Jump to content

Miles Davis- Paris Olympia Theatre March 1960


Stonewall15

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...

The  Miles Davis and John Coltrane dated 21 Mars 1960 is awesome. But the later Paris concert with Sonny Stitt was something I can live without. While Sonny Stitt was a fine musican...he always seemed out of place in Miles's group. He just did not hack for me. When I was very young, I cut my teeth on Sonny Stitt's Prestige recordings and I greatly enjoyed his playing. But hearing him try to play with Miles was another matter altogether. I just couldn't and still can't deal with it. I don't feel that way with Sam Rivers and George Coleman. But brother Sonny sounds like the odd man out. Any opinions on this..?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sonny Stitt is ‘alright’ with/in Miles quintet in 1960 — at least based on the two documented Stockholm concerts on Dragon (first one with Trane, then with Stitt on the groups return visit).

Ok, but what IS notable is how much stronger/more fiery Miles’ playing is with Stitt (vs with Trane).

I’ve said this for many years, that at least on the uptempo tunes — I’d honesty take Miles’ playing with Stitt (over Miles w/ Trane) in a heartbeat.

I can take or leave Stitt’s playing with Miles (though I do prefer Stitt’s over Hank Mobley’s playing with Miles in 1961 — and I don’t think Miles is especially better with Hank, as he was with Sonny).

Many factors at play when comparing these groups - not just the playing of the 2nd horn / foil to Miles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Rooster_Ties said:

Ok, but what IS notable is how much stronger/more fiery Miles’ playing is with Stitt (vs with Trane).

That's what the liners say in a boxset I have of the series Live in Paris, which documents two concerts at the Olympia in 1960: one with Trane from march 21 and one with Stitt from October 11. The liners say Miles plays much better with Stitt than with Trane, who casts a deep shadow over him. And that's true. The album, or 4 CD set is this one:

R-5564509-1415972752-7623.jpeg.jpg

It's from 2014 and Fremeaux.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Bluesnik said:

That's what the liners say in a boxset I have of the series Live in Paris, which documents two concerts at the Olympia in 1960: one with Trane from march 21 and one with Stitt from October 11. The liners say Miles plays much better with Stitt than with Trane, who casts a deep shadow over him. And that's true. The album, or 4 CD set is this one:

R-5564509-1415972752-7623.jpeg.jpg

It's from 2014 and Fremeaux.

I don't know about that... Miles' shadow looks pretty big here.

:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Miles usually had bands. Not groups, but bands. What was he going to do with Sonny Stitt in a band? Sonny Stitt was going to do Sonny Stitt, period, no matter what the gig was. He was never going to fall below nor rise above a certain level.  Nothing wrong with Sonny Stitt, just...it happens before it happens, if you know what I mean. I think it maybe took Miles a little bit to decide that somebody else could put their name on that, but it wasn't going to be him.

The funny thing is that Sonny Stitt had a GREAT band, that trio with Don Patterson, Billy James, and the Varitone as heard on that Left Bank record, oh Lord have mercy, that was a band! 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, danasgoodstuff said:

This seems like as good a place as any to ask, are there any recordings of Miles while either Rocky Boyd or Frank Strozier were in the band?  An I agree that Stitt was not the right fit.  I don't want Miles to necessarily play more - less is more is (part of) what makes him Miles.

Or JJ Johnson. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think Miles with Stitt was beneficial to both. Stitt couldn't coast and probably was making more $$$ than usual,  and Miles was still Miles. And this is an excellent Stitt solo (though his solos on some of these concerts do go on too long, as though he was having trouble figuring out where to stop):

 

Edited by AllenLowe
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/23/2020 at 9:38 AM, jazzbo said:

I really like the Blackhawk recordings as well. . . and listen for Miles as well as for Mobley and "the Trio." Interesting recordings as well. I have the originally released material on vinyl as well as the complete on cd.

Didn’t the original vinyl release cut a lot of Hank’s solos?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...