1954 was a golden year for Miles Davis, as he was essentially starting to become, well, Miles Davis on the recordings collected together on this vinyl/cd collection. No, he h ad not formed his first “Classic” quintet with Jones, Coltrane, Garland and Chambers, but he’s still fantastic in working out possible permutations and combinations. Here, he’s mixing and matching with Art Blakey-Kenny Clarke, Percy Heath/b, Milt Jackson/vib, Thelonious Monk-Horace Silver/p, Dave Schildkraut/as, JJ Johnson/tb and Sonny Rollins-Lucky Thompson/ts. The result is a package that includes a surfeit of timeless and influential treasures, as well as what many consider the beginning of what came to be known as “Hard Bop”.
That term, essentially a stripping down of the torrid bebop and throwing in a bit of soul, is exemplified on the pieces “ Blue ‘n’ Boogie” and “Walkin’”, both clarion calls by Davis with Thompson. His muted horn never sounded better on the cerebral “ Solar” while the definition of a lyrical solo takes place on his work on “Four”, the standard being set for all subsequent artists.
Likewise, Davis’ famous stint with Monk is here on “The Man I Love”, which is still a hoot, while “Bags’ Swing” is a blues fest. Lastly a definitive meeting of Davis and Rollins takes p lace on a palpably rich “Doxy” , while the peak a boo “Oleo” still fascinates. Still fresh after 70 years from the oven.