Blues Miles

by Miles Davis

Product Description:

Personnel includes: Miles Davis (trumpet, flugelhorn); Gil Evans (conductor); Cannoball Adderley, Lee Konitz (alto saxophone); John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, George Coleman, Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Bernie Glow, Ernie Royal, Johnny Coles (trumpet); Frank Rehak, Jimmy Cleveland (trombone); Jimmy Buffington (French horn); Bill Barber (tuba); Romeo Penque (flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, oboe); Red Garland, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Victor Feldman, Herbie Hancock (piano); Paul Chambers, Ron Carter (bass); Philly Joe Jones, Jimmy Cobb, Frank Butler, Tony Williams, Art Taylor (drums); Elvin Jones (percussion).

Producers: George Avakian, Irving Townsend, Teo Macero.

Compilation producer: Seth Rothstein.

Engineers include: Frank Laico, Harold Chapman, Fred Plaut.

Recorded between 1956 and 1967.

Digitally remastered by Seth Foster (Sony Music Studios, New York, New York).

With an artist as prolific and constantly evolving as Miles Davis, it would be futile to attempt a single CD compilation of his work without first selecting a theme to narrow things down. For BLUE MILES Columbia/Legacy has chosen a smart if unsurprising category: Miles playing tunes which, while not necessarily following the blues form per se, all evoke a kind of restless, after-hours, melancholy mood.

In drawing material from the years 1956-1967, this collection also provides a de facto cross section of Miles' ensembles from perhaps the most fertile decade of his incredibly productive career. "Round Midnight" features the '50s quintet that included Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. "Blues for Pablo" and "The Pan Piper" are collaborations with Gil Evans, and "Blue in Green" comes from the groundbreaking KIND OF BLUE album. "Drad Dog," with Hank Mobley on tenor and Wynton Kelly on piano, and "Basin St. Blues," with George Coleman on tenor, are from the early '60s, while "Circle" and "Sweet Pea" bring things up to the second classic quintet era.