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Miles Davis: Miles '55: The Prestige Recordings
Clark Terry
trumpet1920 - 2015
If a listener asks why studying Davis' Prestige recordings from 1955 is worth the effort, here is the key. Cue up "There Is No Greater Love." OK. Who is playing? This is a joke, right? That is Miles. Sure. No matter what the level of technique—which is, putting it mildly, inconsistent—it is Davis. How do you know? Phrasing, rhythm, time, timbre—all of it. Why is red "red?" Because it is. Forget the philosophical discussions of qualia, the individual, conscious instances of experience that make a thing a thing. It is Miles. No one else sounded that way, especially in 1955—although he has spawned a legion of imitators in the past half century. Could he play as high as
Dizzy Gillespie
trumpet1917 - 1993
Fats Navarro
trumpet1923 - 1950
Clifford Brown
trumpetb.1930
Davis famously said that it takes a long time to sound like yourself. Well, in 1955, Davis was 30 years old. He had started studying music at the age of 9. By the age of 12, he cared about little else. So do the arithmetic. It took Davis about 18 years to become almost immediately identifiable.
And people knew it. By 1953-1954, at least by some modern measures, his reputation had equaled or surpassed Gillespie,
Harry James
trumpet1916 - 1983
Roy Eldridge
trumpet1911 - 1989
Louis Armstrong
trumpet and vocals1901 - 1971
Davis, of course, has an autobiography, written with Quincy Troupe (Simon and Schuster, 1989). Like its subject, people either love it or hate it. Davis rarely did not inspire strong feeling. His views on race, gender, the music business and other musicians are rarely admirable. And some people did not like his trumpet playing: early, middle or late period. Davis did not care. He was proud of not really caring.
The interesting thing about this audiophile collection of Prestige Recordings from 1955 is that it may just give some insight into precisely why Davis inspired such a spectrum of reactions. Some of the recordings, each of impeccable physical quality, are simply wonderful. "Stablemates," "Dr. Jackle," "How Am I to Know?" or "Just Squeeze Me" fall into that category. Either because of Davis, his rhythm section or his band mates, like
Jackie McLean
saxophone, alto1932 - 2006
John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967
Paul Chambers
bass, acoustic1935 - 1969
Then there are tunes that do not work. "Night in Tunisia" is not exactly terrible, but obviously that kind of playing was not Davis' forte. "I See Your Face Before Me" is barely audible through the Harmon mute, no matter what Ashley Kahn says about it in his very interesting liner notes. It is not until Davis gets to "Gal in Calico" that he is again in his metier. The others, among them drummer
Art Taylor
drums1929 - 1995
Do remember that Davis was also recording for Blue Note at the time, so you can always go to his recordings with them for comparison. Frankly, some prefer his Blue Note work, Miles Davis (2 vols, Blue Note, 1954) as displaying more vitality and considerably less preciousness. As Davis says in his autobiography, "We were higher than a mother****** when we made that record." Who knows? Then he was able to leave Prestige for Columbia, sort of in hugger mugger, where Davis did in fact make jazz history.
This is an excellent collection of a great player in transition, becoming what might seem to be a kind of pen-penultimate version of himself. Since some of the original recordings (e.g., such as Miles and Milt Jackson, Quintet/Sextet (Original Jazz Classics, 1956) are not easy to find, serious students of Miles Davis will find this mid-period collection very worthwhile. It is a physically impressive production as well, with liner notes by Ashley Kahn replete with discocography, photos, and the like. It may not resolve any of the ambivalence that many feel about Miles Davis as a person or a musician, but genius that is not in some sense rebarbative is unusual indeed. And Miles Davis, for all that, was a genius. ">
Track Listing
I Didn't; Will You Still Be Mine; I See Your Face Before Me; A Night in Tunisia; A Gal in Calico; Dr. Jackle; Bitty Ditty; Minor March; Changes; Stablemates; How Am I To Know/ Just Squeeze Me; There Is No Greater Love; The Theme; S'posin.
Personnel
Miles Davis
trumpet
John Coltrane
saxophone
Red Garland
piano
Paul Chambers
bass, acoustic
Philly Joe Jones
drums
Milt Jackson
vibraphone
Ray Bryant
piano
Oscar Pettiford
bass
Percy Heath
bass, acoustic
Art Taylor
drums
Jackie McLean
saxophone, altoAlbum information
Title: Miles '55: The Prestige Recordings | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Craft Recordings
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