Milestones - Miles Davis

...Bass Hit (alt. take), 8. Milestones (alt. take), 9. Straight, No Chaser (alt. take).

The Music

The opener, Dr Jackle, is furious! The three horns take off in unison at a blistering pace, with the rhythm section driving along. The speed makes for some fine solos by Miles and Coltrane, both showing their technical brilliance. 'Trane trades choruses with Cannonball in the middle, a furious battle, and Chambers takes a bowed ...
...longest cut on the album, and it is a comprehensive blues. Red Garland had stormed out of the studio after a fight with Miles during the session, so Miles himself accompanies the sax solos on the piano with dense chords. His trumpet solos are top notch, making extensive use of pitch bend and other bluesy touches.
The saxes take flight on 'Two Bass Hit', an old-style sax battle breaking out in the Dizzy Gillespie-composed tune. Neither comes ... more

'Milestones' is just that - a landmark in jazz. Recorded the year before the classic 'Kind Of Blue', this is the record that started it all. It is remembered as Miles' first conceptual use of modal jazz, despite the fact that the blues dominate the album. However, this is no kind of blue - this is a frenzy of white hot hard bop action.
The personnel list for the album is similar to 'Kind Of Blue', with Coltrane on tenor sax, Cannonball Adderley on alto sax and Paul Chambers on bass all joining Miles on both albums. However, Red Garland on piano and Philly Joe Jones, who appear on 'Milestones', were replaced by Wynton Kelly and Bill Evans on piano, and Jimmy Cobb on drums by the time 'Kind Of Blue' was recorded.

1. Dr. Jackle, 2. Sid's Ahead, 3. Two Bass Hit, 4. Milestones, 5. Billy Boy, 6. Straight, No Chaser. Bonus tracks: 7. Two Bass Hit (alt. take), 8. Milestones (alt. take), 9. Straight, No Chaser (alt. take).

The opener, Dr Jackle, is furious! The three horns take off in unison at a blistering pace, with the rhythm section driving along. The speed makes for some fine solos by Miles and Coltrane, both showing their technical brilliance. 'Trane trades choruses with Cannonball in the middle, a furious battle, and Chambers takes a bowed solo on the bass.
'Sid's Ahead' is the longest cut on the album, and it is a comprehensive blues. Red Garland had stormed out of the studio after a fight with Miles during the session, so Miles himself accompanies the sax solos on the piano with dense chords. His trumpet solos are top notch, making extensive use of pitch bend and other bluesy touches.
The saxes take flight on 'Two Bass Hit', an old-style sax battle breaking out in the Dizzy Gillespie-composed tune. Neither comes off badly - both have outstanding speed - but I give the edge to Adderley, since Coltrane's solo is almost a little bit too out-of-control.
'Milestones', a Davis original, is phenomenal. The simple theme is picked out brilliantly by the horns, and Miles' solo is one of my personal favourites. It is so clear and relaxed, he picks out the space despite the fairly lively tempo, over the sax accompaniment. The saxes also aquit themselves well, with 'Trane showing off his wide range expertly and chipping in some nice blus licks, but it's Miles who is the star of this track. Despite a clunker on the recap of the theme, he finds the mood perfectly.
The rhythm section become a trio of their own on 'Billy Boy', a traditional song, with all three flexing their soloing muscles and showing that the quintet had no weak links. Red Garland's block-chord rendition of the theme is absolutely priceless.
'Straight, No Chaser' is yet another great track. Its sleazy theme is catchy from the start, and the solos from the horns are yet again brilliant. Miles is especially good, on the alternate take of the track well as the first one on the CD (which was actually the second take in the studio, with the alt. take the first take in the studio). Red Garland notoriously used a tune Miles had used in a solo for Charlie Parker in 1945 in his piano solo.
This album swings hard throughtout, but is always laid-back and fun. It is every bit as good as the material on 'Kind Of Blue', showing that the modal jazz concept worked exquisitely well for up-tempo as well as 'cool' jazz.

Superb. The balance is just right, for the tutti sections and the solo work. The rhythm section is treated well too, with a full bass, sweet piano and sharp drums. A wonderful job by the Columbia Jazz production team, and the remastering team, who did the work for the remastered CD I listened to.

Nice cover photo of Miles sitting with his trumpet, looking quizzical. The booklet and back cover are great, with liner notes from the original LP and new ones for the CD by Bob Blumenthal. Yet more excellence - sickening really, isn't it?

I'm struggling to find comments for the 'disadvantages' box with this one. The music is fantastic, the performances the best I've heard from this group. This is known as one of Miles' transitional albums, but it is one of my personal favourites. It is every bit as delightful as 'Kind Of Blue', and despite the fact that most of the tunes are up-tempo compares to the slow 'Kind Of Blue', there is a strong link to the sound, which stems from the modal concept used on both albums (which basically reduces the harmonic movement, giving the soloist more freedom). A masterpiece: a must-have for Miles fans, jazz fans, and an excellent intro to either Miles or jazz for any beginners. Stunning! 

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