SKETCHES OF SPAIN-50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Stuart Jefferson | San Diego,Ca | 05/26/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Two discs 45,70 minutes each approximately. The sound is clean and crisp. There is good separation between Davis' horn and the orchestra. The booklet is informative,with long notes by Gunther Schuller. There is a PDF file,that when accessed from one of the discs,gives more information and insight into this music.
When this album was originally released DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE gave it five stars,calling it one of the most important musical triumphs of the century.
By now,most Davis listeners are in one of two major groups-the first feels that this is nothing but glorified "elevator music" with a bit of Davis' horn woven in,and that this new release is only another way for the music business to "cash-in" on Davis' name. The second group finds this music evocative and very emotionally moving,maybe even a bit daring (for the time)with Davis and Gil Evans decision to rely so heavily on orchestral passages,on which Davis attaches his horn,which only deepens the mood. In between these two groups are listeners who feel that this is yet another path in the overall maze of amazing music from Miles Davis. You can either continue down this path,or turn away and head in another direction. By this time most listeners know the basis for this music,and how Gil Evans built upon the Spanish themes,and together with Davis,forged the third (and most deeply orchestrated) album of Davis' career. Davis has said in his autobiography that he needed musicians that could read music and play it with no,or little, feeling,and others who played with a great amount of feeling. What Davis found when he recorded this album was that he had to read the score over a few times,then listen to it a few times-then play it. He felt this was the correct way to approach music (especially "Concierto de Aranjuez") that was heavily arranged and where he had to play his trumpet/flugal horn in emulation of the original female vocal (on the track "Saeta",which is also here,too,in it's full length version) which he found difficult to do. The end result was an album that was (and is )still popular-even though Davis himself has said that he was physically and mentally drained,and he didn't hear the album until it was released. After listening to it he said (again in his autobiography) that the album had little impact on him personally.
This new edition has over an hour of bonus material,including the only piece of music from this ("Concierto de Aranjuez (Adagio)"), album performed live with Gil Evans. This piece of music was released in 1987,on the album LIVE MILES:MORE MUSIC FROM THE LEGENDARY CARNEGIE HALL CONCERT. The extra music consists of alternate tracks,that help show the process both Evans and Davis went through to achieve the final album. All the bonus material was released in 1996,on MILES DAVIS & GIL EVANS:THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA STUDIO RECORDINGS. The one outtake at the end of disc one was issued on Davis' album DIRECTIONS,in 1980. Included is the track "The Maids of Cadiz"(track 1 disc 2) from MILES AHEAD from the album released in 1957 only because it's an example of Evans' adaptation of a Spanish composition. There is nothing really startling in these tracks. However,if you're one of those listeners that find much to like in the original release,you'll like this. Davis' trumpet is solemn and his timbre is just right for the feeling these arrangements have on listeners. The range of moods is extraordinary on this set and through several listenings more of the seemingly disparate pieces seem to connect in new and slightly different ways,depending on your mood.
This will definitely fill the need for those listeners who find this album to be one of Davis' finer efforts. For others,perhaps they need to take a second listen to some very gorgeous music,that Gil Evans and Miles Davis recorded all those years ago."
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1