Dig (Miles Davis album)

Dig
Compilation album by Miles Davis
Released	January 1956 [1]
Recorded	October 5, 1951
Studio	Apex (New York City)
Genre	Jazz
Length	34:45 (Original LP Format) 44:00 (CD Reissue)
Label	Prestige
Producer	Bob Weinstock
Miles Davis chronology
The Musings of Miles (1955) Dig (1956) Miles Davis and Horns (1956)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[4]
PopMatters	7/10 [5]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[6]

Dig is an album by Miles Davis on Prestige Records, catalogue number 7012. It features tracks from a 1951 session at Apex Studios. First released in the 12-inch LP format in 1956, the original album was later released as Diggin' with the catalogue number PR 7281 and a different cover. Dig was reissued as a compact disc with additional tracks.

After the Birth of the Cool recording sessions in 1949 and 1950, Davis almost immediately turned away from that sound in the early 1950s, instead exploring hard bop. Dig was also the jazz recording debut of saxophonist Jackie McLean, and was one of Sonny Rollins's earliest recordings; both men would go on to become major voices in jazz.

Release history

The material was originally released on two 10-inch LPs, except for "Denial", released on a 1954 7" (Prestige PREP 1361). "Dig" and "It's Only a Paper Moon" first appeared on The New Sounds (PRLP 124), as did "Conception" and "My Old Flame". "Bluing" and "Out of the Blue" were originally released on Blue Period (PRLP 140). When the material was reconfigured for the new 12-inch format, "Conception" and "My Old Flame" were included on the Prestige various artists collection Conception (PRLP 7013).

Track listing

12" LP

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dig"	Miles Davis	7:33
2.	"It's Only a Paper Moon"	Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Billy Rose	5:23
3.	"Denial"	Miles Davis	5:39

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Bluing"	Miles Davis	9:55
2.	"Out of the Blue"	Miles Davis	6:15
Total length:			34:45

CD

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dig"	Miles Davis	7:33
2.	"It's Only a Paper Moon"	Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Billy Rose	5:23
3.	"Denial"	Miles Davis	5:39
4.	"Bluing"	Miles Davis	9:55
5.	"Out of the Blue"	Miles Davis	6:15
6.	"My Old Flame"	Sam Coslow	6:34
7.	"Conception"	George Shearing	4:01
Total length:			45:20

Personnel

• Miles Davis – trumpet
• Jackie McLean – alto saxophone (1, 3–5)
• Sonny Rollins – tenor saxophone
• Walter Bishop, Jr. – piano
• Tommy Potter – double bass
• Art Blakey – drums

References

1. Billboard Feb 4, 1956
2. Yanow, Scott (2011). "Dig [Bonus Tracks] – Sonny Rollins | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
3. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
4. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 341. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
5. PopMatters review
6. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 57. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.