One of the coolest
entries so far in this excellent series of rare material from legendary trumpeter Miles Davis – a set that brings together unheard studio sessions from the years 1966 to 1968 – some tracks from the recordings that gave the world the Miles Smiles, Nefertiti, and Water Babies albums! The group here is that legendary lineup that includes Wayne Shorter on tenor, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums – a group who, by this point, was quite comfortable with both each other, and the new ideas that Miles was bringing to his music – very ready to step out with the rich sense of imagination they brought to music like this. There's definitely a new current of
darkness here – that brooding quality that Davis had on some of his pre-electric dates – and it's wonderful to hear his ideas develop over a few performances of some tunes, and also through some of the studio chatter too. Titles include two takes of "Freedom Jazz Dance", three versions of "Circle", two of "Dolores", "Orbits", "Footprints", "Gingerbread Boy", "Nefertiti", "Fall", and "Water Babies" – plus the tracks "Play Your Eight", "Blues In F", "Country Son", and "Masqualero".