Miles Davis - Miles Davis And The Modern Jazz Giants

Here are four tunes from one of the classic sessions of all time when a combination of giants gathered in Rudy Van Gelder's studio for a historic meeting on Christmas Eve afternoon, 1954. With Thelonious Monk and three-quarters of the Modern Jazz Quartet (Jackson, Heath and Clarke) as his accomplices, Miles blends sophisticated harmonic knowledge with raw, spontaneous invention to produce extraordinary music. The two takes of "The Man I Love" are quite different within their basic similarity.

“The latest round of Acoustic Sounds’ ‘Fantasy 45 series’ – albums from Fantasy’s Original Jazz Classics catalogue, each reissued on two 180-gram LPs cut at 45rpm – includes two mid-‘50s masterworks…The Miles session, Christmas Eve ’54, was famously tense. Miles apparently yelled at Monk not to play during his solos…Every song, every bar, crackles with electricity. Miles’ solos, especially on ‘Bemsha Swing,’ are explosively creative…Jackson, freed from the MJQ chamber, storms the vibes with unmatched verve and precision. This was one of Rudy Van Gelder’s first recordings, and it already displays his hallmark traits…the trumpet blares and the vibes gleam with as much fidelity as on any modern recording. And listen to those juicy high-plucked bass strings during Heath’s solos. During his solo on ‘The Man I Love,’ Monk loses himself and stops playing; Miles assists by playing a few notes of the theme. He’s off-mike, and you can hear those notes bouncing off the studio walls. It’s a spooky, time-travel moment; you’re there!” – Fred Kaplan, The Absolute Sound, January 2006, Issue 158