Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Miles Davis

Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Miles Davis

ASIN: B000050HVP

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
First emerging in Charlie Parker's quintet and the hothouse of bop in the late 1940s, Miles Davis soon became the dominant trendsetter in modern jazz, creating new settings for his spare, lyrical trumpet in the cool, hard bop, modal, and fusion movements. This career-spanning collection (an accompaniment to Ken Burns's 10-part documentary, Jazz), then, contains not only Davis's landmarks, but also some of modern jazz history's mileposts. The 1949 Birth of the Cool nonet sessions, represented here by "Boplicity," heralded the cool school with its airy, transparent textures. The tougher, hard-swinging "Walkin'" from 1954 is an extended masterpiece of hard bop with a trumpet solo that shows Davis's command of construction, while the beautiful "I Loves You, Porgy" illustrates Davis's collaboration with arranger Gil Evans, the most influential partnership between soloist and orchestrator in modern jazz.

Even that, however, may pale beside "So What" from 1959's Kind of Blue session. With a band that included saxophonists John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley and pianist Bill Evans, Davis was both creating the modal school of improvisation and recording its most enduring works. A decade later, Davis took another epoch-defining step, layering electric keyboards and percussion for "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" from the Bitches Brew sessions. There are other exalted performances here, like the live version of "My Funny Valentine," one of his most enduring ballads, and a host of stellar sideman performances by such influential stylists as Gerry Mulligan, J.J. Johnson, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Tony Williams. --Stuart Broomer

Tracks:

Donna Lee
Boplicity
Walkin'
Generique
I Loves You Porgy
So What
My Funny Valentine
Gingerbread Boy
Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
Tutu

Amazon.com

First emerging in Charlie Parker's quintet and the hothouse of bop in the late 1940s, Miles Davis soon became the dominant trendsetter in modern jazz, creating new settings for his spare, lyrical trumpet in the cool, hard bop, modal, and fusion movements. This career-spanning collection (an accompaniment to Ken Burns's 10-part documentary, Jazz), then, contains not only Davis's landmarks, but also some of modern jazz history's mileposts. The 1949 Birth of the Cool nonet sessions, represented here by "Boplicity," heralded the cool school with its airy, transparent textures. The tougher, hard-swinging "Walkin'" from 1954 is an extended masterpiece of hard bop with a trumpet solo that shows Davis's command of construction, while the beautiful "I Loves You, Porgy" illustrates Davis's collaboration with arranger Gil Evans, the most influential partnership between soloist and orchestrator in modern jazz.

Even that, however, may pale beside "So What" from 1959's Kind of Blue session. With a band that included saxophonists John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley and pianist Bill Evans, Davis was both creating the modal school of improvisation and recording its most enduring works. A decade later, Davis took another epoch-defining step, layering electric keyboards and percussion for "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" from the Bitches Brew sessions. There are other exalted performances here, like the live version of "My Funny Valentine," one of his most enduring ballads, and a host of stellar sideman performances by such influential stylists as Gerry Mulligan, J.J. Johnson, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Tony Williams. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

It's Great, but 'So What'?.......2006-03-18

Before I start, I should make it clear that I think a `Miles Davis' Greatest Hits' CD is a ludicrous idea. His career has gone through so many different stages that any greatest hits collection is bound to suffer from lack of continuity. Besides, each of his classic stages are already represented by albums that should be owned outright, and not excerpted (Birth of the Cool, Walkin', Kind of Blue, Miles Smiles, Bitches Brew).
Nevertheless, some people might appreciate hearing a few highlights back to back, and the Ken Burns disk certainly makes for great listening. If you're a Miles freak, this is extraneous, but if you want to get a fair overview, this disk is a great place to dive in. - Tom Ryan

excellent compilation.......2002-04-02

what a great c.d. to introduce anyone to the different styles of miles davis. theres a track from every period. and they are all good. all from different labels. thats whats so cool about these ken burns compilations. everything isnt from just one label. theyre long.....and fairly priced. i have 9 of them.....ellington..hawins...young...gillespie...parker...monk...mingus...blakey...and davis. they are all great. if you are going to purchase compilations these are the ones to get. take it from me. ive bought alot of jazz c.d.s in my life. these are some of the best. eric haas

Like standing next to a mountain.......2001-09-30

There is just simply too much brilliant Miles Davis out there to narrow it down to 1 cd. These things can be done for most other artists; for Davis however, it is quite impossible. This cd represents a good (if thin) slice of Miles, but for the true devotee of jazz.... forget it. You'll want to check out some of the master's cd's for themselves, before electric and after.

A good compilation.......2001-06-14

I give this cd 5 stars, as it does just about as much as 1 cd can do for an artist who's career spanned decades. This album is a great place for someone not too familiar with Davis' work, and who wants to discover him. But then again, I have a few of Miles' cds, and yet I still bought this one, as it covers his work for different record labels, as well as different styles. And it's always good to have a compilation that does. It makes for good listening. And, like it says in the liner notes, that no single-disc retrospective can do Davis complete justice. But this one at least succeeds in giving an idea of his lingering influence on modern jazz of every conceivable sort.

Samplers--no more, no less.......2001-03-27

It's a shame that individuals like Alain Robert feel completely compelled to showcase their self-important opinions and false expertise by missing the mark and point in trying to review this , or any other CD in this series. Reducing Miles to one CD is dumb, dumb, dumb? I'm glad you felt the need to emphasize this word three times to corroborate your supposed expertise in reviewing this product. These discs are 'introductions' and 'samplers,' nothing more or less. I can't even understand why someone who is so educated in the field of jazz would even buy this disc, much less review it. Buying a Ken Burn's jazz Cd is the equivalent of purchasing a 'Classical Music for Dummies' CD, of which many are available spotlighting various composers. Of course you can't give an accurate representation of Mile's career on 1 disc. But do you honestly expect someone who is a complete beginner to spring for a 5 disc collection? I own 50 Miles Davis CD's and this is a pleasant sampler with nice sound at a decent price. And it is great for radio production (the reason it was purchased) since it spans several years on one handy disc!

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