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Miles Davies Quintet 1965-1968 Columbia Jazz SMM 5105692

1. E.S.P.
2. Eighty-One
3. Circle
4. Ginger Bread Boy
5. Masqualero
6. Nefertiti
7. Riot
8. Hand Jive
9. Country Son
10. Freedom Jazz Dance

Trumpet – Miles Davies
Tenor - Wayne Shorter
Piano-Herbie Hancock
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Tony Williams This CD is one of 23 generic titles released by Sony Jazz this month. This album was previously unavailable in the UK and at around £10.00, it represents a significant addition to collectors of the work of Miles Davies. Even more importantly to me, it contains the excellent tenor playing of Wayne Shorter unfettered with rock rhythm sections or weird instrumentation.

Only two of the tracks are the compositions of other than group members, Ginger Bread Boy, which is a Jimmy Heath composition and taken at a faster tempo than I have heard before and Eddie Harris’s Freedom Jazz Dance.

The rhythm section is superb Herbie Hancock is outstanding as is Ron Carter, my only criticism would be that the excellent Tony Williams cymbals, are always ringing and they do at times sound like surface noise, which is distracting.

My favourite track is Riot, a Herbie Hancock composition, which brings out the best in everybody and although I struggle to understand the acclaim awarded to Miles Davis at times, he does perform well on this CD.

Freedom Jazz Dance is another track that seems to have brought the best from all the participants and apart from the earlier comment about the cymbals, this release is very welcome.

Don Mather

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