At Carnegie Hall

Product Description:

Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet); Gil Evans (arranger, conductor); Hank Mobley (tenor saxophone); Ernie Royal, Bernie Glow, Johnny Coles, Louis Mucci (trumpet); Jimmy Knepper, Dick Hixon, Frank Rehak (trombone); Julius Watkins, Paul Ingrahan, Bob Swisshelm (French horn); Bill Barber (tuba); Romeo Penque, Jerome Richardson, Eddie Caine, Bob Tricarico, Danny Bank (reeds); Janet Putnam (harp); Wynton Kelly (piano); Paul Chambers (bass); Jimmy Cobb (drums); Bobby Rosengarden (percussion).

Producer: Teo Macero.

Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna.

Recorded live at Carnegie Hall, New York, New York on May 19, 1961. Includes liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.

Digitally remastered by Mark Wilder (Sony Music Studios, New York, New York).

This two-CD set makes the entire Carnegie Hall concert of May 19, 1961 available again in its entirety. The Miles Quintet at the time--the post-Coltrane, pre-Shorter era band, with its sound balancing bop and cool schools--is joined by an orchestra arranged and conducted by Miles' longtime friend/frequent collaborator Gil Evans.

The recording has more than its share of assets. The sound is pristine. Miles' playing is heartbreaking, romantic, and searingly beautiful. The late Hank Mobley's performance proves he is one of jazz history's most under-appreciated soloists (with that firm yet creamy-soft-at-its-core tenor tone). The orchestration, which balances jazz with subtle classical influences, compliments Miles' band but does not compete with it. One of the best live Miles albums available.