Search - Miles Davis :: Quiet Nights

Don't believe the naysayers

sirbaihu | 12/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I read a bunch of quite negative reviews here which base most of their negativity on details extraneous to the music, like "Miles said this" or "The studio dates that." I've liked Miles for almost twenty years; I have many of his albums, including the officially "good" ones, and Quiet Nights remains one of my favorites of his or of anyone's. It is a project like Sketches of Spain, with a softer, more sensual, and darker (night-time) feel. I have always thought the cover expresses the mood of the album well. I feel as if I've stepped out of a Jobim cocktail party onto a night patio overlooking the lights of Rio de Janeiro when I hear it. Whatever its liner note details, this is an album made by Miles in his prime, and Gil Evans in his prime, and it doesn't matter that it's twenty-seven minutes long (or short) unless you are the kind of person who thinks small paintings are necessarily worse than big ones and short books are worse than long ones. There is no softer or warmer Miles album than this. Don't be afraid of this album. Miles doesn't have to sound "cool" all the time."

Good News and Bad News.....Bad News First

Andrew Stevenson | Union Springs, New York | 08/29/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In the lengthy Miles Davis discography "Quiet Nights" is an enigma. The mystery is why it was ever released in the first place. Miles blamed producer Teo Macero for messing it up, except Miles did not use the word "messing"; he used a stronger word! When the recording first came out it totaled only 27 minutes of playing time. Only six of the seven cuts on the original recording featured Miles with the Gil Evans orchestra. The seventh cut is a quartet number with Miles, pianist Victor Feldman, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Frank Butler (I suspect it was recorded as part of Miles's "Seven Steps To Heaven" recording session but not included on that wonderful CD.) Adding to the "Quiet Nights" woes is some very shabby editing. OK so that's the bad news. Now here's some good news: I still like this recording. Gil Evans's arranging (what there is of it) is gorgeous and Miles plays with his usual poignant lyricism. The quartet number is moody and touching. And so when I listen to this CD I focus on the positives and try to ignore the negatives.....but oh what a wonderful recording this could have been! The "Quiet Nights" release I am reviewing did not include "The Time of the Barracudas" which I understand is a short suite composed for a play."

Miles was right: should not have been released

Richard D. Guba | Annapolis MD | 11/20/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This should not have been released. The best thing about it is Summer Night. The rest sounds like outtakes. I like pre-electric Miles, but I read that Miles was furious with Columbia for releasing this and he was right. This is the weakest of the Gil Evans collaborations."