Relaxin' Miles Davis Quintet

The Miles Davis Quintet - Relaxin' with The Miles Davis Quintet (1956) {2006 Rudy Van Gelder Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 234 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 83 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 10 Mb
© 2006 Concord / Prestige | 0025218810425
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Hard Bop

Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet is in every way a masterpiece. When the trumpeter (1926-1991) had formed the band in 1955, his colleagues—tenor saxophonist John Coltrane, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones—were not considered jazz-world A-listers. And before conquering his narcotics addiction earlier in the Fifties, Davis had seen his once-promising career go into eclipse. By 1956, however, his sound, especially when muted, was an achingly personal counterpart to the vocals of Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. Relaxin’ (plus its Prestige companions, Miles, Cookin’, Workin’, and Steamin’) reestablished Davis, and elevated his quintet as the gold standard of small groups.

Miles Davis - Relaxin' With The Miles Davis Quintet (1956) {2006 Prestige RVG Remasters Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 238 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 160 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2006 Concord / Prestige | 002518810425 | Prestige RVG Remasters Series | 24-bit remaster
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Trumpet

"I was the engineer on the recording sessions and I also made the masters for the original LP issues of these albums. Since the advent of the CD, other people have been making the masters. Mastering is the final step in the process of creating the sound of the finished product. Now, thanks to the folks at the Concord Music Group who have given me the opportunity to remaster these albums, I can present my versions of the music on CD using modern technology. I remember the sessions well, I remember how the musicians wanted to sound, and I remember their reactions to the playbacks. Today, I feel strongly that I am their messenger.” —Rudy Van Gelder

This CD comes from the marathon 1956 Prestige sessions with the first of Miles Davis's great quintets: John Coltrane on tenor, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The group recorded four LPs for Prestige, contemporaneous with the early Columbia material recently celebrated on the Davis-Coltrane Complete Columbia Studio Sessions. Relaxin' emphasizes Davis's concentrated ballad style, with his middle-register trumpet played through a Harmon mute very close to the microphone. What might be a mere buzz in lesser hands becomes restrained passion and detailed expression …

Workin' is the third in a series of four featuring the classic Miles Davis Quintet: Davis (trumpet), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Red Garland (piano), and Philly Joe Jones (drums). Like its predecessors Cookin' and Relaxin', Workin' is the product of not one – as mythology would claim – but two massively productive recording sessions in May and October of 1956, respectively…

Cookin' is the first of four albums derived from the Miles Davis Quintet's fabled extended recording session on October 26, 1956; the concept being that the band would document its vast live-performance catalog in a studio environment, rather than preparing all new tracks for its upcoming long-player…

Although chronologically the last to be issued, this collection includes some of the best performances from the tapes which would produce the albums Cookin', Relaxin', Workin', and ultimately, Steamin'. A primary consideration of these fruitful sessions is the caliber of musicians – Miles Davis (trumpet), Red Garland (piano), John Coltrane (tenor sax), and Philly Joe Jones (drums) – who were basically doing their stage act in the studio…

Although chronologically the last to be issued, this collection includes some of the best performances from the tapes which would produce the albums Cookin', Relaxin', Workin', and ultimately, Steamin'. A primary consideration of these fruitful sessions is the caliber of musicians – Miles Davis (trumpet), Red Garland (piano), John Coltrane (tenor sax), and Philly Joe Jones (drums) – who were basically doing their stage act in the studio…

The Miles Davis Quintet - Cookin' with The Miles Davis Quintet (1956) {2007 Rudy Van Gelder Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 203 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 77 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 13 Mb
© 2007 Concord / Prestige | 00888072301573
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Hard Bop

Cookin’ With the Miles Davis Quintet is the first classic album of four total that emerged from two marathon and fruitful sessions recorded in 1956 (the other three discs released in Cookin’s wake were Workin’, Relaxin’ and Steamin’). All the albums were recorded live in the studio, as Davis sought to capture, with Rudy Van Gelder’s expert engineering, the sense of a club show á la the Café Bohemia in New York, with his new quintet, featuring tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. In Miles’s own words, he says he called this album Cookin’ because “that’s what we did—came in and cooked.” What’s particularly significant about this Davis album is his first recording of what became a classic tune for him: “My Funny Valentine.” Hot playing is also reserved for the uptempo number “Tune Up,” which revs with the zoom of both the leader and Trane.

The Miles Davis Quintet - Workin' With The Miles Davis Quintet (1956) {2006 Rudy Van Gelder Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 266 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 95 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 23 Mb
© 2006 Concord / Prestige | 0888072300804
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Hard Bop

Preceded by Cookin' and Relaxin' , Workin' is a mix of standards and originals, up-tempos and ballads, and a trio number, "Ahmad's Blues." The music this quintet made in the mid-Fifties period will live forever: the excitement of the emerging John Coltrane; the informed, melodic swing of Red Garland; the tremendous snap and pop of the rhythm trio of Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones; and Miles's poignancy and intense swing.

Miles Davis - Cookin' With The Miles Davis Quintet (1956) {2007 Prestige RVG Remasters Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 209 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 81 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 148 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2007 Concord / Prestige | 08880723015738 | Prestige RVG Remasters Series | 24-bit remaster
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Trumpet

"I was the engineer on the recording sessions and I also made the masters for the original LP issues of these albums. Since the advent of the CD, other people have been making the masters. Mastering is the final step in the process of creating the sound of the finished product. Now, thanks to the folks at the Concord Music Group who have given me the opportunity to remaster these albums, I can present my versions of the music on CD using modern technology. I remember the sessions well, I remember how the musicians wanted to sound, and I remember their reactions to the playbacks. Today, I feel strongly that I am their messenger." —Rudy Van Gelder