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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Debut of one of jazz's greatest groups, March 3, 2006
I had the misfortune of buying "Miles Smiles," the album recorded after this one, way before my ears were ready for it. As a result, I disliked that album and got turned off of Miles' second great quintet. Since then I've come to understand post-bop ironically through the work of the sidemen on this album (Wayne Shorter in particular) and I recently picked up this album. It blew my mind. I remembered this group and its musical philosophy as uninteresting, as they tended towards dispensing with the chord changes on almost every tune. Thus there was a quality of sameness (to the uneducated or closed ear) to the approach of all the tunes. But that preconception was totally blown out of the water when I listened to this album. Rather than sameness, the compositions are harmonically varied and go in fascinating, unconventional directions. This, to me, is what jazz is about: the search for new ways to express melody, rhythm, and harmony, while retaining beauty and emotion. This album succeeds brilliantly in that quest, particularly Wayne Shorter's compositions. The title cut essentially defines a new set of rules for chord motion, and "Iris" is one of the most beautiful tunes Wayne has ever written while defying any and every cliche of modern harmony. "Eighty-One" looks at the blues as a song form and alters the conventional harmony just enough to retain its integrity and flow while creating new interest. "Mood" returns to Miles' signature brooding, slow minor-key playing without sounding like a copy of anything he had played before in this vein.
As for the playing itself, the level of musicianship on display from Davis, Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams, is at an expected high. A certain telepathy existed between the members of the rhythm section (yes, E.S.P. ha ha ha) making this band one of the most flexible units in jazz history. There may be a couple of rough moments (Hancock in particular doesn't seem quite as comfortable with the new harmonic territory, though he would absolutely master it and pioneer so many options for the piano in the future) but Miles lived for these rough moments because they showed the human element one must bring to jazz. One advisory for those familiar only with Miles' early work: his playing on this record reflects the changing ideas of the jazz scene and isn't conventionally "pretty" like it is on Kind Of Blue. He often uses the upper register and plays jagged lines that sound strange at first. But when you acquire a taste for this new Miles (and if you follow his career, it's necessary to acquire a taste for "new" Miles many times, as he was constantly reinventing himself) you realize this is some of the most musical and advanced playing of his career. So be forewarned that this is magnificent music but it is challenging to the casual listener. There are a couple of ways to get used to it though; try Miles's music from the early 60s leading up to this album, or try Wayne Shorter's masterpiece "Speak No Evil" from about a month earlier with similar personnel. It takes time to appreciate this album's depth but it is well worth it to do so.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A new beginning., October 20, 2005
By 1965, the world of jazz had changed almost unrecognizably from just five years ago, and Miles Davis was in danger of being left behind. After the triumphs of his first few years with Columbia, it seems Davis had had enough. His past few records and his live performances found him falling back on old habits, exploring standards and hard bop pieces that he'd been playing for the past several years. Meanwhile, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor and Albert Ayler shook the foundations of jazz and John Coltrane in December of 1964 had just aligned himself with them by recording his masterpiece "A Love Supreme". All this time, Davis had been standing still, but he'd assembled a new quintet, completed by plucking his crown jewel and tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter from Art Blakey's band to add to his working band of pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drum prodigee Tony Williams. And while his band dutifully played the hard bop he was paying them for, they wanted to stretch out, to build on the innovations of Coleman, Taylor, Ayler and Coltrane, and remarkably, they inspired Davis to do so as well. In January of 1965, they went into the studio to record their first album together-- "E.S.P", and it was clear that, to steal an Ayler song title, change has come.
Now granted, the music here isn't quite free jazz, but it's certainly a lot more adventerous than anything Davis had done since "Sketches of Spain". It was his first album to feature only originals since "Kind of Blue" (Shorter penned two, Carter and Davis together wrote two and separately one, and Hancock one), and the band plays like they've been doing it for decades-- Williams is unnervingly agile and flexible, managing an inside-out statement, Carter and Hancock are both supportive and energetic, and in Shorter, Davis had a tenor who could stand next to him with no trouble.
But it's Davis who seems most revitalized-- his performances are stunning-- exploring the upper register and playing with a passion that had been missing from his records through the previous couple years. Look no further than opener "E.S.P"-- after its slithery theme and a brief solo by shorte,r it slides into a frantic and exploratory solo by Davis that's among the best he'd laid down on record. As the album progresses, its seven tracks cover dozens of moods and feature seemingly endless standout performances-- personal favorites include Hancock's mellow groove, "Little One" and Williams drum feature "Agitation" (his solo intro is nothing short of astounding), but really, its all quite good.
In the end, this is powerful stuff. Remarkably, i feel this quintet would outdo this on more than one occasion, but I can't bring myself to give this one less than five stars. Highly recommended.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most intense, awesome Miles albums., November 5, 2003
Miles was at his best on this recording. He had been re-energized once again by Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, and it is displayed here. Miles solos with phenomenal upper register control and great ideas, and Wayne Shorter and Herbie also play great solo work. Ron and Tony are the fuel of this group and keep the energy flowing at all times. The album jumps right at you with the title track, a wonderful tune written by Wayne and Miles, where it continiously builds up in intensity, and it seems as if Wayne is simply building the intensity for Miles to take it into a whole different, more insane place, and then Herbie takes it from there and gradually cools it down again. Then there's the great radio feel of "Eighty-One", which is a very catchy little tune, and everyone in the band plays great. Herbie and Miles sound really hip on this one. "Little One" is a beautiful ballad written by Herbie, and is one of my personal favorites. Herbie also recorded this tune outside of Miles's group with Freddie Hubbard, Wayne, Ron and Tony, but I personally prefer the version with Miles (although they're both great). "RJ" is another faster hard bop tune, this one written by Ron Carter, and is a bit brief but makes a point as a transitional part of the album. "Agitation" is a composition by Tony Williams, and the title could not describe the piece better. The whole song gives a feeling of agitation. Tony Williams opens the song with a drum solo for two minutes, running through all sorts of complex rhythms. Miles comes in on harmon mute over this freeform rhythm and sounds great. This is one of the album's most interesting songs. "Iris" is a beautiful piece once again written by Shorter and Miles, taking it back to the slower mood. Miles sounds great jumping from lyrical stepping stones, and Wayne really gets into some good ideas here. The following final track is also a ballad, Ron Carter's "Mood". Here, Miles picks up the harmon mute again and solos in the upper register very well and appropriately uses his breathy, muted lower register. Wayne and Herbie also come up with wonderful improvisational work here. This album is the epitome of great combo work. Everyone contributes, every member did some writing on this album, and everything sounds great. Recommended to anyone.
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