reviewing did not include "The Time of the Barracudas" which I understand is a short suite composed for a play.

An overall blah performance until you get to the bonus track (#8)--"The Time Of The Barracuda". Composed by Miles Davis and Gil Evans...featuring notable contributions by Herbie Hancock/Ron Carter/Tony Williams. A free form work bringing back memories of Sketches of Spain at its very finest. Definitely worth the price of admission.

The common view about `Quiet Nights' among Miles fans is that his peerless legacy might have been even better had it not been released.

It's hard to dissent from this view, except to say the result is in no way `bad' music. This final major-project collaboration between Miles and Gil Evans was an attempt to make a Bossa Nova-themed album - very trendy in 1962 - to capture the feel of Brazil the way `Sketches of Spain' captured the musical heart of the Iberian Peninsula to perfection. QN certainly doesn't stand shoulder to shoulder with `Miles Ahead', `Porgy & Bess' or SoS but it does have its moments, especially the opener `Song Number 2'.

The original release had an `unfinished' feel because it WAS unfinished: the studio rushed it into the market to catch the popular bossa nova fad in the US in 1963 before Miles and Gil could really round it off; and was only around 30 minutes long. Miles is on record as being dissatisfied with the whole process and with the result. However, on this release we get two bonus tracks, neither of which have much to do with bossa nova but which nevertheless make the album more worthwhile. The first is `Summer Night', a Dubin composition left over from the `Seven Steps to Heaven' sessions (one of Miles' underrated gems) featuring Ron Carter, Frank Butler and Victor Feldman - a cool and mellow number befitting the title. The second is by common consent the best track here and the saving grace of this collection: `The Time of the Barracudas', a 13-minute suite with several sections originally put together as the soundtrack for a play, a quintessential Davis-Evans collaborative effort with fine orchestrations and beautiful melodic playing.

Of course, if you're a Miles fan you have to have it in the collection. Though (maybe like `Tutu' and `Doo-Bop' and a few other less-than-satisfactory releases) this is not amongst Miles' most enduring works, it's still music by Miles Davis and it definitely has its moments.

I've got an extensive Miles collection CD's, vinyl....love absolutley everything Miles..., all periods. This however is like cocktail lounge music. It's like some mistake was made. Compositions, performances arangements all flat dull and uninspired. Maybe some demand was made by Columbia for Miles Davis MUZAK. I'm shocked too that Gil Evans was at the helm. I just don't get it. I've got to listen several more times to see if I'm missing something. In good consience I can't rate aything with his name on it one star;

This disc is a toss-up. "Song No.2" and "Corcovado" are beautiful. But overall the disc is short and seems less than satisfying. The listening experience is unfulfilling and feels like a mish-mash of cutting-room-floor material. Hardly essential.

This should not have been released. The best thing about it is Summer Night. The rest sounds like outtakes. I like pre-electric Miles, but I read that Miles was furious with Columbia for releasing this and he was right. This is the weakest of the Gil Evans collaborations.

"Summer Nights," where Miles tells producer Teo Macero that the partcular take will suffice (actually, he rasps something to Teo in his distinctive rasp.)

This is from memory. I THOUGHT I had replaced all the Miles/Gil LP music with Phil Schaap's 8-CD box, but this small session muted beauty got lost. "Quiet Nights" just got one clicked. There is little excuse for the price, other than the fact that it's a Japanese import