Customer Reviews

Someday My Prince Will Come

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It has been way, way too long since this wonderful lp has been properly released and treated with the respect it deserves.

Miles' band was in transition during this point. Coltrane had left the group 1 year earlier, and former Jazz Messenger Hank Mobley (a very competent tenor player) had joined the band literally weeks prior to going to record this lp, and it shows. Mobley seemed very uncomfortable in his new position, trying to find his place in it. His style had not meshed with the group's. Then again, the group was searching for its style, as well...

Mobley's main contributions to the lp, "Drad-dog," "Pfrancing," the sombre and beautiful "Old Folks," and "I Thought About You," all are fine tracks, with Mobley's blues orientation coming to the fore, though they didn't match well with Miles' solos...

The additions of John Coltrane and Philly Joe Jones were both chance happenings, but their playing re-ignits a fire under Miles, Wynton Kelly, and Paul Chambers, that can't be ignored. Coltrane's solo on the title track is a beautiful counterpoint to Mobley's- Trane brimming with ideas and confience while Mobley tries to find his place...

To be fair, by the time the "Blackhawk" concerts were released, both Mobley and the band are back in very high gear, with Mobley adding beautifully to the overall style and character of the group..

Perhaps in heinsight this lp should not have been recorded when it was, and allow Mobley to play live with the group to better fit in..but then again had they not recorded this lp, we would not have gotten Coltrane's last moments of glory with Miles, and that would have been a shame.

"Someday My Prince Will Come" is another in a line of recent re-issues by Columbia/Legacy of Miles Davis catalog. This ranks near the top of my list of Miles' Davis CDs (together with "Kind of Blue," "Miles Smiles," "'Round About Midnight," "In a Silent Way," "Porgy and Bess," and "Sketches of Spain"). This CD contains some of Miles' best ballads ("Old Folks"), blues ("Drad Dog") and swing ("Pfrancing"). As with all of the Columbia/Legacy reissues, there are two excellent bonus tracks ("Blues No. 2" and an alternative take of the title track). Columbia/Legacy does the best CD re-issues in the business (see The Byrds re-mastered catalog) and every Columbia/Legacy re-mastered Jazz CD I have purchased (Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Louis Armstrong, etc.) is worth buying. If you love Jazz this is an essential CD.

It has long been in vogue to show indifference towards Mile's albums with Mobley on horn. This has never made sense to me. Mobley has always deserved to be considered more than a second tier player. The list of important blue note albums he appeared as a side man on alone should have assured that. That is not to mention the masterpieces done under his own name. And of course the things he did with Miles. I will be the first to admit that unlike the ensembles that came before or after this particular group there were no new innovations. Innovations are "sacrificed" for pure mood and emotion. The rest of the band too is in top form. Every player here has fantastic tone and great interplay, sharing beautiful moments with an almost psychic link. This album is as good as any of the fantasy/prestige albums (Wokin et al.)The remastering too is amazing, listen the first time with headphones, there is a lot going on. Coltrane shows up for two songs too, an extra gift. Why not 5 stars? That is Kind Of Blue and Nefertiti territory which this falls just short of.

During this period, Miles had a slight creativity draining after having released intense classics like Round About Midnight, Miles Ahead, Milestones, Porgy & Bess, Kind Of Blue and Sketches Of Spain. However, that is not evident on this LP. Made in 1961, Miles played with a solid group consisting of Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Also, John Coltrane and Philly Joe Jones stop by for an excellent reunion. Mobley's playing, while it is not bad, seems extremely uninspired on most of the songs and is easily outshined by Coltrane's virtuosic fire on the famous title track. Miles uses his trademark harmon mute and plays very well also. Also, note the rhythm section and how well they work together here. Miles is also muted on the breathy ballad "Old Folks", which is really a pretty, haunting melody. Pretty much what we've come to expect from Miles at this time. "Pfrancing", a song dedicated to his wife, is a great, playful little blues with Miles just stealing the show with an outstanding solo. Everyone really swings here, Wynton Kelly has a really cool solo reminding me a bit of his work on "Freddie Freeloader" (except more quickly paced). Paul Chambers also showcases his great sound on bass here, and even Mobley plays some hip stuff. Miles puts the harmon mute back in on "Drad-Dog", which is Goddard spelled backwards. The song is named after former Columbia Records executive Goddard Liberson. There is no melody to this tune, it's basically just Miles and the band playing off of each other in a ballad form. It's very beautiful. On the Spanish-tinged "Teo", Miles and company recall Kind Of Blue and Sketches Of Spain with an interesting latin tune. Coltrane shows up on this one and goes insane again. Miles plays a risky solo and keeps everything interesting, with Wynton holding everything together. The final song is yet another ballad, "I Thought About You". Here, Miles proves why he helped make this one of the most often recorded standards following this album. Wynton Kelly also supplies a masterful piano solo.

There are bonus cuts on the remastered version. One is called "Blues No. 2" and features Miles and the band jamming. Philly Joe Jones stopped by to play drums here and trades fours with Miles at the end. It's great. This tune can also be found on the Circle In The Round double-disc album released by Columbia.

I first heard this album at the age of 16 (pre-remastering) when I blew 500 dollars of hard-earned minimum wage money on a fledgling jazz CD collection. Someday My Prince was near to the last album I bought and, though my collection has since grown immensely, this CD is probably the single most often listened to of the bunch. It's remarkable when a CD can transcend the different memories and emotions automatically attached during those first few days of obsessive listening -- or maybe it's just that those days never ended. The mix of beats, tunes, keys, and flavors provide a song for every mood and every kind of person.

This is a record that will never reach the stature of the greatest, but in a way it is a classic. And even if the amazement about it will be tempered, it's undeniable beauty wil keep you turning back to it. What with two of Coltrane's most enticing solo's included, where his experimentation is embedded in the high aesthetics of Miles. The understated swinging rhythm section simply sparks. Miles is in his strongest melancholy moods. While Mobley sounds like a swooning lover...but, the one he sings for is taken away by the 'trane'. And here lies the only little flaw. All the tracks without Coltrane are overshadowed by the two in which he throws such a compelling contrast with the other great horn players. You ache for him to start playing...

Though credited to the Miles Davis Sextet, 1961's SOMEDAY MY PRINCE WILL COME features only one sextet performance - its lengthy title track - with the rest of the album divided between two quintets, one featuring tenor saxophonist John Coltrane (on "Teo") and the other featuring Hank Mobley (on all other tracks). Both tenormen play well, whether in tandem or separately; and with Miles' post-KIND OF BLUE rhythm section in support this is a solid, if not exactly groundbreaking, effort from the trumpeter's rather overlooked "middle" period. The music is generally moody and careful, with the short "Drad Dog" (which would be resurrected as "Circle" on the 1966 MILES SMILES session) probably the most intriguing piece here. Though worth the time and money of any serious Davis fan, this album inevitably suffers a bit in comparison with the earth-shaking works which had preceded and would follow it.

The underrated Hank Mobley spent so much of his life in the shadow of John Coltrane, who certainly blew more notes...

Mobley and Miles Davis should have been soul-mates, prior to '64, Davis often played solos close to the melodic line (see his solo on Round Midnight). John Coltrane thought so, he recommended Mobley to Davis as his replacement. Mobley has a wonderful lyric sound to his sax, despite the indifference of Miles Davis and much of the hardbop world to his work during his life. Thoughtful Mobley played complex music, occationally just behind the beat (like Billie Holiday).

In the song "Someday my Prince", Miles starts the solos and lays down the general tempo. Hank Mobley listens very carefully, comes in next, with a mirror image solo, similar structure, similar tempo, thoughtful lyrical, just like Davis. Then Coltrane comes in, much too hard and much too loud, with a solo completely unlike what anyone else in the group was playing. Like throwing battery acid over the whole recording...(Other reviewers have called Mobley "tentative" because he listened to what Davis was playing and didn't jump in, blowing as hard as he could. I disagree.)

For the rest of the album you hear the interplay of Mobley and Davis who fit together hand-in-glove, instead of fighting each other (in "Blackhawk - Live" - hear "Bye Bye Blackbird"). Coltrane was unhappy the MD group and soon to leave (it shows).

Davis and Mobley were great together. Mobley listened better than nearly anyone else, to Miles Davis and other trumpeters. Why they didn't play together more is a mystery to me. The only sense I can make of it is that Coltrane was a mustard-contrast to Davis honey. Mobley was his mirror/shadow; Davis prefered contrast.

This (underrated) album is one of the ten best by Miles Davis.

There are those times in jazz when everything is pattering along, nice and pleasant, and then one musician starts playing and BOOM everything that's happened for the previous few minutes seems totally trivial. "Someday My Prince Will Come" (track #1 of this CD) is one of those times. Miles, Hank Mobley, and Wynton all play fine swinging solos; then John Coltrane plays an incredible solo at the end of which you ask yourself "Hank who?"

Most of this CD features Miles's working band of the time, a quintet with Mobley in the tenor sax chair and the superbly groovy rhythm section of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. Mobley was a fine hard bop player, as some of his albums for the Blue Note label attest to (check out Soul Station, Roll Call or Workout), but he sounds a little uncomfortable here. The music looks back behind the progressive sounds Kind of Blue and Milestones to the mid-50s quintet, though with a few exceptions it doesn't have the spark of that group. The exceptions include the two tracks with Coltrane ("Someday" and "Teo"), whose intense spiralling improvisations look ahead to those on "Ole" and "Africa"; the one track with Philly Joe Jones ("Blues #2"), where Miles and Philly Joe trade choruses almost telepathically; and "Pfrancing" (aka "No Blues"), where the rhythm section does what they do best. The ballads, played by Miles on mute, are a little anemic.

The music on this album will please almost any jazz fan and includes some classic performances, but there are quite a few Miles Davis recordings that are more essential. If you want to hear the quintet (minus guests) at their best, check out the recently issued Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk.

I like this recording so much because it makes me feel so good each and every time I listen to it.
I consider "Prince" to be the second best of all of Miles's recordings -- simply because it is so beautiful. Hank Mobley plays a haunting sax on the ballads and Coltrane's solos on "Prince" and "Teo" are alone worth the price of the CD. Wynton Kelly's piano playing is so beautiful, and the quality of the recording is very high. The music on this CD is simply beautiful, and played to perfection. Tracks 1,2,4, and 6 are gorgeous ballads, richly textured, each musician contributing just the right note to produce a feeling of beauty. Every time I listen to this recording I get tears in my eyes -- tears of joy. To me, this is one of the finest recordings in any genre, and one I always take with me when travelling.