Jazz at the Plaza Vol. I

Last updated
Jazz at the Plaza Vol. I
Miles Davis Plaza.jpg
Live album by
ReleasedSeptember 28, 1973 [1]
RecordedSeptember 9, 1958
Venue Plaza Hotel
New York City
Genre [2]
Length41:02
Label Columbia
Producer Teo Macero
The Miles Davis Sextet chronology
In Concert
(1973)
Jazz at the Plaza Vol. I
(1973)
1958 Miles
(1974)
Miles Davis live chronology
Miles & Monk at Newport
(1958)
Jazz at the Plaza Vol. I
(1958)
In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete
(1958)

Jazz at the Plaza Vol. I is a live album by The Miles Davis Sextet. It was recorded in 1958 and released in 1973 by Columbia Records. Duke Ellington was recorded at the same event and released as the second volume (Jazz at the Plaza Vol. II).

Contents

Background

The album features the famed sextet that recorded Kind of Blue six months later. The concert was recorded in 1958 but not released in full until 1973. The last three songs would reappear (in reverse order) in 1974, on 1958 Miles , but on Jazz at the Plaza all the tracks are of much better sound quality. The musicians did not know they were being recorded at the time. The event was a party thrown by Columbia to celebrate the healthy state of their jazz division. Indeed, it was not meant to be a record session: "it was a party. We taped it because we wanted to remember it, in case it never happened again." [3] Pianist Bill Evans later stated the musicians who were still alive at the time of release were offered payment at the 1958 scale. [4]

"My Funny Valentine", which had become a staple in the sextet's play book, is played by Davis in his new modal style. [5] On "Straight, No Chaser", he plays the theme faster than usual and alternates the groove between full and cut time, while Bill Evans quotes "Blue Monk" in his own solo. [5]

The original LP misidentified the tune "Straight, No Chaser" as "Jazz at the Plaza", the drummer as Philly Joe Jones, and the location as the Edwardian Room. [6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]

Allmusic's Thom Jurek gave the album four out of five stars and felt that, despite Sony's remastering, it "succeeds mightily on the level" of a "remarkable" band's "fine performance". He recommended it strictly to jazz listeners as a "curiosity piece" because of its "dodgy" and "dubious sound quality." [5] In its four-star review of the album, Down Beat magazine found the music "engaging" and stated, "The intrigue from the redefined hard-bop here has everything to do with Davis' elliptical phrasings and seeming impatience with the latter-day offspring of bebop". [2]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."If I Were a Bell" Frank Loesser 8:31
2."Oleo" Sonny Rollins 10:39
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Funny Valentine" Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart 10:19
2."Straight, No Chaser" Thelonious Monk 10:56

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>Kind of Blue</i> 1959 studio album by Miles Davis

Kind of Blue is the fifth studio album released on Columbia, and twenty-eighth overall, by American jazz musician, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded on March 2 and April 22, 1959, at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City, and released on August 17 of that same year by Columbia Records. For the recording, Davis led a sextet featuring saxophonists John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, pianist Bill Evans, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb, with new band pianist Wynton Kelly appearing on one track – "Freddie Freeloader" – in place of Evans.

<i>Round About Midnight</i> 1957 studio album by Miles Davis

'Round About Midnight is an album by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis that was originally released by Columbia Records in March 1957. It was Davis' first album with Columbia.

<i>Milestones</i> (Miles Davis album) 1958 studio album by Miles Davis

Milestones is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer Miles Davis. It was recorded with his "first great quintet" augmented as a sextet and released in 1958 by Columbia Records.

<i>Someday My Prince Will Come</i> (Miles Davis album) 1961 studio album by Miles Davis

Someday My Prince Will Come is the seventh studio album by Miles Davis for Columbia Records, catalogue CL 1656 and CS 8456 in stereo, released in 1961. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in Manhattan, New York City, it marked the only Miles Davis Quintet studio recording session to feature saxophonist Hank Mobley.

<i>Porgy and Bess</i> (Miles Davis album) 1959 studio album by Miles Davis

Porgy and Bess is a studio album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in March 1959 on Columbia Records. The album features arrangements by Davis and collaborator Gil Evans from George Gershwin's 1935 opera of the same name. The album was recorded in four sessions on July 22, July 29, August 4, and August 18, 1958, at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City. It is the second collaboration between Davis and Evans and has garnered much critical acclaim since its release, being acknowledged by some music critics as the best of their collaborations. Jazz critics have regarded the album as historically important.

<i>Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet</i> 1956 studio album by Miles Davis

Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet is a studio album by jazz musician Miles Davis which was released in April 1956 through Prestige Records. It is the debut record by the Miles Davis Quintet, and generally known by the original title Miles as indicated on the cover.

<i>Quintet/Sextet</i> 1956 studio album by Miles Davis and Milt Jackson

Miles Davis and Milt Jackson Quintet/Sextet, also known as Quintet/Sextet is a studio album by trumpeter Miles Davis and vibraphonist Milt Jackson released by Prestige Records in August of 1956. It was recorded on August 5, 1955. Credited to "Miles Davis and Milt Jackson", this was an "all-star" session, and did not feature any of the members of Davis's working group of that time. Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean appears on his own compositions “Dr. Jackle” and “Minor Apprehension”.

Julius Watkins was an American jazz musician who played French horn. Described by AllMusic as "virtually the father of the jazz French horn", Watkins won the Down Beat critics poll in 1960 and 1961 for Miscellaneous Instrument.

"Oleo" is a hard bop composition by Sonny Rollins, written in 1954. Since then it has become a jazz standard, and has been played by numerous jazz artists, including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans.

<i>Miles & Monk at Newport</i> 1964 live album by Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk

Miles & Monk at Newport is a split album featuring separate performances by the Miles Davis sextet and the Thelonious Monk quartet at the Newport Jazz Festival, recorded in 1958 and 1963, respectively, and released in June 1964 by Columbia records. Despite the album's title, the two artists do not perform together at either date.

<i>Skies of America</i> 1972 studio album by Ornette Coleman

Skies of America is the 17th album by jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman, released on Columbia Records in 1972. It consists of one long composition by Coleman taking up both sides of the album, played by the London Symphony Orchestra and conducted by David Measham. Coleman himself only plays on a few segments, and there is no other jazz instrumentation.

<i>Coltrane</i> (1957 album) 1957 studio album by John Coltrane

Coltrane is an album by jazz musician John Coltrane which was released in October 1957 by Prestige Records. The recordings took place at the studio of Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack, New Jersey, and document Coltrane's first session as a leader. It has been reissued at times under the title of The First Trane!.

<i>The Classic Quartet: The Complete Impulse! Recordings</i> 1998 box set by John Coltrane

The Classic Quartet – The Complete Impulse! Recordings is a 1998 box set by jazz musician John Coltrane with recordings from his classic quartet, including pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones.

<i>The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis with John Coltrane</i> 2000 box set by Miles Davis and John Coltrane

The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis with John Coltrane is a box set featuring jazz musicians Miles Davis and John Coltrane. It is the first box set in a series of eight from Columbia/Legacy compiling Davis's work for Columbia Records, and includes never-before-released alternate takes, omissions of other musicians, musician comments, false starts and a first version of compositions, some of which have made it to the 50th Anniversary 2-disc CD version of Kind of Blue. Originally issued on April 11, 2000, in a limited-edition metal slipcase, it was reissued in 2004 in an oversized book format. In conjunction with Sony, Mosaic Records released the 9-LP set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miles Davis Quintet</span> Jazz band led by Miles Davis

The Miles Davis Quintet was an American jazz band from 1955 to early 1969 led by Miles Davis. The quintet underwent frequent personnel changes toward its metamorphosis into a different ensemble in 1969. Most references pertain to two distinct and relatively stable bands: the First Great Quintet from 1955 to 1959, and the Second Great Quintet from late 1964 to early 1969, Davis being the only constant throughout.

<i>1958 Miles</i> 1974 compilation album by Miles Davis

1958 Miles is a compilation album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1974 on CBS/Sony. Recording sessions for tracks that appear on the album took place on May 26, 1958, at Columbia's 30th Street Studio and September 9, 1958, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. 1958 Miles consists of three songs featured on side two of the LP album Jazz Track, which was released in November 1959, one song from the same session not appearing in the album, and three recordings from Davis' live performance at the Plaza Hotel with his ensemble sextet. The recording date at 30th Street Studio served as the first documented session to feature pianist Bill Evans performing in Davis' group.

<i>At Newport 1958</i> 2001 live album by Miles Davis

At Newport 1958 is a live album by the jazz musician Miles Davis featuring the Miles Davis Quintet's complete performance recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958. The album was first released as a single CD in 2001 though four tracks had previously been released in part as one side of the LP Miles & Monk at Newport. The entire concert was given its first complete release as part of The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis with John Coltrane box set in 1999, and all tracks were included on the 2015 compilation Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4.

<i>Sonnys Crib</i> 1958 studio album by Sonny Clark

Sonny's Crib is an album by jazz pianist Sonny Clark, released on the Blue Note label in March 1958. It features trumpeter Donald Byrd, trombonist Curtis Fuller, tenor saxophonist John Coltrane, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor. The first half of the album comprises three standards, the second half contains two Clark originals. Critic Reid Thompson compared the album favorably to Coltrane's Blue Train, seeing them as the epitome of the Blue Note sound in the late 1950s.

<i>Miles & Coltrane</i> 1988 live album by Miles Davis

Miles & Coltrane is a live album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1988 by Columbia Records. The music was recorded at two different shows—one on July 4, 1958, at the Newport Jazz Festival, and one from October 27, 1955, in New York. The tracks have been digitally remastered directly from the original analog tapes.

<i>Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall</i> 1962 live album by Miles Davis

Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall: The Legendary Performances of May 19, 1961 is a live album by American jazz musician Miles Davis originally released by Columbia in 1962.

References

  1. Miles Davis.com
  2. 1 2 "Review: Jazz at the Plaza". Down Beat . Chicago: 59. September 2001.
  3. Original liner notes by Irving Townsend
  4. Pettinger, Peter (1998). Bill Evans: How My Heart Sings. Yale University Press. p. 60. ISBN   978-0-300-07193-1.
  5. 1 2 3 Jurek, Thom. "Jazz at the Plaza, Vol. 1 - Miles Davis". Allmusic . Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  6. Belden, Bob (2002). Miles Davis & John Coltrane: The Complete Columbia Recordings 1955-1961 (Media notes). p. 102. Archived from the original on 2015-04-12.
  7. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 343. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.