Miles Davis - The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions

[garthsj]

Hmmmmmmmmm ... as I already have all of this stuff in my third generation format (The Big Blue Box) I wonder what the likelihood is of this great set becoming available at Your Music for about $24.98 sometime in July??

[chris olivarez]

Hmmmmmmmmm ... as I already have all of this stuff in my third generation format (The Big Blue Box) I wonder what the likelihood is of this great set becoming available at Your Music for about $24.98 sometime in July??

Doesn't seem that much of anything is available at Your Music or BMG these days but we can always hope.

[Quincy]

Hmmmmmmmmm ... as I already have all of this stuff in my third generation format (The Big Blue Box) I wonder what the likelihood is of this great set becoming available at Your Music for about $24.98 sometime in July??

Doesn't seem that much of anything is available at Your Music or BMG these days but we can always hope.

Yeah, not the right label for yourmusic me thinks. But heck, imagine being a Miles beginner and having yourmusic. You could have a massive amount of Columbia for a pittance of what I paid for mine!

[GA Russell]

I don't think that Concord/Fantasy has contributed anything to BMG/Your Music since Concord acquired the material.

I don't count on seeing new Fantasy material there anymore.

[mikeweil]

I do hope Zweitausendeins will offer them at the same great prices as they used to when ZYX was distributing Fantasy in Germany, as their business relations to Universal (the new distributor) are not that bad either ... (see the Mosaic/Verve boxes). I have only the old LP version of the Miles Prestige box ....

[Enterprise Server]

Buy all of it! I love all the Miles Prestige recordings. I have all the Miles Prestige twofer double and single records. LOVE THE PICTURES AND COVER GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR THE 24000 SERIES !

[GA Russell]

I have found a price lower than CD Universe's. It's at the Concord website. This surprises me, because it has been my experience that manufacturers offer their wares at list price, and leave it to the retailers to offer discounts.

Yesterday I received the Concord Spring Sale Catalog. It has the box on sale for $44.98.

And just below it, it says: Order online at www.concordcatalog.com and receive an additional 10% discount. Promo Code: CATALOG2006

The 10% discount would make the price $39.99.

Also, order $100 or more (tax and shipping not included) and get free shipping (ground service).

Jim, maybe Concord will offer you a piece of the action for a direct link to their website. They have quite a few OJCs on sale for $8.98.

[Head Man]

Looking at the Concord website it shows that all the original music - 32 tracks - is on three CDs, with a fourth CD containing TWO additional tracks; 'Tune up' & 'Walkin' - Live at The Blue Note'.

I thought the extra CD was going to contain EIGHT tracks.

Does anyone know anything about the two listed tracks?

[GA Russell]

I am a lucky guy. In my mail today arrived an advance copy.

The first thing I have done is burn a copy of everything for the car. Now I am going to start listening.

In regard to the bonus disc, the eight tracks are:

Max is Making Wax aka Chance It

It Never Entered My Mind

Tune Up

Walkin

Four

Bye Bye Blackbird

Walkin (again)

and Two Bass Hit

Max and Mind are from Steve Allen and The Tonight Show. The others are apparently from radio broadcasts. I will have to read the liner notes to get the details.

[GA Russell]

I have spent much of the day listening. Here is what I have found:

I should start by saying that I assume that everyone has the five OJCs. I bought the five LPs years ago, and never got the material on CD. I listen to them occasionally, but I do not visit any of my LPs very often.

I cannot speak too highly of the three CDs which encompass the five albums. Hearing the songs in recording order is like hearing the music for the first time.

The 24 bit sound is terrific. The music sounds great on both my stereo system and my small Sony boombox. (I am not an audiophile. My system was pretty decent when I bought it, but that was years ago.)

I will post about the bonus disk later. I do not want this post to run too long.

Here is my recommendation: Suppose (as jlhoots wishes) the bonus disk with the eight new tracks were available separately and listed for $17.99, discounted to $14.99 on the internet. Would you spend $14.99 for what I think is fair to call historic music (it was a historic band) and transcriptions of five Miles solos? I imagine that many of us would.

CD Universe has pegged its pre-order price at $41.99. Subtracting $14.99 from $41.99 leaves an even $27.00.

Is it worth $27.00 to get all five albums in recorded order, sonically upgraded to 24 bit, with a 40-page book? To me, that is a no brainer. A great bargain.

If these numbers make sense to you, I recommend that you pre-order the box.

[tranemonk]

Already did... preorder... but I'm looking forward to hearing more of reviews...

When is this puppy shipping anyway?

[GA Russell]

Tranemonk, the release date is May 23.

[Chuck Nessa]

How many times can I buy this material? I bought the original lps, the Fantasy doubles to reduce the clicks (vol 1 pressed by RCA, vol 2 by Columbia), the OJCs, the complete box (lp and cd versions) and finally a couple K2s. I will be really pissed if the new set is copy protected!

[Guest Chaney]

CD Universe has pegged its pre-order price at $41.99. Subtracting $14.99 from $41.99 leaves an even $27.00.

And its regular price will be $42.15.

Give me a can't-say-no preorder price and I'm all over these sets. Order now, to save sixteen cents? (Other online retailers are pricing this set even higher.)

I'll get to it when I get to it, if at all.

[GA Russell]

Chaney, as stated above, CDU had set their regular price at $48.29. I see that has been changed.

I agree with you that pre-ordering to save 16 cents doesn't make much sense, unless you're really hot to trot for an album.

[tranemonk]

I thought the masses beat Sony to death and they stopped doing that...

How many times can I buy this material? I bought the original lps, the Fantasy doubles to reduce the clicks (vol 1 pressed by RCA, vol 2 by Columbia), the OJCs, the complete box (lp and cd versions) and finally a couple K2s. I will be really pissed if the new set is copy protected!

[erhodes]

It's nice to see a legitimate release but the "unissued" material actually seems to be a rehash of Boris Rose dates that have been endlessly bootlegged. IMO, the issued quality has not been bad. I would be pleasantly surprised if the new Fantasy release had significantly improved sound. The link lists 5 tracks labeled "enhanced".

The November 18, 1955 Steve Allen date - "Max Is Makin' Wax" and "It Never Entered My Mind" - and the December 8, 1956 Blue Note (Philadelphia) date - "Tune Up", "Walkin'" and "Four" (all of 1 second for "Four") - were both issued on Yadeon 502, one of Rose's only cd issues. The sound is a little better than the private tapes that were circulating at the time. AFAIK, the video of the Steve Allen performance was destroyed years ago (this is in Porter's chronology).

The "Four", "Bye Bye Blackbird", "Walkin", and "Two Bass Hit" date is a broadcast from the Cafe Bohemia on May 17, 1958. It is not the original Davis/Coltrane quintet. Bill Evans is the pianist. Rose issued this on Chakra TH100 and, again, the sound is reasonable. This date is also on the Jazz Band lp's and cd's.

I'd love to find out that Prestige has better source material for these sessions, as turned out to be the case with the Coltrane Half Note material, but I'll wait and see.

The "enhanced" tracks look like they were taken from these same dates, i.e., "Max Is Makin' Wax", one of the "Walkin'" tracks, and "Four".

[brownie]

I have lived with the original vinyls of these sessions for half a century, loved the music and the sound. Never felt the urge to get any reissue.

But I am tempted to get this set just to listen to the music in the sequence it was recorded!

[John L]

The big blue box omitted studio chatter that will (I've heard) be included here.

For me, that is the best reason not to buy it. Studio chatter is interesting to listen to once, but I sure don't want to hear it over and over again when I can be listening to the music instead.

[bluesbro]

I got a free sampler of the new box at Borders. I have the K2 remasters, and they seem very similar to what will be in the box. Since I have all the material in either K2, SACD or DCC gold, I think I will pass. There is one live track in the sampler and its just OK.

[medjuck]

The big blue box omitted studio chatter that will (I've heard) be included here.

For me, that is the best reason not to buy it. Studio chatter is interesting to listen to once, but I sure don't want to hear it over and over again when I can be listening to the music instead.

I'd usually agree but this studio chatter has been part of my listening experience for nearly 50 years. It's become the verse or coda of some of these cuts for me.

[nica]

okay question - i was checking out the tracklisting for the box at a couple sites and - is it me or are tunes missing? like - i dont see four or never entered my mind (from workin). the live versions are there on the 4th disc but not the studio versions. anybody know wut up?

[garthsj]

I received a note from Concord yesterday (Tuesday) to say that "box is in the mail" ... I guess I am just a sucker for the those nice neat little boxed sets ... I never bought the K2 reissues, because I still have the big blue box, so this will be something to look forward to. This will be my fourth edition; the sale of just one of my original 1950s hardcover albums back in 2001 more than paid for his set.

Edited May 17, 2006 by garthsj

[GA Russell]

Now I'd like to say a few words about the bonus disk. I was really psyched to hear it. As I suggested above, I would have paid $14.99 for it. But now that I have heard it, I am disappointed. I suppose that those of us who are not collectors of bootlegs need to be reminded that not every discovered tape is of the quality of Monk with Coltrane at Carnegie Hall.

I am more positive about the three main disks than Chuck is, because of the recorded order presentation. But I am apparently more negative about the bonus disk than Ed Rhoades is, because of the sound. Thanks for that informative post Ed!

To continue the scenario mentioned above, having heard the music, if all four disks were sold separately listed at $17.99 and discounted on the internet to $14.99, I would spend the $14.99 for the three main disks, but I wouldn't buy the bonus disk. Three times $14.99 is $44.97, which is more than the price of the box, so it's still a good deal. I can imagine that those of you who are completists and Trane fanatics would choose to buy the bonus disk and be satisfied, but for most people I don't think the bonus disk cuts the mustard.

All of the music is good, but I don't think that any of it is as good as that of the five albums. Maybe Prestige caught lightning in a bottle three times at the three recording sessions.

But let's look at the sound. Here's the track list:

In regard to the bonus disc, the eight tracks are:

Max is Making Wax aka Chance It

It Never Entered My Mind

Tune Up

Walkin

Four

Bye Bye Blackbird

Walkin (again)

and Two Bass Hit

Max and Mind were performed on The Tonight Show November 17, 1955, the day following the first Prestige session. (Speaking of which, I'm really digging that session now more than ever.) The fidelity of both sounds like 1940s era. Mind sounds like the tape was improperly stored over the years, and shouldn't have been included, except for curiosity's sake.

Tune Up and the first Walkin' were performed at a Philly club and caught by a radio show called Bandstand USA on December 8, 1956, six weeks after the final Prestige date. The sound is muffled throughout, but passable. Paul Chambers' Walkin' bass solo suffers from some strong overmodulation.

The remaining four tunes were performed May 17, 1958 (48 years ago tonight!) at the Cafe Bohemia, also for Bandstand USA. On all of them, Miles' trumpet is overmodulated. This is particularly annoying during Blackbird because of Miles' use of the mute. As Ed mentioned, Bill Evans has replaced Red Garland for the '58 date. Evans is unrecognizable, playing much funkier on Blackbird and the second Walkin' than anything I've heard of his Riverside recordings.

Two Bass Hit is only 53 seconds long before the quick fade out, too short to make a contribution. The disc is 39 minutes, including 4 minutes of Steve Allen introductions.

Judging from the many comments about Mosaic boxes, Miles boxes and the Monk with Coltrane at Carnegie Hall disk, there are many of you who value the book. I agree that a good book makes a box set more special, but I don't place the premium on it that many of you do. In this case, the book is an enjoyable read. Much of it is in the style of Ira Gitler liner notes, and the comments on the bonus disk are informative. I would pay the price of a magazine for the book, not much more.

In sum, I'm really, really glad to have this box. But I don't expect to listen to the bonus disk very often.

edit for typo

Edited May 18, 2006 by GA Russell

[jay2b2]

$39.99 at http://www.towerrecords.com with free shipping.