Walter Coggins

Like Miles Davis, Vol. 1, this set features arrangements in the order that they were recorded. (Vol. 2 contains the second Blue Note session, while Vol. 1 focused on the first and third.) This 1953 date was the most inspired, overtly beboppish of Davis' three Blue Note sessions - an ambitious showcase for modern jazz's greatest composers (J.J. Johnson, Ray Brown, Bud Powell, Jimmy Heath, Walter Fuller, and Dizzy Gillespie), and a remarkable rhythm section (drummer Art Blakey, bassist Percy Heath, and the obscure pianist Gil Coggins). A dynamic front line of Davis, trombonist J.J. Johnson, and the bassist's brother Jimmy Heath on tenor saxophone, gives each tune big-band weight and texture. J.J. Johnson's lilting "Kelo" and tragic "Enigma" proceed from the orchestral tradition of Birth of the Cool, and his taut, velvety, tenor trombone counterpoint contrasts nicely with Davis' burnished mid-range and brassy cry…