Miles Davis - Olympia Mar. 21st 1960 feat., John Coltrane - Mar. 11th 1060 feat., Sonny Stitt - RTE/Delta Music D-52008 (2004) SACD rip via PS3 to iso (3.61GB) | 24bit/88.2kHz flac | Mch (3.06GB) (+6dB gain) | 2ch (1.33GB) DR10 (+6dB gain) | Jazz This is not an album for anyone who is just beginning a Miles collection. But for certain saxophonists I know & perhaps careful listeners who are knowledgeable about styles & traditions, this rare album will be an endless fascination, if not an essential addition to a vital jazz collection. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Stitt joined Miles Davis briefly in 1960, & recordings with Davis' quintet can be found only in live settings on the tour of 1960. Concerts in Manchester & Paris are available commercially & also a number of concerts (which include sets by the earlier quintet with John Coltrane) on the record Live at Stockholm (Dragon), all of which featured Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb & Paul Chambers. However, Miles fired Stitt due to the excessive drinking habit he had developed, & replaced him with Hank Mobley. --------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a very exciting concert & a rare document with both Sonny Stitt & Miles Davis. They are both in excellent form & the stylistic tension between the 2 at this transition in Miles' music is right there to an attentive listener. I love the way Miles pushes in a modal direction & Stitt responds with a little nod in that harmonic direction, but with the most impressive virtuosity & intense swing, as if to say "I hear what you are saying, you call bebop "old fashioned"...but what do you think of this !!" On page 249 of the autobiography, Miles recounts driving around Philly with Jimmy Heath, recalling that he "probably was complaining to him about Sonny Stitt playing the wrong stuff on 'So What,' because he would always mess up on that tune." The marvel is that Miles called on Sonny to replace Coltrane in the 1st place. But Wayne Shorter wanted to stay on with Art Blakey, so the most complete & polished bebop player of them all, a saxophonist embodying, but not extending beyond, the previous tradition took the coveted chair. Until these recordings came to light--of a 1960 Paris concert in October (there's an earlier Paris date the same year, only with Coltrane)--it was assumed the Stitt edition of Miles' group had never been recorded. So now we know what Miles was talking about. Sonny's musical style--about melodic "formulas" & rhythmic/harmonic "closure"--is clearly "wrong" for Miles, but not necessarily for Sonny. On all of the tunes, including the modal "So What," Sonny "locks" into the time, much like a Coleman Hawkins, & plays within the harmonies of the tune, coming back to the tonic note at every opportunity. Miles if anything overplays, as though he's determined to rub Sonny's nose in the new music until he gets it. Sonny will have none of it. He counter-punches with his very best shots, exhausting the melodic/harmonic vocabulary inherited from Bird & Diz. The result is a dazzling display of disparate pyrotechnics--perhaps the last time Miles would play this aggressively on record. For my money, this quintet is more exciting, perhaps even breath-taking, than the Shorter-Hancock-Carter-Williams unit that would soon succeed it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SA-CD.net review by stvnharr June 27, 2005: Great live sound John Coltrane's last recording with Miles. Coltrane's replacement in the band, Sonny Stitt, has a more subdued style here. 7 of the great Miles Davis 50's tunes in 2 live dates. This is one to get if you enjoy jazz Available here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00083D4PW/?tag=sacdinfocom-20 and here: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00083D4PW/?tag=sacdinfocom-21 Tracks: 1 All of you 2 So what 3 Round midnight 4 Walkin ' 5 Fran dance "put your little foot right out" 6 Four 7 Two bass hit Time: 67:20 Musicians: Miles Davis Sonny Stitt or John Coltrane Wynton Kelly Jimmy Cobb Paul Chambers ------------------------------------------------- Checksum for iso: dfce9c4dbf7edb424af86b4edac04489 *MILES DAVIS - LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA.iso Checksums for flac tracks Mch: 1c6212d2c39c5f03b839d7f8d7dec5d1 *01 - ALL OF YOU.flac 7b6bb87a7c313db101a989e243015d85 *02 - SO WHAT.flac 9dc852791485cee1344e03e2008a1baf *03 - ROUND MIDNIGHT.flac 0e59543b44697842f894911f9df622bd *04 - WALKIN'.flac 0eafe3ac0d49da9c09a6f572ed6d73f1 *05 - FRAN DANCE.flac fd16a4e244a08ed71a645eb1643ab3e9 *06 - FOUR.flac f8706b8ee271067cb692032ecbca0f8e *07 - TWO BASS HIT.flac Checksums for flac tracks 2ch: ac06247e9dc4e211ceaca11419274046 *01 - ALL OF YOU.flac 6827d6d5bef5fefd91a1591cc7213a0a *02 - SO WHAT.flac 60f707b0c2d0aeeb79e0828901c647eb *03 - ROUND MIDNIGHT.flac 57f4e6ce7b21892741e2db2a8fdc5257 *04 - WALKIN'.flac 7d82c18114bfdc245de0e58db51fe262 *05 - FRAN DANCE.flac 0e59763eba250d900ba0674bfa636c61 *06 - FOUR.flac 907383b24a2bcd76f35a2fef8326de55 *07 - TWO BASS HIT.flac