MILES DAVIS QUINTET
Cookin' With the Miles Davis Quintet
Prestige
In May and October of 1956, the Miles Davis
Quintet recorded sessions that were released separately
as four individual albums: Relaxin’, Steamin’,
Workin’ and Cookin’ With the Miles
Davis Quintet. Cookin’ was the first
album in the series to be released, though the tracks here
were recorded during the October sessions. This group was
dissolved in 1957 and Davis began a period of searching
and regrouping that would lead to several great recordings.
However, these four recordings are considered the apex of
the first Davis quintet’s work, and stand among the
trumpeter’s most beloved recordings. Already having
released Workin’ and Relaxin’
as part of its Rudy Van Gelder Remasters, Prestige now presents
Cookin’ in the remastered format.
Needless to say, the four individual releases
are all of a piece, with this well-honed group performing
various selections from its standard book in a relaxed atmosphere.
These performances are likely very similar to seeing the
group performing a set or two at a jazz club at the time,
with everyone relaxed and ready to play. The tunes presented
here create a balanced set, with “My Funny Valentine”
leading things off in a smoky, introspective mood. Davis
recorded this standard a number of times, often live, with
various personnel, and this particular performance is a
nice one, with a doubletime lilt in the bridge during Miles’
solo. Drummer Philly Joe Jones and bassist Paul Chambers
set the tone while Red Garland provides a nice set of chord
voicings beneath Miles and takes a swinging piano solo himself.
Garland’s “Blues By Five”
follows, a straightforward blues on which everyone gets
a chance to solo. Miles jumps right in and plays a fairly
restrained, well-constructed solo, and then Coltrane comes
in, stretching the blues format a bit. Coltrane’s
blues playing has not always received the attention that
it should, as evidenced by his excellent Coltrane Plays
Blues recording. The Sonny Rollins original “Airegin”
is taken at breakneck tempo, making the conciseness of both
Miles and Coltrane’s phrasing amazing. Both of them
solo, Trane heating things up nicely, before Miles returns
to take the thing out on the head.
The final track, the longest of the album,
is a medley comprised of Davis’ own “Tune-Up”
and “When Lights Are Low.” Again, the tempo
is increased (Davis had previously recorded both of these
at a slower tempo with a quartet), and everyone gets in
some solo time, sounding for all the world like the professional
quintet they were playing, not in a recording studio, but
in some smoky dive. One can imagine Miles, at the conclusion
of this number, saying “Thanks, we’re going
to take a short break, and then we’ll be back with
another set.”
Fortunately, the group was back with three
more sets. Prestige has repackaged these in a couple of
box sets: the 8-CD Chronicle, which includes all
of Davis’ work for the label between 1951 and 1956
and the 4-CD Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions,
which includes all four of the final Quintet albums plus
live recordings from 1955-58. The complete Quintet set is
essential, but the remasters of these four quintet albums
certainly will fill the bill in any jazz collection. Newbies
should keep in mind, though, that once you’ve heard
any of the Davis quintet Prestige albums, you’ll definitely
want all four.
