"In early 1963, Davis formed a new band, which included George Coleman (ts) and Ron Carter (b). When Davis entered the studio, he added drummer Frank Butler and British studio ace Victor Feldman, who ultimately decided not to go on with Davis. It's easy to see why Davis liked Feldman, who contributed the dancing title tune and "Joshua": the pianist plays with an elegant, refined touch and the kind of rarefied voicings that suggest Ahmad Jamal. Davis responds with some of his most introspective, romantic ballad playing. When Davis returned to New York, he spotted the brilliantly gifted 17-year-old drummer Tony Williams. On the title tune you can already hear the difference, as his crisp, driving cymbal beat and jittery, aggressive syncopations propel Davis into the upper reaches of his horn. On "So Near, So Far" the drummer combines with Carter and new pianist Herbie Hancock to expand on a light Afro-Cuban beat with a series of telepathic changes in tempo, texture, and dynamics." (Allmusic; 4,5 uit 5 sterren)
"The first V.S.O.P. tour triggered a flood of recording activity in July 1977. This session, recorded in San Francisco just days before the Quintet concerts in Berkeley and San Diego, finds Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams mixing it up sans the horns -- and the results are more reflective and cerebral than the full Quintet concerts. Hancock is thoroughly in control of the agenda while Williams throws in those meter-fracturing flurries that keep everyone on their toes. There is a startling re-interpretation of "Speak Like A Child," which is significantly tougher and busier than the wistful Blue Note version, as well as challenging Hancock originals like "Watcha Waiting For" and "Watch It." This is uncompromising acoustic jazz, commercial anathema in the electronic '70s -- and thus, only Japan got to hear it back then." (Richard S. Ginell, Allmusic; 4 uit 5 sterren) De rest van de wereld kreeg het later overigens wel te horen, bijv. via deze Wounded Bird-heruitgave uit 2014.
Concert van Davis' legendarisch geworden jaren '60-kwintet, opgenomen op 11 oktober 1964 in Theatre Dell'Arte in Milaan, Italië. Saxofonist Wayne Shorter was toen net een maand lid van het kwintet. De beroemde, baanbrekende albums, vol Wayne Shorter-composities, moesten nog komen en materiaal van met eerdere bezettingen opgenomen albums domineren de set. Van het een jaar eerder verschenen "Seven Steps To Heaven" wordt "Joshua" gespeeld. Dat was het album waarop Herbie Hancock (p), Ron Carter (b) en Tony Williams (d) voor het eerst te horen waren bij Davis. Hoogtepunten zijn prachtige versies van "All Blues" (van "Kind Of Blue") en "All Of You". De bron van deze DVD is een oude opname van een TV-uitzending, dus de beeldkwaliteit is niet naar 21ste eeuwse maatstaven, maar dat drukt het genot om deze groep aan het werk te zien nauwelijks.
The explosive transformation of Miles Davis' 'second great Quintet' with Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass), and Tony Williams (drums) is laid bare on LIVE IN EUROPE 1967: THE BOOTLEG SERIES VOL. 1. Culled from original state-owned television and radio sources in Belgium, Denmark, and France, this 5 LP box set spans three northern European festival performances over the course of nine days in October-November 1967. The audio shows consist entirely of previously unreleased or previously only bootlegged material. Miles' Quintet lineup of 1965 to '68 is acknowledged as one of the high reference points in 20th Century jazz, and its influence continues to reverberate in small group jazz today, and it was the quintet's live performances, as they evolved into Miles' ideal of a 'leaderless' jamming ensemble, that truly immortalized them. (bron: Sony)
"Out to Lunch stands as Eric Dolphy's magnum opus, an absolute pinnacle of avant-garde jazz in any form or era. Its rhythmic complexity was perhaps unrivaled since Dave Brubeck's Time Out, and its five Dolphy originals -- the jarring Monk tribute "Hat and Beard," the aptly titled "Something Sweet, Something Tender," the weirdly jaunty flute showcase "Gazzelloni," the militaristic title track, the drunken lurch of "Straight Up and Down" -- were a perfect balance of structured frameworks, carefully calibrated timbres, and generous individual freedom." (Steve Huey, Allmusic)
"When Chick Corea was trying to establish his post-Miles solo career, he 'rented' himself and his brand new band, Return to Forever, to Getz. So, what you have is an album with lots of Stan's tenor playing over Chick's tunes and a great, modern band (Stanley Clarke! Tony Williams!!) and a definite early electric jazz vibe. An anomaly in their careers, but a very happy one." (Wayside) "One of the more remarkable aspects of Stan Getz's 1972 masterpiece is just how organic he was able to keep the sound. The band surrounding Getz was led by Chick Corea with (electric) bassist Stanley Clarke, drummer Tony Williams, and Brazilian master percussionist Airto. With the exception of Clarke, all had played with Miles Davis in his then-experimental electric bands. But make no mistake, this is a Stan Getz record, his gorgeous tenor tone furiously and fluidly playing through all of Corea's difficult mode changes." (Thom Jurek, Allmusic)
"Drummer Tony Williams' first recording as a leader (made when he was 18 and still billed as Anthony Williams) gave him an opportunity to utilize an advanced group of musicians: tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Herbie Hancock, and both Richard Davis and Gary Peacock on bass. Williams wrote all four of the pieces and has a different combination of players on each song. The freely improvised "Memory" features Hutcherson, Hancock, and Williams in some colorful and at times spacy interplay; "Barb's Song to the Wizard" is a Hancock-Ron Carter duet; "Tomorrow Afternoon" has Rivers, Peacock and Williams in a trio; and all of the musicians (except Hutcherson) are on the sidelong "2 Pieces of One." The unpredictable music holds one's interest; a very strong debut for the masterful drummer." (allmusic)
Het vierde album als bandleider van de pianist, die op dat moment (1964) speelde in het beroemde sixtieskwintet van Miles Davis. Het behoort met het een jaar later verschenen "Maiden Voyage" tot z'n beste én bekendste werk uit z'n vroege periode. Met "Cantaloupe Island" hint hij naar de toen opkomende souljazz: het nummer leunt sterk op een doorlopende funky pianoriff. Het funky gehalte ervan werd begin jaren '90 door de popgroep US3 erkend: het nummer "Cantaloop" werd met kenmerkende Hancock-sample een wereldhit. Het is een nogal afwijkend nummer op de plaat die verder hardbop als uitgangspunt heeft, maar steeds weer vrije paden opzoekt. Nummers als "Oliloqui Valley" kennen meerdere ritme- en sfeerveranderingen: de rest van de band volgt beurtelings de solist in dienst modale exploraties. Met de ritmesectie van het Miles Davis Quintet en cornettist Freddie Hubbard heeft de pianist uitgelezen partners voor zijn muzikale eilandentrips. Rudy van Gelder zorgt op deze 1999-remaster dat het beter klinkt dan ooit.
"This 1963 date is from the period when Miles Davis was still assembling his great mid-'60s quintet. For this intense, high-energy recording, four-fifths of that group are already in place. George Coleman is the saxophonist and he is in blistering form. A fiery, linear player, with impeccable, advanced hard bop instincts, Coleman helps push these performances from the standard Davis repertoire to an unprecedented level of deconstructed abstraction that would become even more pronounced in the coming years. It is the trumpeter, though -- all impertinent blats, rubbery smears of sound, and unexpected shifts in dynamics -- who leads the push here toward the cool, impressionistic, wholly original, cerebral funk that would emerge once Shorter was in the group. Ron Carter (b) and Tony Williams (d) at this point have already set the new rhythm section standard they would maintain with Davis. Herbie Hancock (p) is still in a bop/hard bop frame of mind, but his playing is excellent. A wonderful 60 minutes." (Bertus)
"With the cheers and huzzahs from their 1976 one-off reunion (documented on the live album "V.S.O.P.") still resounding, the reconstituted Miles Davis Quintet minus Miles went on the road in 1977, spreading their 1965-vintage gospel according to the Prince of Darkness to audiences in Berkeley and San Diego, CA. In doing so, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams, plus interloper Freddie Hubbard seem to pick up where they left off, with a repertoire mostly new to the five collectively and developed from there. It isn't exactly the same -- you miss Miles' brooding presence and sense of space in Hubbard's busy, fiery playing, and Hancock is a more harmonically daring, assertive player than he was with Miles -- but the interlocking telepathy and individual virtuosity of the musicians is pretty amazing. The V.S.O.P. tours seem a pit stop in Hancock's evolution, but their influence upon the direction of jazz as a whole in the '80s and '90s would be staggering." (Richard S. Ginell, Allmusic)
"After George Coleman left the Miles Davis Quintet, tenor-saxophonist Sam Rivers took his place for a short period including a tour of Japan. Davis did not care for Rivers's avant-garde style (they failed to develop any chemistry) and soon replaced him, but this live album (originally only issued in Japan) survived to document this brief association. The music (Davis' "So What" plus four lengthy versions of standards) is actually of high quality with both Davis and Rivers in fine form and the young rhythm section (pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams) pushing the trumpeter/leader to open up his style." (Scott Yanow, Allmusic)
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