Miles Davis – Miles '55: The Prestige Recordings - (3-LP Vinyl)
Review
This two-disc compilation of Miles Davis sessions in 1955 overflows with the optimism of the moment. Throughout these Prestige recordings, done seven decades ago with the legendary Rudy Van Gelder at his New Jersey studio, there are myriad and palpable post-war, baby-booming bouquets of bop mirroring brilliantly what was blooming in the jazz clubs across the river in NYC. Davis was just a few years away from igniting a modal revolution with his iconic Kind of Blue, and the trumpeter, here, is squarely in a phase of evolution intent on both honoring and pushing ahead of Charlie Parker's legacy, precipitating a period when Davis would become a titan.
It's a pleasing, compact set that splits the 16 tracks evenly across the two spins. Leading an ensemble that featured giants of jazz- including John Coltrane, Paul Chambers, and Red Garland, to name just a few- Davis is in a fully confident mode, delivering assertive, bright, and melodic runs as punchy and sunny as any in his long career. He also authors three of the cuts, slotting them into a mix of poppish delights and contemporary nods to Dizzy ("A Night in Tunisia") and Duke ("Just Squeeze Me").
In the accompanying booklet, there is another illuminating essay by no less than the living authority on all things Davis (and Coltrane), Ashley Kahn, that details the sessions and time-period, alongside entries particular to each studio date. Essentially a follow-up to the 1954 set from last year, this collection provides a tightly-stocked comparative; back-to-back giving a very discernible picture of Davis and his accelerated movements over those 24 months. What followed was the monumental Davis quintet that produced a string of ground-shifting albums from 1956-1961, making this 70th anniversary set from 1955 all the more revelatory, integral, and valued.
— Larson Sutton, Relix
Product Details
By 1955, Miles Davis had already survived his own wilderness years, kicking heroin and clawing his way back to the forefront of jazz with a legendary Newport Jazz Festival set that reminded everyone exactly who he was. What followed, documented across these Prestige sessions, captures a bandleader in the act of assembling one of the most consequential small groups in the music's history, the sound of something clicking into place in real time.
Miles ’55 offers a deeper look at 1955, the year in which jazz icon Miles Davis formed his first great quintet (John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones) and established his influential sound. Released on limited 3-LP it collects 16 tracks remastered from the original analog tapes by GRAMMY-winning engineer Paul Blakemore, with lacquers cut by Kevin Gray. Included are new liner notes by GRAMMY® Award-winning music historian Ashley Kahn and session notes by Dan Morgenstern.
Tracklist
Side A
Side B
Side C
Side D
Side E
Side F
UPC: 888072682412
Label: Craft Recordings
Release Date: 8.22.25
Format: LP Vinyl