Customer Reviews

Quintet/Sextet

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

 

 

Miles was one of the originator of the "Cool" tone, and we can't be grateful enough to him and to Gil Evans for that. This record is a brilliant example of his dueting abilities, as he and Bags steal the show. I won't say much about Milt Jackson, as everyone would agree that he masters the vibraphone with eloquence, style and impeccable technique.

In 1954, when Miles recorded with the personnel of one of his famous first Quintet (picking up his best bandmates in this period, inmho), who do you think "Bags" was in "Bag's Groove"?

If you're into mid-fifties Miles like me, grab : All of his 1952 to 54 Master Takes , the Modern Jazz Giants concert, and Bag's New Groove (it's Miles with the MJQ, whatever they call it). The Coltrane-Miles association, which occured later on, is heavily documented.

Do I need to mention that the brilliant Jackie McLean is on Alto Sax during this session?

Obscure early Miles. Pretty with a nice edge. Definitely what you might call sophisticated as well. I bought it mostly for the Milt Jackson's vibraphone playing which happens to showcase him at a great moment in his development and spotlights him on what I consider an amazing but short solo on the track, "Changes". I think it's the best Milt Jackson I've heard; inventive and oh so cool. Hey and Miles is great here as well. I like earlier Miles better in general. Also has some interesting piano by Ray Bryant and has Percy Heath on Bass. Otherwise, it's not the greatest Miles album but definitely a good one.

Pianist Ray Bryant had something special going on in 1955. His work on Sonny Rollins' Work Time, recorded later in the year, is nonpareil, and he plays here, as well, with a spare, slightly dark tonality and an irresistible swing. Drummer Art Taylor, a veteran of so many Prestige Records 'blowing' dates in the 50s, also has an unadorned style, just digging into the beat and staying there, so the band on this album has a unique, almost minimalist sound. Miles himself is at a curious point in his playing: on one hand, he's playing here on an open horn with unusually fine intonation but, on the other hand, there's far less introspection to be heard than on some of his other albums. Only on the final two tracks (the original album's B side) do we get a hint of that later, melodically probing style of Miles'. On the A side, he's purely 'Bop Lite.' Miles' co-leader on the date, and perhaps the most up-front presence on the album, is therefore Milt Jackson, and I'll actually go out on a limb and say this is one of his better outings. Jackson never made bad records, but he made a lot of dull ones, at least to my hearing. On this album, though, Bags is clearly having a better time than usual, and he turns in a light-hearted, hard-swinging performance. His sense of fun is infectuous. Altoist Jackie McLean appears on only two of the four tunes on this all-too-brief album, meanwhile, and that's a shame. Despite his later fame as a Blue Note artist,

McLean never really sounded as good as he did during 1955-57. What a tone! If Prestige had spent a second day recording the full sextet, this could have been a five-star classic. The cover art certainly is.....

This is one of my favorite early Miles albums. It's light and airy and endlessly listenable. Miles is great, Bags is never anything less than superb. Toss Jackie McLean and other great players into the mix and you've got one for the ages.

I was rounding out holes in my Miles-on-Prestige collection when I realized I had been completely unaware of this album's existence. It's one of his last 50s dates with a "all star" pickup group - within a few weeks, he'd put together the classic quintet with John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones, and as they say "the rest is history."

This is also the recording that got Jackie McLean's career going. Jackie had already recorded with Miles a few times in 1951 and 1952, but this was his first session in over three years and he'd be recording pretty regularly after this. It's a shame he appears on only half of the tracks, but Miles must have thought highly of his compositions because two of them are included here - "Minor March" (which Jackie later recorded as "Minor Apprehension" on the album New Soil) and "Dr. Jackle" (which Miles recorded on Milestones with Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane).

The other frontliner is Milt Jackson, who plays well throughout. The rhythm section is Ray Bryant, Percy Heath, and Art Taylor. In other words, a blue-chip 1950s jam session lineup.

Overall, I wouldn't put this in the same tier as the best recordings Miles made in 1956 with his classic quintet (or for that matter, the Christmas Eve 1954 session with Jackson, Heath and Thelonious Monk). But it is a nice one, and I don't think anyone would regret picking it up.

Although I love Miles Davis, I think this album isn't going to stick with me, so to speak. It's upbeat, quick, and fun at first, but it lacks the complexity and feeling of the great Davis albums like KIND OF BLUE and 'ROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT. I may be just a musical philistine, but I think one of the things that turns me off of the album is the vibraphone. Add to this that the album's pretty short; if they had some alternate takes or bonus tracks it might be interesting, but at this point it's a little thin. I will say that the final track, "Changes," is the best track on the album and probably worth buying by itself as an MP3. So, with the final verdict on this album being something like a "meh," I say: "Take it from the Neophyte. Decide for yourself."

You'll find better works out there, particularly if you're a Miles fan. The emphasis here is on Milt Jackson and his vibraphone, which gives the album a light, airy feeling. Missing is much of Miles' horn and sentiment. You also get a bit shortchanged with a mere 30 minutes of music. I would call this a "pleasant" album, which in my jazz-world is not a happy thing.