This starts off with one of the most beautiful ballads in jazz history in my humble opinion; “It Never Entered My Mind”, it’s perfection. Miles’ muted trumpet (which he was a master of), playing one beautiful note after the other. Philly Joe’s wonderful work with the brushes to complement that. Garland’s laid back piano. And the tasteful double bass work by Chambers. Coltrane is not needed on this tune for sure. For me, this first tune is the highlight of the album. The rest of the album is very laid back and easy to love. Smooth and tasteful is the theme here. Coltrane plays nice on this album, but having listened more in depth to his later work as a leader, it’s just not comparable. Boy, did he evolve. But his playing here fits in nicely with the overall style of course.
Out of the four albums Cookin’, Relaxin’, Workin’ and Steamin’, this perhaps is my favorite. All four of them are wonderful though and highly recommended if you haven’t heard them before, which I very much doubt.
I have acquired some great stuff these past months. More than usual. The reason for being able to purchase a greater quantity of albums is that I’ve been adding titles on labels such as Atlantic, Impulse! and Columbia, which are much cheaper prospects than the high-end Blue Note and Prestige titles for example. I’ve managed to mix these up with a couple of Riversides (one is a real classic) and a superb New Jazz release. These are a little more expensive than the Atlantics and Impulses (except for the WLP copy of A Love Supreme), but we are not talking Blue Note money. I’m very happy with these new additions, which I will start posting on the site in the coming weeks and months. Keep an eye out for those.
Regarding this Miles effort on display; in your opinion, how does it hold up compared to the other first great quintet releases? Do you have another favorite?
Stay tuned for more original vintage jazz collectibles… cheers!