Milestones [Remaster]

Performer: Miles Davis
Artist: Julian "Cannonball" Adderley; Cannonball Adderley; Charlie Parker; Dizzy Gillespie; John Coltrane; J.J. Johnson; Red Garland; Lucky Thompson; Paul Chambers; Philly Joe Jones; Bud Powell; John Lewis; Max Roach
Engineer: Harold Chapman
Producer: George Avakian; Teo Macero; Michael Cuscuna (Reissue); Bob Belden (Reissue)
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: This CD is a compilation of early Miles Davis tracks and is NOT the Columbia album called MILESTONES released in 1958. Personnel includes: Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet); Charlie Parker (alto saxophone); Lucky Thompson (tenor saxophone); J.J. Johnson (trombone); Bud Powell, John Lewis (piano); Max Roach (drums). Recorded between 1945 and 1947. Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet); Cannonball Adderley (alto saxophone); John Coltrane (tenor saxophone); Red Garland (piano); Philly Joe Jones (drums). Audio Mixer: Mark Wilder. Audio Remasterer: Mark Wilder. Audio Remixers: Teo Macero; Tim Geelan. Liner Note Authors: Charles Edward Smith; Bob Blumenthal. Recording information: Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York, NY (04/02/1958-04/03/1958). Photographers: Don Hunstein; Dennis Stock; Aram Avakian; Chuck Stewart. Unknown Contributor Roles: John Coltrane; Paul Chambers; Philly Joe Jones; Red Garland; Cannonball Adderley. The title does not refer to the trumpeter's composition from his first recording date but is an acknowledgement of this session's visceral impact. Tenor saxophonist John Coltrane had left the trumpeter in the spring of 1957 to join Thelonious Monk for his engagement at New York's Five Spot, and was replaced by a rising star on alto saxophone, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. When he returned, Davis had a formidable three-horn front line to go with "The Rhythm Section." MILESTONES is a bracing rhythmic tonic, coming after the refined ballad moods and lush orchestral pastels of MILES AHEAD. And from the furious, adults-only hyper-drive of the opening "Dr. Jekyll" (with its thrilling tenor/alto battle and daredevil drum breaks), through a dazzling Dizzy Gillespie/John Lewis bebop anthem ("Two Bass Hit") to the bright dancing groove of "Straight, No Chaser," MILESTONES is an epic historical event--even by Miles' standards. The slow, bluesy "Sid's Ahead" first appeared as "Weirdo" on Miles' March 1954 Blue Note session, and offers tantalizing portraits of the horns. Coltrane attacks his line like a blues guitarist, in short bursts of vocal cries and loping syncopated tangents; Miles comes out jabbing, slow and purposeful, feinting and fading behind the beat with lovely long tones and bends; Cannonball comes out all agitated and excitable, with little quicksilver runs and sing-songy asides (such as "Skip to my lou my darling"). Pianist Red Garland's famous feature on the traditional "Billy Boy" highlights his mastery of a two handed orchestral style, his brilliant use of space in blues phrasing, and his interplay with the driving young Paul Chambers (with his enormous beat and impeccable bow work) and the fiery Philly Joe Jones (whose complex melodic variations transcend the technical limitations of the drums).

Few musicians have managed to change the course of music--trumpeter Miles Davis did it several times. An early disciple of Charlie Parker, Davis created an austere, understated approach that became the model for cool. His superb albums in the 1950s made him a star, and in the following decade, he brought small-group jazz to the limit before he unapologetically (and, for some, unforgivably) took on jazz-rock. After a break, he re-emerged in the '80s with a mixture of pop and dense, bristling funk. All the while, his refusal to follow anyone but his own muse made him both a hero and an enigma--either way, he was one of the most magnetic, influential figures in American music.

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