Search - Miles Davis :: Quadromania

Miles recordings from late 40's, early 50s

Dennis G. Voss Jr. | Lexington, KY USA | 12/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"These Quadromania packages are an insane bargain, but it takes some work to figure out what you're getting - not when the sessions were recorded, which these days you can find on the Web in various places, but how they fit with other products on the market. I did the research for this Miles package when I considered buying it and, although ultimately I decided I wanted more than it included, I thought my labor might help others.



This CD package serves as a nice bridge between the first great 1949-1950 Miles album from Capitol (the nonet recording Birth of the Cool) and his high-quality mid-1950's Prestige recordings (including the famous five quintet albums - Miles, Relaxin', Steamin', Cookin', Workin' - with John Coltrane that Prestige recently released in a boxed set along with an extra CD of live material). Miles was struggling at times during the early 1950's, so unless you really want an exhaustive Miles Davis collection, this inexpensive set ought to do the trick.



First, a summary: You get every song appearing on two Blue Note albums (Miles Davis Vol. 1 & Miles Davis Vol. 2) and on three Prestige albums (Dig, & Horns 1951-1953, and Bag's Groove), although without additional takes. You also get the bulk of what Miles contributed to the Prestige collection Conception as well as half of the Prestige albums Collector's Item and Walkin'. Finally, you get a sprinkling of tunes from the Capitol album Birth of the Cool and the Prestige album Blue Haze.



Here's the detailed explanation of what it includes:

* CD 1 tracks 1-3: from 1949 and 1950 Capitol sessions; the final three tracks of Birth of the Cool

* CD 1 tracks 4-7: 1951 Prestige session that made up part of the Conception album sometimes listed with Lee Konitz as bandleader

* CD 1 tracks 8-11: 1951 Prestige session released as Miles Davis & Horns 1951 & 1953 (as well as Early Miles), but without an alternate take included with later releases or the track that was released under Sonny Rollins' name (which is on the Sonny Rollins Quadromania release)

* CD 1 tracks 12-16: 1951 Prestige session released as the original Dig album, but without the two bonus tracks that were added in later releases

* CD 2 tracks 1-6: 1952 Blue Note session that produced the early part of the album Miles Davis Vol. 1, again without the alternate tracks

* CD 2 tracks 7-10: 1953 Prestige session that produced half of the original Prestige album Collector's Item

* CD 2 tracks 11-12 and CD 3 tracks 1-2: 1953 Prestige session that produced the other half of Miles Davis & Horns 1951 & 1953

* CD 3 tracks 3-8: 1953 Blue Note session that produced the album Miles Davis Vol. 2, although without the bonus alternate takes later added

* CD 3 track 9: one track from a 1953 Prestige session eventually released as part of Blue Haze

* CD 3 tracks 10-15: 1954 Blue note session that produced the rest of the album Miles Davis Vol. 1, again without the alternate tracks

* CD 4 track 1: one track from a 1954 Prestige session eventually released as part of Blue Haze

* CD 4 track 2: appears to be the alternate take from the 1954 Blue Note session for Miles Davis Vol. 1

* CD 4 track 3: one track from a 1954 Prestige session, the only one released on Blue Haze

* CD 4 tracks 4-5: 1954 Prestige session released as half of Walkin' by the Miles Davis All Stars

* CD 4 tracks 6-9: 1954 Prestige session that made up the bulk of Bag's Groove, but without the alternate take of track 6

* CD 4 track 10: track from a 1954 Prestige session, the only one included on Bag's Groove (although it has two takes there)



Hope this helps. If anyone catches any errors, please post them to Amazon and I'll try to correct them.

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