Though its front cover – a garish, green-tinted, tree-lined river scene photographed in winter – seemed unremittingly bleak and left a lot to be desired artistically, Miles, the 1956 debut album by The New Miles Davis Quintet contained music that was remarkable as well as warmly inviting.
Trumpeter Miles Davis, who enjoyed a creative renaissance after breaking the grip of heroin addiction in 1954, had led several bands before but none were as important as the regular working group he assembled in the summer of ‘55 following his stunning performance at the Newport Jazz Festival. Dubbed The New Miles Davis Quintet, the band introduced the world to a relatively unknown tenor saxophonist from Philly called John Coltrane, whose melodic torrents contrasted with Davis’ spare, minimalist lyricism to create the perfect partnership. Behind them, the rhythm section was a potent one: Texas pianist Red Garland, whose delicate touch belied the fact that in his previous career, he had used his hands as weapons (he was briefly a professional boxer), double bass prodigy Paul Chambers and energetic live-wire drummer, Philly Joe Jones. On 16th November 1955, Davis took them into Rudy Van Gelder’s Hackensack studio in New Jersey with producer Bob Weinstock at the helm to record the outfit’s debut platter.
Now reissued as part of Craft Recordings’ ongoing Original Jazz Classics series, Miles has been mastered from the original tapes by the hugely in-demand audio genius Kevin Gray. Although the music is 69 years old, the vinyl sound is astonishingly good; clearly defined with a warm presence and vivid soundstage. It’s a jazz antique, certainly, but Gray’s audio magic makes listeners feel that they are studio eye-witnesses as the record is being cut in real time.
The opening track, a sublime cover of Duke Ellington’s ‘Just Squeeze Me,’ with Miles playing a muted horn over a laidback, gently swinging gait, reveals how the trumpeter took jazz in a different, much cooler direction compared with bebop’s frenetic, high-octane virtuosity. Miles lets Coltrane, just 29 at the time, supply the music’s sonic heat with a blowtorch solo while Garland plays pretty right-hand melodies underpinned by nimble block chords. Coltrane sits out ‘No Greater Love,’ an aching ballad that allows Miles to show that beneath the tough guy he cultivated was a supremely sensitive soul. In contrast, ‘How Am I To Know?’ propelled by Philly Joe Jones’ kinetic drums, increases the tempo to a breezy canter. Even greater momentum drives the propulsive ‘S’Posin’ with Miles showing his trumpet agility while the self-penned ‘The Theme’ – which Miles used for years afterward to close his live shows – is a taut swinger highlighting among other things Paul Chambers’ dexterous bass playing. Closing the album is an excellent interpretation of Benny Golson’s ‘Stablemates,’ with Miles and Trane’s horns blending beautifully on the tune’s snaking main theme.
Often overlooked in the trumpeter’s discography, largely because there were more momentous records by his quintet in the late ‘50s – especially after his switch to Columbia Records – Miles was a hugely significant recording that not only marked the debut of one of the most pivotal groups in jazz history but also showed that its creator was emerging as one of the genre’s leading pathfinders.
(CW) 5/5
