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 Remember
listening to those four magical jazz discs from the late 50s and early
60s which Miles Davis recorded with orchestras conducted by Gil Evans
— Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain
and Quiet Nights? You know, tracks like Maids of Cadiz, Summertime,
Concierto de Aranjuez, Song No. 2.
Well, Columbia
have recently re-released them.
Not before time,
either. My LP versions are worn out, especially Porgy and Spain.
So instead of replacing them on individual CDs, I can now revisit them
in context.
And what a
context. For now we get, not only the music together with the original
liner notes, but also full track-by-track itemised credits, out-takes,
session photos and a long article by Columbia executive George Avakian.
Best of all, though, there are rehearsal discussions, where Gil Evans is
explaining to the band what he can already hear in his mind’s ear, and
how they might perform it.
It’s hard to
credit it, but Miles Ahead is forty years old this year, but it
still sounds as startlingly new as it did back then.
Interestingly,
the re-release is available in two media — on 6 CDs or 11 LPs.
According to Keyboard magazine, the photos are better in the
larger format that LPs allow, but I’ll settle for the six-pack. First
to find the $160.
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