Concord Issues Miles Davis on Prestige Retrospective

Concord Records is issuing this week a two-disc retrospective of Miles Davis’ recordings for Prestige Records,The Definitive Miles Davis on Prestige.” The two discs bring together over two hours of music in the twenty four performances selected and cover the period between 1951 and 1956. These are when Davis established his reputation, but prior to his time with Columbia Records with whom he would produce his most famous body of work. The Prestige catalog of Miles has been mined and reissued extensively over the years, and there are of course CD box sets of his recordings for that label. This two disc compilation serves as an overview of some of Davis better known recordings for the label. Ashley Kahn provides a discussion of the specific recordings and their context in MIles’ life and career at this time.

The first of the two discs covers Davis’ recordings from 1951-1954. The opening Morpheous and George Russell’s Ezz-Thetic (from a Lee Konitz album) carry forth echoes of The Birth of the Cool. There are such famous numbers as Dig and Four as well as Compulsion, with Sonny Rollins and Charlie Parker both on tenor (one of Bird’s few tenor recordings). Davis’ distinctive range, most often when he employs a mute is becoming evident especially iconic ballads like I’ll Remember April, as well as on Richie Carpenter’s Walkin’. There’s the first recording of the Sonny Rollins’ gem Airegin, as well as a lively Bag’s Groove with Jackson and Thelonious Monk. It is instructive how Monk lays out during Miles’ solo, an illustration of Miles’ distaste for Monk’s accompaniments.

Disc 2 is devoted to the 1955-1956 recordings by Miles quintet with the great rhythm section of pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Jo Jones, along with John Coltrane on tenor sax. Trane sits out three of the twelve selections on this disc. The twelve selections include Surrey With The Fringe On Top, If I Were A Bell, Round Midnight, Rollins’ Oleo, My Funny Valentine (sans Coltrane), and The Theme. Some of these tunes became part of Miles’ repertoire for the next several years after he had changed labels, going to Columbia, and a good number likely are familiar to many of you. It completes this nice retrospective of Davis’ early recordings as a leader.


My review copy was supplied by the record company.

Benny Golson's Jazz Legacy Still Expanding

Highly honored over the past few years for his lengthy career (he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award among other honors), and recently feted at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in celebration of his 80th Birthday, Benny Golson’s musical legacy is marked by two new releases on Concord Jazz. “The Best of Benny Golson” is a career spanning disc containing nine performances while “New Time, New ‘Tet” is his first new recording in five years with his new jazztet. Golson’s contributions probably are most noteworthy as a composer and arranger, but he has also been a distinctive saxophonist who has produced a strong body of recordings. Some of his compositions have become part of the jazz standard book including “I Remember Clifford,” ”Whisper Not,” “Along Came Betty,” and “Killer Joe.” One thing these carefully crafted compositions share is there memorable melodies that stay with the listener. Furthermore, there is a thoughtfulness in his tunes, arrangements and his playing. he eschews a hot extroverted music for a distinctive crafted work which is akin to the careful work of a jeweler cutting stones and crafting his rings, bracelets and charms. 
A career spanning decades can only be skimmed on a single disc, but “The Best of Benny Golson,” brings together nine performances that display the range and variety of his compositions as well as his playing. This compilation opens with an octet performing “Whisper Not,” with Art Farmer, Gigi Gryce, James Cleveland, and Sahib Shibab joining him for the front line with a muted, delicate sound to the arrangement effectively using Watkins’ French Horn, Shibab’s baritone sax and Farmer’s muted trumpet with solos from Gryce, Cleveland on trombone, Farmer playing open, and Golson himself. Gigi Gyrce’s “Reunion” is a sextet with J.J. Johnson on trombone and Kenny Dorham on trumpet as well as a rhythm section of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Max Roach, on a nice bop number with shifting tempos with Golson taking the lead solo, Chambers getting featured and the ensemble trading fours with Roach.

“Are You Real,” a quintet performance with Curtis Fuller and a rhythm of Barry Harris, Jymie Merritt and Philly Joe Jones has some gusty playing from Golson before Fuller and Harris take the spotlight. Another date with Fuller brings the stunning “Blues After Dark,” another strong Golson melody, with its loping tempo and marvelous solos by both Fuller and Golson, both who employ an almost whispering attack at the beginning of their solos. Art Blakey joins Fuller on Golson on a delightful reading of Rodgers & Hart’s “I Didn’t Know What Time It Is,” while his ballad playing on “April in Paris,” evokes Ben Webster, in the use of space as well as tone on a superb performance although without Webster's heavy vibrato. A live rendition of “Along Came Betty” is from a Jazztet dated co-led with Art Farmer and with Curtis Fuller.

A 1997 recording of his “Five Spot After Dark,” has Ron Blake on tenor and John Swana on trumpet, both a bit more extroverted in their playing than Golson. Eddie Henderson is present on the closing track, a nice 2004 rendition of “Killer Joe.” Lacking familiarity with all the source albums for these tracks, I cannot vouch whether this is in fact the best of Benny Golson, but the music here is darn good indeed (to use a bit of understatement).

“New Time. New ‘Tet” (Concord Jazz) releases an August 2008 session with Eddie Henderson, trumpet-flugelhorn; Steve Davis, trombone; Mike Ledonne, piano, Buster Williams, bass, and Carl Allen drums. All but Davis were on the 2004 rendition “Killer Joe,” from “The Best of Benny Golson.” In the liner notes, Jim Merod has these interesting words to describe this contemporary Jazztet in that it “incorporates virtually all the elements of the pensive, sometimes sentimental,consistently philosophical and always gregarious.” Trombonist Davis' “Grove’s Groove,” opens this set with a relaxed groove and his at times blustery tone contrasts with Golson’s more reserved sounding attack. Next up is Sonny Rollins’ “Airegin,” with Henderson brassy solo a highlight along with Buster Williams’s walking solo and pianist Ledonne’s sparkling playing.

Golson’s “From Dream to Dream” is an apty titled ballad with a languorous feel. Davis takes a lengthy, low-key solo while Henderson and Golson add soft embellishments around. The tempo struts a bit quicker as Al Jarreau adds a vocal to this new rendition of “Whisper Not,” with Henderson using his mute on his solo, followed by Ledonne adding a bit of barrelhouse to his bop piano. Monk’s “Epistrophy” opens with a blast from the horns before Henderson takes the lead on the melody as Davis and Golson adding their voices before Henderson opens his solo in an extroverted vein, on a number where everyone solos with Ledonne’s bouncy handling of Monk’s angular lines a delight and his chords punctuate Williams solo.

Golson rearranges a couple of songs from the Western Classical musical tradition, Chopin’s “L’Adieu,” with marvelous muted playing on this ballad from Henderson, and “Verdi’s Voice,” with the jazztet evoking a classical quartet. An unusual contemporary ballad, El DeBarge’s “Love Me in a Special Way,” showcases Davis’ gruff lyricism before Golson takes over for his romantic reading of the number. “Gypsy Jingle-Jangle,” is a pretty lively tempoed number with shifting tempos that lead one on a musical ride, more like the tilt-a-whirl than a roller coaster, but energizing indeed. The closing “Uptown Afterburn,” is another energetic musical jaunt with Williams, who solos here, anchors with his forceful playing.

This recording illustrates that age has not slowed down Benny Golson down, and with the latest Jazztet, continues to provide us with jazz that remains thoughtful, soulful, contemplative, fiery and passionate.


This look back and look forward at Benny Golson originally appeared in the March 2009 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 314) at pages 8-9. The issue can be downloaded at jazz-blues.com. Review copies of the CD were provided me from the publication.