Once again we find proof that the Miles Davis Quintet of the sixties was truely great. This long lost gem just confirms it.

Poul

South Korea

Over the past several years there have been many Miles Davis live recordings released, ranging from poor to good, so when you see a new release yet again, you may wonder about the quality. This recording stands out head and shoulders above all the rest, Miles playing is excellent, so too is the recording, crisp and clear, this is a must buy!

I wish to give a very special thanks to the Concord Music Group for releasing these once lost treasures from the Monterey Jazz Festivals. This is an outstanding new series of CD's featuring live, never-before released performances by many of the jazz greats who played at the famous Monterey Festival. I now own a half dozen of these recordings, and the sound quality couldn't be better.

This was some kind of quintet Miles had assembled back in 1963 with George Coleman (tenor sax), Ron Carter (bass), Herbie Hancock (piano), and a seventeen-year-old phenom named Tony Williams (drums). Miles was sitting on top of the jazz world at the time, and this recording is a prime example of why. His majestic, muted style is simply electrifying and it's also easy to see why he was consistently winning the Down Beat poll as the best jazz trumpet player of the year. The always traditional, conservative Coleman is solid throughout, nothing too spectacular, but then again, sans mistakes (which actually didn't appeal to Williams who hated the fact that Coleman's playing always sounded so perfect and mistake free. He actually preferred musicians who made mistakes, like playing out of key).

Another reason this recording is so memorable and special are the extraordinary performances of Hancock and Williams. These guys were really out to prove themselves and Williams in particular, became the talk of the jazz world after this appearance. Just listen to him at the end of "Autumn Leaves" and tell me anyone could have done it better or sound as unique. And I just love Herbie, he and Miles always seemed to be on the same page and he just kills it on his swingin, smooth, sophisticated solo on "Stella by Starlight". However, these are just two small examples of this near perfect, live recording.

All in all, this is a really nice suprise and one not to be missed. I had no idea it was going to be as great as it was, and can't recommend this one enough!

This is a revelatory find for the Davis catalogue. Excellent recording, especially for a live show at that time. Miles and band are in fine form, displaying their usual consistency. Great to hear the 60's quintet in its nascence. Even George Coleman plays well, soon to be eclipsed by Wayne Shorter. Very worthwhile for any Miles fan interested in his 60's quintet.

I just ordered this release along with the Thelonious Monk Monterey 64 title and both are excellent! Sound quality and perfomances on both discs are great. Regarding the Miles set, I loved this group during this period of time, especially with (the under-rated) George Coleman on sax. What a treat! In fact, I'd love to hear more recordings of this quality with George Coleman in tow. The band cooks on "So What" & "Walkin'"-playing these tunes at a ferocious pace and very similar to the way they were performed at Lincoln Center in 1964 (i.e. as found on Four and More). On the ballads, the band also pushes the envelope and wrings as much emotion out of the standards "Autumn Leaves" & "Stella by Starlight" making them sound fresh and vital.
All around, a great new series of recordings and a must have for the old Miles Davis collection!

How many live recordings are there of Miles' group with George Coleman? Even confined to the Columbia releases there are "Miles in Europe", "My Funny Valentine" and "Four and More". And the set list here has no surprises.

Yet it is well worth picking up this release even if you have all of these discs. The playing on this Moneterey concert is amazing, from all parties. Miles' soloes are long and energetic. I think this may be the best version of "Autumn Leaves" I've heard from this band, and George Coleman's solo on "So What" is full of vibrancy. In 1963 this was a new band, and you can feel the enthusiasm even when the band is playing such well-worn tunes.

And in case you were wondering, this is NOT a bootleg release, it was released with the blessing of the Miles Davis Estate. The sound quality is fantastic!

A new CD for 2007 is the Miles Davis Quintet "Live at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival". Recorded live on September 20, 1963 all the selections are previously unreleased material. This release comes at us as a gift from Universal Music and Monterey Jazz Festival records, which is a new label with a new series of unreleased live jazz music. Containing the usual suspects George Coleman on tenor saxophone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, Tony Williams on drums, and of course the world famous, undeniable Miles Davis on trumpet.

Tracks 2-5 are their full length cuts with each session lasting over 10 minutes a piece. The total track time of this disc is about 50 minutes roughly. The sound quality ain't bad on the album either.

"Autumn Leaves" starts the album off on a relaxed note. Ron Carter has a crazy bass solo in this which sounds so-so. "So What" is extremely fast, groovin', and cool. Typically the kind of jazz you can swing and dance to. Judging by the title of the fourth track "Stella by Starlight", you can already expect a mellow tune. A slow song that invokes in my mind thoughts of a lady or a special someone. Smooth blowing Miles!

"Walkin" is another energy based tune with fast horns by Miles and drums by Tony. Tony gets a solo in this, a lot better than the earlier one provided by Ron. "The Theme" is just that. A quick 1 minute jam probably meant as a theme for Miles himself. I highly recommend this purchase for completest and all fans of Miles Davis and jazz music.

Also released on the same date as this album but under a different record label is "Evolution of the Groove". EOTG is a remix EP album of unreleased Miles Davis songs featuring hip hop artist Nas and guitarist Carlos Santana, and Olu Dara on three of the four cuts. The album was produced by Steve Berkowitz and Miles's nephew Vince Wilburn, Jr.