Smith & Co

The early part of Miles Davis’ recording career was dominated by his inclusion in Charlie Parker’s line up, and so they share a great number of bebop’s finest moments. It was decided not to repeat those selections made on the Charlie Parker CD in the same series, although Davis’ contribution to these tracks should not be underestimated. Instead we have chosen to take a more daring route through Davis’ bebop years. The 1957 Capitol album “The Birth Of Cool” is featured in full – a record that was complied by Capitol retrospectively from Davis’ sessions for them in 1949 and 1950, when they had signed him as a bebop act. Whilst the eventual release reflected the most important move that Davis made towards his own independence, and sent signals towards what he would fully form into “cool jazz” in the mid 1950’s, the recordings sit comfortably amongst the bebop idiom. The second disc is more audacious, as it highlights the direction that Miles Davis took bebop music in the early 1950’s, when it was all but proclaimed dead. Davis, and his invited guests, eventually invented “hard bop”, which had its routes so firmly set in bebop tradition that his early 1950’s recordings deserve to be examined. Indeed the recordings Miles Davis made for “Prestige” in the first half of the 1950’s are seen by many, as his greatest triumph.

1. Thriving On A Riff
2. Cheryl
3. Milestones
4. Little Willie Leaps
5. Half Nelson
6. Sippin’ At Bells
7. Scrapple From The Apple
8. Crazeology
9. Klaunstance
10. Steeplechase
11. Overtime
12. Victory Ball
13. Move
14. Jeru
15. Godchild
16. Budo
17. Rouge
18. Boplicity
19. Israel
20. Venus De Milo
21. Moon Dreams
22. Deception
23. Rocker
24. Darn That Dream

1. Morpheus
2. Down
3. Whispering
4. Ezz-THetic
5. Hi Beck
6. Conception
7. Out Of The Blue
8. Denial
9. Dig
10. My Old Flame
11. It’s Only A Paper Moon
12. Compulsion
13. The Serpent’s Tooth
14. ‘Round About Midnight
15. Willie The Wailer