Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4
| Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 | ||||
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | July 17, 2015 | |||
| Recorded |
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| Venue | Newport Jazz Festival Newport, Rhode Island Dietikon, Switzerland (1971) Berlin, West Germany (1973) Avery Fisher Hall, New York City (1975) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 295:38 | |||
| Label | Columbia/Legacy | |||
| Producer | George Wein | |||
| Miles Davis chronology | ||||
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| Miles Davis live chronology | ||||
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Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 is a four-CD album compiling five of Miles Davis's performances at the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island and two European concerts branded under the Festival moniker with one additional track recorded in New York City.[1]
The first disc contains Davis's debut appearance at the 1955 festival and his headlining performance from 1958, the later of which was originally released in part as one side of the split-LP by Columbia in 1964 as Miles & Monk at Newport and given its first complete release as part of The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis with John Coltrane box set in 1999 before being released individually as Miles Davis at Newport 1958 in 2001. The second disc contains previously unreleased performances from the 1966 and 1967 festivals. The third disc contains the Newport Festival concert from 1969 which was released as part of Bitches Brew Live in 2011, a complete previously unreleased concert from Berlin in 1973 and one performance from New York in 1975. The fourth CD contains a complete previously unreleased performance from Switzerland in 1971.
Reception
[edit]| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 92/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| PopMatters |  [4] |
| The Guardian | [5] |
| The Observer | [6] |
Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 received positive reviews on release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 92, based on 14 reviews which is categorised as universal acclaim.[2] Matt Collar's review on AllMusic stated "Miles Davis at Newport details the association between Davis and the festival, each performance serendipitously documenting his ever-morphing sound, from swinging cool jazz in the '50s to aggressive, free jazz-influenced modal bop in the '60s and finally to funky, acid-soaked fusion in the '70s."[3] PopMatters's John Paul gave the album 10 out of 10 saying "Perhaps no other recording better illustrates how Miles Davis bridged the gap between jazz's old guard and its younger visionaries."[4] The Observer's Dave Gelly said "Summer is traditionally the season for unearthing treasures from the jazz archives, and this is a real prize."[6]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Miles Davis except as noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Date recorded | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Spoken Introductions by Duke Ellington and Gerry Mulligan" | July 17, 1955 | 1:27 | |
| 2. | "Hackensack" | Thelonious Monk | July 17, 1955 | 8:02 |
| 3. | "'Round Midnight" | Monk | July 17, 1955 | 6:11 |
| 4. | "Now's the Time" | Charlie Parker | July 17, 1955 | 8:48 |
| 5. | "Introduction by Willis Connover" | July 3, 1958 | 2:16 | |
| 6. | "Ah-Leu-Cha" | Parker | July 3, 1958 | 5:52 |
| 7. | "Straight, No Chaser" | Monk | July 3, 1958 | 8:47 |
| 8. | "Fran-Dance" | July 3, 1958 | 7:13 | |
| 9. | "Two Bass Hit" | July 3, 1958 | 4:10 | |
| 10. | "Bye Bye Blackbird" | July 3, 1958 | 9:10 | |
| 11. | "The Theme" | July 3, 1958 | 2:49 | |
| Total length: | 1:04:47 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Date recorded | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gingerbread Boy" | Jimmy Heath | July 4, 1966 | 8:29 |
| 2. | "All Blues" | July 4, 1966 | 10:27 | |
| 3. | "Stella by Starlight" | July 4, 1966 | 7:58 | |
| 4. | "R.J." | Ron Carter | July 4, 1966 | 6:20 |
| 5. | "Seven Steps to Heaven" |
| July 4, 1966 | 4:45 |
| 6. | "The Theme/Closing Announcement by Leonard Feather" | July 4, 1966 | 2:18 | |
| 7. | "Spoken Introduction by Del Shields" | July 2, 1967 | 0:38 | |
| 8. | "Gingerbread Boy" | Heath | July 2, 1967 | 8:42 |
| 9. | "Footprints" | Wayne Shorter | July 2, 1967 | 7:53 |
| 10. | "'Round Midnight" | Monk | July 2, 1967 | 6:41 |
| 11. | "So What" | July 2, 1967 | 8:18 | |
| 12. | "The Theme"/"Closing Announcement by Del Shields" | July 2, 1967 | 0:19 | |
| Total length: | 1:12:49 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Date recorded | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" | July 5, 1969 | 10:27 | |
| 2. | "Sanctuary" | Shorter | July 5, 1969 | 3:52 |
| 3. | "It's About That Time/The Theme" | July 5, 1969 | 9:48 | |
| 4. | "Band Warming Up/Voice Over Introduction" | November 1, 1973 | 0:36 | |
| 5. | "Turnaroundphrase" | November 1, 1973 | 10:57 | |
| 6. | "Tune in 5" | November 1, 1973 | 4:12 | |
| 7. | "Ife" | November 1, 1973 | 13:54 | |
| 8. | "Untitled Original" | November 1, 1973 | 11:31 | |
| 9. | "Tune in 5 (Reprise)" | November 1, 1973 | 6:07 | |
| 10. | "Mtume" | July 1, 1975 | 6:57 | |
| Total length: | 1:18:21 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Date recorded | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Directions" | October 22, 1971 | 13:05 | |
| 2. | "What I Say" | October 22, 1971 | 10:43 | |
| 3. | "Sanctuary" | October 22, 1971 | 3:42 | |
| 4. | "It's About That Time" | October 22, 1971 | 13:21 | |
| 5. | "Bitches Brew" | October 22, 1971 | 11:55 | |
| 6. | "Funky Tonk" | October 22, 1971 | 25:43 | |
| 7. | "Sanctuary (Reprise)" | Shorter | October 22, 1971 | 1:15 |
| Total length: | 1:19:45 | |||
Personnel
[edit]July 15, 1955 — Newport Jazz Festival, Festival Field, Newport, RI
[edit]All-Star Jam Session:
- Miles Davis – trumpet
- Zoot Sims – tenor saxophone
- Gerry Mulligan – baritone saxophone
- Thelonious Monk – piano
- Percy Heath – bass
- Connie Kay – drums
July 3, 1958 — Newport Jazz Festival, Festival Field, Newport, RI
[edit]- Miles Davis – trumpet
- Cannonball Adderley – alto saxophone
- John Coltrane – tenor saxophone
- Bill Evans – piano
- Paul Chambers – bass
- Jimmy Cobb – drums
July 4, 1966 & July 2, 1967 — Newport Jazz Festival, Festival Field, Newport, RI
[edit]- Miles Davis – trumpet
- Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone
- Herbie Hancock – piano
- Ron Carter – bass
- Tony Williams – drums
July 5, 1969 — Newport Jazz Festival, Festival Field, Newport, RI
[edit]- Miles Davis – trumpet
- Chick Corea – electric piano
- Dave Holland – bass
- Jack DeJohnette – drums
October 22, 1971 — Newport Jazz Festival in Europe, Neue Stadthalle, Dietikon, Switzerland
[edit]- Miles Davis – electric trumpet with wah-wah
- Gary Bartz – soprano saxophone, alto saxophone
- Keith Jarrett – electric piano, organ
- Michael Henderson – electric bass
- Leon "Ndugu" Chancler – drums
- Don Alias – percussion
- James Mtume Foreman – percussion
November 1, 1973 — Newport Jazz Festival in Europe, Berlin Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
[edit]- Miles Davis – electric trumpet with wah-wah, organ
- Dave Liebman – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute
- Pete Cosey – electric guitar, percussion
- Reggie Lucas – electric guitar
- Michael Henderson – electric bass
- Al Foster – drums
- James Mtume Foreman – percussion
July 1, 1975 — Newport Jazz Festival – New York, Avery Fisher Hall, New York, NY
[edit]- Miles Davis – electric trumpet with wah-wah, organ
- Sam Morrison – tenor saxophone
- Pete Cosey – electric guitar, percussion
- Reggie Lucas – electric guitar
- Michael Henderson – electric bass
- Al Foster – drums
- James Mtume Foreman – percussion
References
[edit]- ^ Miles Davis website album entry, accessed October 6, 2015
- ^ a b "Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ a b Collar, Matt. Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ a b Paul, John (July 24, 2015). "Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4". PopMatters. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ Fordham, John (July 16, 2015). "Miles Davis: Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975 review – coolly swinging". The Guardian. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ a b Gelly, Dave (August 16, 2015). "Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975 review – catches the master at his best". The Observer. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
