Miles Davis’ “Classic” Quintet of Ron Carter/b, Tony Williams/dr, Wayne Shorter/ts and Herbie Hancock/p did not go under-recorded. There are a plethora of single and multi-disc sets of the band, with this collection of the team in various gigs in France from 1963-64 a surfeit of riches. This is an early stage of Miles’ team that would go on to record classic studio albums like ESP, Nefertiti, and Miles Smiles. Also included are the l ast days of George Coleman’s stint with Davis before he went on to form his own band and leave the path open for Shorter. His time here fills up the first four discs, with his solos actually similar to Shorter, but with a lighter tone. At this stage in his career, Davis’ last non-concert album was the ultra hip Seven Steps To Heaven, of which Miles wisely used as a reference point when on stage. The band had a pretty consistent setlist, consisting of “Autumn Leaves”, “If I Were A Bell”, No Blues”, “All Blues”, My Funny Valentine”, “Walkin’”, “So What”, “Seven Steps To Heaven”, “Stella By Starlight”, “Milestones” “Joshua” and “Bye Bye Blackbird”, many of which are included more than once here.
But, if you know Miles Davis, you then know that each performance has it’s own personal interpretation, so there are leagues of distance between the July 26, 1963 version of “So What” and one from October 1, 1964, with Miles’ mood swings audibly palpable. His mute on the equidistant takes of “All Of You” is as if he were a painter using two different brushes, while the versions of “My Funny Valentine” are as if sung to two different lovers.
The rhythm team at t his point was quite simpatico, and able to change directions on the standards like “”Autumn Leaves” and “Walkin’” at the flick of a wrist. Miles and company are setting the standard for standards here.