Miles Davis: 1951-54

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

After Miles Davis's bebop years with Charlie Parker (1945-1949) and his cool nonet experiments between 1948 and 1950, the trumpeter set to work developing his solo sound as the leader of potent ensembles. Davis's recordings made between 1951 and '54 are noteworthy for listeners who want to experience his approach prior to 1955, when he signed with Columbia Records and became jazz's first modernist superstar. During his 10-inch LP era in the early '50s, Davis was both ferocious and sensitive, confident and curious, brashly dissonant and joyfully melodic. No matter the mood, Davis was always gorgeous and sculptural, similar in many ways not to Frank Sinatra, with whom he's often compared, but to Gene Kelly. Davis, as you can hear, was really a modern dancer, expressing himself in staccato taps or in flowing, expressive legato. His ballads could be romantic and decadent, and the hot stuff sizzled, like a drill bit eating into stone.

During this transition period, Davis recorded largely for Prestige, with a clutch of sessions for Blue Note. Yesterday, I spent the day listening in-depth to his recordings during these four years. Rather than get into the nitty-gritty of all the dates, I simply want to share five remarkable tracks that you may not be familiar with or have overlooked. No matter how nasty Davis is portrayed in films and books, it should never be forgotten how exceptional an artist he was and what made him so extraordinary. [Photo above of Miles Davis by Esmond Edwards/CTSImages]

Here's Bluing, from October 1951, featuring Miles Davis (tp), Jackie McLean (as), Sonny Rollins (ts), Walter Bishop, Jr. (p), Tommy Potter (b) and Art Blakey (d)...

Here's For Adults Only in February 1953, featuring Miles Davis (tp), Al Cohn (ts,arr), Zoot Sims (ts), John Lewis (p), Leonard Gaskin (b) and Kenny Clarke (d). It sounds like Sims takes the first tenor saxophone solo followed by Cohn...

Here's Kelo from April 1953, featuring Miles Davis (tp), J.J. Johnson (tb), Jimmy Heath (ts), Gil Coggins (p), Percy Heath (b) and Art Blakey (d)...

Here's Miles Ahead from May 1953, featuring Miles Davis (tp), John Lewis (p), Percy Heath (b) and Max Roach (d)...

And here's Lazy Susan from March 1954, featuring Miles Davis (tp), Horace Silver (p), Percy Heath (b) and Art Blakey (d)...

Used with permission by Marc Myers