Miles Davis & John Coltrane Centennials

[jazzbo]

9 hours ago, jazzbo said:

I just got in from cdjapan the three hybrid SACDs of Miles that Universal just put out (Birth of Cool, Miles Davis Volume 1, Miles Davis Volume 2). Surprisingly they are plper sleeve lp facsimile editions. I'll listen to one or two in the morning.

I've listened to two of these so far and the sound is excellent. IF your system allows SACD to shine I would say these are worth pursuing. CD layer sounds great too, but on my system the SACD is better sounding still.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

7 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

Curious about how many members caught either/both live.

I was way more into rock bands when Miles last toured and I was a kid when Coltrane died. My parents didn't even have any Brubeck LPs, much less Coltrane. We used to sing along with Mitch Miller.  

[Brad]

7 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

Curious about how many members caught either/both live.

I was only a teenager in the 60s and wasn’t interested in jazz in those days, not until the late 90s, so never saw them. 

[medjuck]

Saw them both.  Trane only once with quartet. Miles with 2nd great quintet and once near the end of his life.  (Double bill with Gil Evans at Hollywood Bowl. I was hoping Miles would sit in with Gil's band but it never happened.) 

[felser]

I saw Miles at the Tower Theater in Philly, March 1973.  Pete Cosey for sure, Dave Liebman and Michael Henderson and Mtume I'm pretty sure.  Reggie Lucas and Al Foster I think?  53 years ago, and there were no stage anmouncements or musician ID's. Very daunting experience for an 18 year old only 6 months into to jazz, to be honest.  I was 12 when Trane passed, wouldn't discover his music for another 5 years.

[rostasi]

15 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

Curious about how many members caught either/both live.

When I was young, I was bummed about never having the chance to see Coltrane - 
especially since I was constantly playing his music and inviting friends over to listen
(Kulu Sé Mama was always a hit with them).

Miles, on the other hand, I’d seen, IIRC, four times (’65, ’69, ’73, ‘74) - 
one time with Moms Mabley opening. I think I mentioned here before
that he visited our home back in the 60s.

[tranemonk]

15 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

Curious about how many members caught either/both live.

I caught Miles once here in Boston. Late 80s. All I remember is thinking "why is he playing with his back to the crowd?" 

[Chuck Nessa]

First Miles and Coltrane events for me were at the Plugged Nickel. In 1965 I went (from Iowa City) with JR Monterose to catch the Coltrane quartet - JR was friends with Elvin. My first Miles experience was in 1968 and the band was Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Tony. As I left the club that night, Joe Segal stopped me to introduce me to Miles, who was leaning on the bar. Joe said I was a record producer, Miles took my hand and slapped me on my ass.

 

 

 

 

 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

6 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

First Miles and Coltrane events for me were at the Plugged Nickel. In 1965 I went (from Iowa City) with JR Monterose to catch the Coltrane quartet - JR was friends with Elvin. My first Miles experience was in 1968 and the band was Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Tony. As I left the club that night, Joe Segal stopped me to introduce me to Miles, who was leaning on the bar. Joe said I was a record producer, Miles took my hand and slapped me on my ass.

You became a record producer at a young age. I toyed with the idea of trying to get a job as a recording engineer but there were no jobs around when I graduated from UMass/Amherst. What got you decided to do that? When I was in my early 20's, I would never have thought being a record producer was something I could do. Was it "easier" to do something like this in the late 60s?

[clifford_thornton]

8 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

First Miles and Coltrane events for me were at the Plugged Nickel. In 1965 I went (from Iowa City) with JR Monterose to catch the Coltrane quartet - JR was friends with Elvin. My first Miles experience was in 1968 and the band was Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Tony. As I left the club that night, Joe Segal stopped me to introduce me to Miles, who was leaning on the bar. Joe said I was a record producer, Miles took my hand and slapped me on my ass.

 

 

 

 

 

🤣

amazing!

[jlhoots]

I saw both live - not together.

[Rooster_Ties]

11 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

My first Miles experience was in 1968. Joe Segal stopped me to introduce me to Miles, and said I was a record producer.

Kevin asked the very same questions I was thinking! You were all of 22 or 23 in ‘68, right?

Just looked up Numbers 1 & 2 was recorded in Aug ‘67 — when you had to have been all of 22 at most (maybe even 21?).

Doing the math, Lester was just shy of 26 when Num1&2 was recorded — you sure hit the ground running!!

But I imagine you had to have had a good handful of other formative experience before — do tell!

Edited May 21 by Rooster_Ties

[Chuck Nessa]

27 minutes ago, Rooster_Ties said:

Kevin asked the very same questions I was thinking! You were all of 22 or 23 in ‘68, right?

Just looked up Numbers 1 & 2 was recorded in Aug ‘67 — when you had to have been all of 22 at most (maybe even 21?).

Doing the math, Lester was just shy of 26 when Num1&2 was recorded — you sure hit the ground running!!

But I imagine you had to have had a good handful of other formative experience before — do tell!

I recorded Roscoe and Joseph Jarman sessions for Delmark in 1966.

[clifford_thornton]

my parents saw Miles twice, once acoustic and once electric. The latter was at the Village Gate, not sure where the former was. Neither saw Coltrane.

actually, scratch certainty on electric at the Gate -- could have been the Fillmore East with Butterfield?

[JSngry]

13 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

First Miles and Coltrane events for me were at the Plugged Nickel. In 1965 I went (from Iowa City) with JR Monterose to catch the Coltrane quartet - JR was friends with Elvin. My first Miles experience was in 1968 and the band was Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Tony. As I left the club that night, Joe Segal stopped me to introduce me to Miles, who was leaning on the bar. Joe said I was a record producer, Miles took my hand and slapped me on my ass.

 

 

 

 

 

When did he joke about breaking you arm?

[Chuck Nessa]

3 minutes ago, JSngry said:

When did he joke about breaking you arm?

I left that part out of the encounter.

[Milestones]

I was much too young  to see Coltrane.

I saw Miles in 1984 with players like John Scofield and Bill Evans (sax) in the band.  This was actually my very first jazz concert.  

 

[Rooster_Ties]

1 hour ago, Chuck Nessa said:

I recorded Roscoe and Joseph Jarman sessions for Delmark in 1966.

Any before that?  And/or remind me how you came to record for Demark in ‘66? (Apologies, Chuck, you’ve probably told some of those stories here before, but I’m forgetting the details.)

Maybe start a new thread, if you don’t want to derail this one — although god knows threads go all over the place around here (much to everyone’s benefit usually).  Thanks in advance!

[medjuck]

7 hours ago, jlhoots said:

I saw both live - not together.

Did anyone here see them live together? 

[Steve Gray]

I saw them both

Coltrane with Dolphy, Tyner, Workman and Elvin on November 17th 1961, 2 weeks after they recorded Live at the VV

This was at the Walthamstow Granada, London on a bill with a Dizzy Gillespie group featuring Leo Wright and Lalo Schifrin.

I was 14 at the time.

 

Miles twice, in '67 with the second quintet and '69 with Shorter, Corea, Holland and De Johnette

[Pim]

3 hours ago, Steve Gray said:

I saw them both

Coltrane with Dolphy, Tyner, Workman and Elvin on November 17th 1961, 2 weeks after they recorded Live at the VV

This was at the Walthamstow Granada, London on a bill with a Dizzy Gillespie group featuring Leo Wright and Lalo Schifrin.

I was 14 at the time.

 

Miles twice, in '67 with the second quintet and '69 with Shorter, Corea, Holland and De Johnette

Words can’t describe my jealousy 

[Lino22]

On 5/20/2026 at 6:23 AM, jazzbo said:

I've listened to two of these so far and the sound is excellent. IF your system allows SACD to shine I would say these are worth pursuing. CD layer sounds great too, but on my system the SACD is better sounding still.

Thanks for the tip! I just ordered these. It doesn’t say they are paper sleeve but that’s a bonus for me! Also, it’s says they are sacd only, so are they actually hybrids? I also preordered these 2 sacd “Kind of Blue” in stereo and mono. Looked interesting. 

Edited May 23 by Lino22

[jazzbo]

They are paper sleeve and they are hybrid (I believe, have not tried the redbook layer). I imagine the same mastering is on the UHQCD versions previously released remastered by Kevin Gray in the case of the two Blue Notes and the Tone Poet in the case of Birth of the Cool--and perhaps that UHQCD, I don't see who mastered that one.

Edited May 23 by jazzbo

[Peter Friedman]

When I was living in Detroit, I saw the first Miles Quintet with Coltrane once at a local club.

Also Some years (in either Detroit or Rochester,NY) later I saw the Miles Davis group with Chick Corea and/ or Keith Jarrett . My memory of that second time is fuzzy as I did not really care much for the music. Probably left well before it ended that evening.

[Chuck Nessa]

On 5/21/2026 at 12:58 AM, Chuck Nessa said:

First Miles and Coltrane events for me were at the Plugged Nickel. In 1965 I went (from Iowa City) with JR Monterose to catch the Coltrane quartet - JR was friends with Elvin. My first Miles experience was in 1968 and the band was Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Tony. As I left the club that night, Joe Segal stopped me to introduce me to Miles, who was leaning on the bar. Joe said I was a record producer, Miles took my hand and slapped me on my ass.

 

 

 

 

 

I misremembered - my first "live" Miles was in 1965 at the Nickel when Columbia was recording the band. 

I