Search - Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock :: Miles Davis Quintet 1965-1968 (Exp)

Awesome, must-have box set

Anthony Cooper | Louisville, KY United States | 07/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This awesome box simply puts together all of the studio recordings with Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. The songs are sequenced in the order they were recorded. The notes are thorough, and give the exact lineup (Buster Williams plays bass on one song; Joe Beck, George Benson, and Bucky Pizzarelli play guitar on seven different songs). This is a 5-star box set not because every song is perfect, but because the music is classic and the package is excellent.



The box set puts together the entirety of "E. S. P.", "Miles Smiles", "Nefertiti", and "Miles In The Sky". "Sorcerer" is missing only a vocal song recorded before the quintet came together, so you pretty much get "Sorcerer". Three of the five "Filles De Kilimanjero" songs, half of "Circle In The Round", half of "Water Babies", two from "Directions", three unreleased songs, and eleven alternate takes make up the 56 songs on the set. I consider "E. S. P.", "Miles Smiles", "Sorcerer", and "Nefertiti" to be very strong 4-star CD's. "Miles In The Sky" and "Filles De Kilimanjero" are 3-star CD's. It's best to read the reviews of those CD's to get a sense of how they play out. The miscellaneous other songs as a group could be considered two 4-star CD's, and I will only talk about them in this review:



"Circle In The Round" starts with Joe Beck's single note guitar plunks and Tony Williams' restless drumming. Wayne Shorter then introduces Miles' witchy melody. Herbie Hancock plays an electric piano. It's very long, but you don't lose interest, which is remarkable. "Teo's Bag" is okay, but almost certainly a let-down. "Side Car" has a jumping melody. "Side Car II" adds George Benson's guitar. "Sanctuary" isn't quite as good as the later version on "Bitches Brew".



"Water Babies" has a poking melody, but is a little too inconsequential. "Capricorn" comes out off the gate louder, and has good soloing. "Sweet Pea" is more contemplative, but has great group improvisation. "Thisness" is a ballad with a lot of Miles' trumpet-playing. "Water On The Pond" starts hesitantly, and only gets slightly better. "Fun" seems like it needed more development. The rehearsal versions of "I Have A Dream" and "Speak Like A Child" are pretty good, but for whatever reason Miles didn't want to record a finished version.



With the music on this box, Miles Davis essentially recorded the template for much of the mainstream, non-fusion jazz that has come since. People have certainly taken their jazz quintets and quartets in different and original places, but Miles laid a lot of foundations for the jazz to come with this group. The music is good, essential, and everyone should buy it in one form or the other. If you have the albums seperately, you don't need the whole box set for three unreleased songs."

A chronicle of Miles 2nd greatest group

Dennis W. Wong | 11/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If one wants to study the direction of contemporary music or jazz as some people call it, then look no further than to acquire this box set. Miles Davis has always been a trend setter and his magical group of Hancock, Shorter, Williams & Carter paved the way for jazz from modal to fusion. This group of gifted musicians created a cohesive blend of form plus talent to create art. I would be hard pressed to find any flaws in this collection but there is one gem that shines above the others and that would be the "Miles Smiles" session and then perhaps "Nefertiti" and "Sorcerer" ones as well. If you want to go beyond the break-up of this splendid unit and Miles' introduction to fusion then also check out the "In a Silent Way" sessions which introduces Chick Corea on piano in place of Herbie Hancock and Dave Holland on bass who replaces Ron Carter. Either way you can't lose if you're a Miles fan!!"