MILES DAVIS — Relaxin' With The Miles Davis Quintet (review)

MILES DAVIS — Relaxin' With The Miles Davis Quintet album cover Album · 1958 · Hard Bop Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
dreadpirateroberts
'Relaxin' might be my favourite set from the two dates Miles and his quintet performed for a 'contractual-obligation' phase just before leaving Prestige for Columbia.

If only other contractual-obligation albums were like this. Moving through the band's live repertoire with almost casual confidence, the line up of Garland, Jones, Chambers and Coltrane play loose but immaculate - captured in the Rudy Van Gelder stables - and basically do so live in a 'one-take' fashion according to the liner notes.

In fact, Miles sounds happy here, which is almost strange, as popular images of him construct a brooding innovator who may or may not be pleased with what he is producing. Part of that is the material, mid tempo, bright-sounding covers from the bop spectrum, along with theater tunes like the wonderful opener 'If I Were a Bell' which has excellent solos from Davis, Coltrane and Garland especially.

Elsewhere the band tackle bop that's a little harder (though not as hard as 'Cookin' for instance) or ballads, like the tender 'You're My Everything' where Miles instructs Red to play 'block chords' before the song starts. After a gentle build he and Coltrane share solos, both of which show restrained phrasing that make them such a great compliment to each other.

'Woody N You' and especially Rollin's 'Oleo' have Chambers racing away beneath the lead voices and along with 'I Could Write a Book' make up the harder numbers. 'It Could Happen to You' from 1944 comedy 'And the Angels Sing' reinforces the feel that Miles is having a good time and adds yet another uplifting piece to the set.

Dialogue chatter (or rasping) is left in, doubtless to add to the live feel of the recording, which is a nice touch and gives the listener a glimpse into the working relationship of the band. For Miles Davis fans this is highly recommended, if you don't have it already - equally so for Jazz fans in general and someone looking for something that straddles the line between bop and cool.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Green Puma / Tropical Dandy Jazz Related Rock
THE LINK QUARTET
Buy this album from MMA partners
Vinny Golia Quintet : Can You Outrun Them? 21st Century Modern
VINNY GOLIA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Bow Code Fusion
SAMPO HIUKKANEN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Anthem For No Man’s Land Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ANDREAS SCHAERER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Cabaret Eclectic Fusion
MARIUS NESET
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Paper Plane Pilot
MIKE DE SOUZA
js· 3 hours ago
Green Puma
THE LINK QUARTET
js· 3 hours ago
Heavy Cream
SAMPO HIUKKANEN
js· 5 hours ago
Sunday afternoon
FURIO DI CASTRI
snobb· 18 hours ago
Harmônicos
FABIANO DO NASCIMENTO
js· 1 day ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed