Miles Davis: Musings of Miles

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

Admittedly, I'm a Miles Davis purist when it comes to his mid-1950s recordings. This means I'm not especially big on Davis in crowds. I find his sessions with vibes, trombones and saxophones unnecessarily choked and distracting from the essential beauty and lyricism of his horn. I even feel that John Coltrane's tenor saxophone is often overwrought and claustrophobic on these mid-1950s dates. It's as if you're listening to a dazzling party guest only to be interrupted by a humorless, ponderous third. That's true for almost any other instrumentalist on a Davis date. For me, perfection is Davis with just a trio.

For whatever reason, Davis recorded only three sessions in the early and mid-1950s with just a trio: Blue Haze with John Lewis (p), Percy Heath (b) and Max Roach (d) in 1953 and a quartet session for Blue Note with Horace Silver (p), Percy Heath (b) and Art Blakey (d) in 1954. But the finest expression of the quartet format was The Musings of Miles, which featured Garland with Oscar Pettiford (b) and Philly Joe Jones (d). The album was recorded on June 7, 1955 and it was was Davis's first 12-inch LP (the others had been 10-inch pressings).

Davis's horn on Musings of Miles is precious and pure, like a crystal clear day or a carafe of cold spring water. Garland is equally exquisite and delicate, framing Davis's every idea. Garland, of course, was a bluesy exponent of Ahmad Jamal's spare approach on the keyboard, favoring the upper register for improvised lines and block chord in the middle to make bold statements. [Photo above of Miles Davis leaning over pianist Red Garland, with drummer Philly Joe Jones and bassist Paul Chambers in the background during the Cookin’sessions in New York on May 11, 1956. Michael Ochs Archives/ Getty Images]

Davis employed Garland when he failed to persuade Jamal to join his band in 1955. As Ahmad told me, both were leaders back then and it didn't seem to make much sense for him to join Davis's group when Davis could just as well join his trio. If only Miles had joined the Ahmad Jamal Trio for a year in the early 1950s. Can you imagine the results if they had recorded? Pure bliss. Keep in mind, on Musings of Miles—which was, in fact, Garland's first album with Davis—Will You Still Be Mine and Gal in Calico were purposeful lifts of Jamal's approach on both songs. [Photo above of Ahmad Jamal]

The Musings of Miles is a sensitive, regal album expressing Davis's emerging beauty and keen sense of taste and discretion. Like Garland, Davis understood the balance between sound and space. He also understood that sensuality mattered more than sheer power—or sheets of sound. [Photo above of Miles Davis in 1955 listening to a studio playback]

JazzWax clip: Pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea, sit back and listen to the entire Musings of Miles. Dig what Garland is doing as Davis plays. His chord voicings are so pretty...

Used with permission by Marc Myers