Miles Davis Blue Miles CD

Personnel includes: Miles Davis (trumpet, flugelhorn); Gil Evans (conductor); Cannoball Adderley, Lee Konitz (alto saxophone); John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, George Coleman, Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Bernie Glow, Ernie Royal, Johnny Coles (trumpet); Frank Rehak, Jimmy Cleveland (trombone); Jimmy Buffington (French horn); Bill Barber (tuba); Romeo Penque (flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, oboe); Red Garland, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Victor Feldman, Herbie Hancock (piano); Paul Chambers, Ron Carter (bass); Philly Joe Jones, Jimmy Cobb, Frank Butler, Tony Williams, Art Taylor (drums); Elvin Jones (percussion).
Producers: George Avakian, Irving Townsend, Teo Macero.
Compilation producer: Seth Rothstein.
Engineers include: Frank Laico, Harold Chapman, Fred Plaut.
Recorded between 1956 and 1967.
Digitally remastered by Seth Foster (Sony Music Studios, New York, New York).
Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet, flugelhorn); Romeo Penque (flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, oboe); Sid Cooper (flute, clarinet); Al Block, Harold Feldman (flute); Danny Bank (bass clarinet); Jack Knitzer (bassoon); Lee Konitz (alto saxophone); Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Louis Mucci, Ernie Royal, Johnny Carisi, Johnny Coles, Taft Jordan, Bernie Glow (trumpet); Joe Singer, Willie Ruff, James Buffington (French horn); Dick Hixon, Frank Rehak, Jimmy Cleveland, Joe Bennett (trombone); Billy Barber (tuba); Victor Feldman, Herbie Hancock, Red Garland, Wynton Kelly (piano); Jimmy Cobb , Philly Joe Jones, Art Taylor (drums); Elvin Jones, Jose Mangual (percussion).
Recording information: Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York, NY (09/10/1956-06/23/1967); Hollywood, CA (09/10/1956-06/23/1967).
Photographer: Don Hunstein.
Arranger: Gil Evans.
Sure, the serious jazz collector will have no particular need to pay this release any mind. It has eight 1956-1967 Davis ballads, encompassing "'Round Midnight," orchestrated pieces with Gil Evans, and tracks with stellar sidemen like John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, and Herbie Hancock. The selections are ones that highlight Davis' more sultry and melancholy horn tones, played on the trumpet with the exception of "Blues for Pablo" on which he plays flügelhorn. What this probably does have its value for -- and it's a reasonable value -- is as a token Davis collection for moderate jazz and/or Davis fans or as a gift for someone who likes quality mellow jazz but never really bothers to buy it. Toward that end, it's a fair bet that more than one guy will be giving this to a girlfriend to get her in the mood, so to speak. It's good music (whether used as make-out ambience or not), just not something that fits snugly into the usual "recommended listening" or "picks" sections of discographies. ~ Richie Unterberger
With an artist as prolific and constantly evolving as Miles Davis, it would be futile to attempt a single CD compilation of his work without first selecting a theme to narrow things down. For BLUE MILES Columbia/Legacy has chosen a smart if unsurprising category: Miles playing tunes which, while not necessarily following the blues form per se, all evoke a kind of restless, after-hours, melancholy mood.
In drawing material from the years 1956-1967, this collection also provides a de facto cross section of Miles' ensembles from perhaps the most fertile decade of his incredibly productive career. "Round Midnight" features the '50s quintet that included Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. "Blues for Pablo" and "The Pan Piper" are collaborations with Gil Evans, and "Blue in Green" comes from the groundbreaking KIND OF BLUE album. "Drad Dog," with Hank Mobley on tenor and Wynton Kelly on piano, and "Basin St. Blues," with George Coleman on tenor, are from the early '60s, while "Circle" and "Sweet Pea" bring things up to the second classic quintet era.Q (3/01, p.118) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...This examination of his somber side defines something special about the trumpeter....for a first taste of Miles Davis magic, this is about right."