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Post by DobermanBoston on Apr 18, 2019 20:58:47 GMT
2). Any one of Cookin', Relaxin', Workin' or Steamin' on Prestige as representative of the so-called First Great Quintet. My personal favourite of the four in Relaxin' but they're all great. I'd also recommend Miles and 'Round About Midnight by the same group.
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Post by DobermanBoston on Apr 18, 2019 21:01:25 GMT
If you dislike In a Silent Way, I'd stay away from just about everything recorded after, though plenty of that is really great, in my opinion. True. And even if you like electric Miles, as I do, be advised that his post-retirement-followed-by-comeback work (1981 and on) isn't good at all.
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Post by gregorythefish on Apr 19, 2019 18:43:00 GMT
I like Tutu and Decoy quite a bit, actually. But I gotta side with "'Round About Midnight" or perhaps "Milestones".
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Post by gregorythefish on Apr 19, 2019 18:44:04 GMT
also, welcome Alex! quite a list of gear you have, there.
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Fredrik
Junior Member
fwrarejazzvinylcollector.com
Posts: 61
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Post by Fredrik on Apr 26, 2019 19:47:47 GMT
Listen to “It Never Entered My Mind” from “Workin’” and you’ll love him forever...
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Post by alunsevern on Jul 21, 2019 8:52:37 GMT
Sztiv, we all know the new baby has limited your listening time and rightly so, but we do feel due an update on the Miles Davis front How is it going? Did you fall in love with SOME DAY MY PRINCE? Did you find a decent SKETCHES OF SPAIN? Have you finally given in to the towering achievement of KoB? Have you played the imperishable harmon mute ballads on RELAXIN' and felt that life might just be worth living after all?
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Post by sztiv on Jul 22, 2019 14:54:31 GMT
Since that initial post, I've acquired 4 new Miles LPs. I spent (what for me is) a small fortune on a 1961 stereo pressing of Someday My Prince Will Come. It arrived broken into 3 pieces, so I bought another one. An OJC copy of Relaxin' and 2 later re-issues - Sketches Of Spain and Friday Night At The Blackhawk vol. 1. I can't get along with Relaxin', maybe I'm too uptight but seriously that mute on every track, I'm not a fan. It sounds inhibited, like he's deliberately playing within himself and hiding the drama. Yesterday I even resorted to playing Ready For Freddie afterwards just to hear the sound of air rushing through a pipe. Coltrane's full blown sound only serves to make the muted Davis seem even more effete. It makes me want to shout out "Just blow the bloody thing FGS!" Sketches of Spain completes my Gil Evans / Miles Davis collection and of the three LPs, this is by far the best imo. Plenty of mute but in this orchestrated setting it's great. The restrained timbre of Davis' muted sound is entirely in keeping with the sound of Evan's arrangements. Refined, sophisticated, evocative and a few other adjectives as well. For me, Someday... is a hard one to call. There are so many positives that it seems churlish to say that I don't enjoy it as much as other lesser LPs in my collection. Coltrane, Mobley and Davis are each so different and distinctive in their attack and yet the whole LP has an ensemble feeling. Maybe it's the rhythm section? Wynton Kelly's playing was the first thing that struck me, I'd never heard him before. Will SMPWC grow on me? Perhaps, I can't say. The Blackhawk... LP being live has a lot of rough edges but also plenty of vitality. My copy is this one from '73. Quite the most useless sleeve notes I've ever read. No mention of which musicians are playing. www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-In-Person-Friday-Night-At-The-Blackhawk-San-Francisco-Volume-I/release/1689341For some bizarre reason a previous owner has scratched out or fixed a tiny black sticker over every single instance of the word Columbia on both the label and the sleeve. Why on earth would you do that?
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Post by gregorythefish on Jul 22, 2019 16:05:21 GMT
For some bizarre reason a previous owner has scratched out or fixed a tiny black sticker over every single instance of the word Columbia on both the label and the sleeve. Why on earth would you do that? Bootleggin'?
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Post by alunsevern on Jul 22, 2019 16:09:23 GMT
Thanks for for the update, Sztiv. Always interesting to hear what others make of records. It had never struck me that some listeners might *dislike* the sound of Miles's muted trumpet -- one of the glories of jazz. Personally, I think it's the restraint -- maybe even the formal constraints presented by playing muted -- that creates the drama, but each to their own. I can't offer an explanation for the Columbiaphobic previous owner, mind you
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Post by sztiv on Jul 22, 2019 18:30:32 GMT
Perhaps if he'd used it a little more sparingly I would have appreciated it more.
Should I assume that the other three ....in' LPs are also 100% muted?
I should add that Somethin' Else is still my favourite Miles Davis LP.
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Post by bassman on Jul 23, 2019 6:56:46 GMT
Perhaps if he'd used it a little more sparingly I would have appreciated it more. Should I assume that the other three ....in' LPs are also 100% muted? I should add that Somethin' Else is still my favourite Miles Davis LP. Sztiv, off the top of my head I can't say how many of Miles' Prestige recordings contain muted solos. They are frequently found in ballad performances, while open playing occurs more often in faster numbers, which should also answer your question about the ...in' LPs. But you can be pretty sure that the Prestige quintet recordings are among the very best jazz has to offer. Garland, Chambers and Philly Joe are the prototypical "modern" rhythm section, in the same way as Basie, Walter Page and Jo Jones (plus guitarist Freddie Green) were referred to as the "all-American rhythm section" in the late thirties.
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Post by alunsevern on Jul 23, 2019 7:54:13 GMT
[...] I should add that Somethin' Else is still my favourite Miles Davis LP. It is a marvellous record. Miles did Cannonball proud on that recording -- and it never disappoints.
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Post by gregorythefish on Jul 23, 2019 17:04:35 GMT
count me among those that could live without miles' muted rasp as well.
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Post by sztiv on Jul 23, 2019 20:35:31 GMT
..you can be pretty sure that the Prestige quintet recordings are among the very best jazz has to offer. Garland, Chambers and Philly Joe are the prototypical "modern" rhythm section, in the same way as Basie, Walter Page and Jo Jones (plus guitarist Freddie Green) were referred to as the "all-American rhythm section" in the late thirties. Thank you everyone. I listened to Relaxin' about 5 or 6 times today and found my way into the music through the material. If at first you don't succeed. There's music here from Frank Loesser (Guys and Dolls), Jimmy Van Heusen / Johnny Burke and Rodgers and Hart (Pal Joey) amongst others and I've always been a sucker for Tin Pan Alley. That's why I don't get this aversion to singing that quite a few people have here. All this stuff has lyrics, which whilst generally cheesy, were designed to be sung. Where would jazz music be without George and Ira? So anyway I found myself watching this silent 8mm home movie footage of Gene Kelly's 1940 Broadway debut in Pal Joey whilst listening to Miles Davis and it all began to make a lot more sense. PS Set them running in sync and then check Gene Kelly's gravity defying moves to Coltrane's solo.
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Post by Doom Girl on Jul 28, 2019 21:19:07 GMT
New member Alex said “I was never able to understand the false dichotomy of 'acoustic Miles/electric Miles'. It's all Miles. One of the greatest musicians ever. Miles the shaman, Miles the innovator. He plays music of the spheres; all you need is some patience to sit down and listen. Forget about categories, timelines, etc. Just listen.”
This was a very perceptive statement, with which I heartily concur. I have listened to and enjoyed most of Miles’ records from all of the different phases and find it hard to recommend just a few – when I try, the list starts at 5, grows to 10, then 20, then…. Just listen to any you come across – I think they all have something of interest. Maybe pick out the ones with cover pictures that appeal to you the most ☺
I would also recommend reading “Miles – the Autobiography” written with Quincey Troupe for the first-hand account of Miles’ development and innovations. Along with Dizzy Gillespie’s “To Be, Or Not…to Bop,” this is probably my favorite jazz memoir. Both are very enjoyable reads.
I was also surprised at negative opinions of the “Harmonized” Miles– I find these to be some of his most sensitive and thrilling performances – from “My Funny Valentine” on “Cookin’” to his version of Cyndi Lauper’s beautiful “Time after Time.”
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