Miles Ahead: Columbia Legacy/Mosaic Reissue Project
Fall 2007: News flash: Columbia (now Sony BMG) announces the imminent release of a boxed set of Miles Davis recordings. Postponements and unavoidable production delays cause the release date steadily to recede. Sound familiar? The latest set is The Complete On the Corner Sessions, 1972-1975 (six CDs, CK7 06239). The release date has slipped until October 26, 2007. (details)
November 2005: Columbia Legacy has announced a new date for the release of The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (C6K 93614) -- December 27, 2005. The music on this much-anticipated set is unissued except for the harshly edited versions included on the 1971 LP Live-Evil. (details)
June 2005: Sony USA released the two-CD "Legacy Edition" of 'Round About Midnight (C2K 94750) -- Disc 1 contains the original LP plus a few extra tracks, and Disc 2 includes Miles' much-acclaimed performance of "'Round Midnight" at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival, plus a short 1956 Pasadena concert presented by Gene Norman. (details)
March 2005: Mosaic released the 10-LP version of Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis, 1963-1964 (MQ10-226), the final set in the Miles Davis project started in 1995 with the release of The Complete Plugged Nickel Sessions (Mosaic MQ10-158). (details)
September 2004: Columbia Legacy released the final boxed set in their Miles Davis reissue series on September 28, 2004. Entitled Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia recordings of Miles Davis, 1963-1964 (C7K 90840), the set includes music from Seven Steps to Heaven, My Funny Valentine, Four and More, Miles Davis in Europe, Miles in Tokyo, and Miles in Berlin, in some cases with additional material not included in previous releases. There will be a corresponding Mosaic LP version as well, probably appearing early in 2005. One great bonus: the February 1964 Lincoln Center concerts complete and in performance order. (details)
September 2003: Columbia Legacy released The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions (C5K 88359) on five CDs. This is a CD-only set; no Mosaic Records LPs will be produced. (details)
June 2003: Columbia Legacy released the April 1961 Blackhawk recordings as two 2-CD sets, Friday Night (C2K 87097) and Saturday Night (C2K 87100), as well as one four-CD set (C4K 87106). The Mosaic set (six Q-LPs, MQ6-220) was released in July. (LP details) (CD details)
September 2002: According to Jazzwise,
In order to avoid box set burn out Sony Jazz have now moved the release of their eagerly awaited 4-CD set, The Complete Jack Johnson, back to February 2003. According to various unofficial sources upcoming Miles Davis projects on Sony from 2003 onwards include a 4-CD Complete Live at the Blackhawk set (now scheduled for release May 20), a 2-CD Juan Les Pins complete live set from 1969, three 2-CD Live at the Cellar Door volumes covering the complete Wednesday/Thursday, Saturday and Sunday night sets that were recorded at the venue in 1970, (mostly unheard apart from the few tracks that appeared on Live-Evil), and a live 1963/64 box covering both released and previously unissued material.
July 2002: Rhino Records has canceled the release of their proposed four-CD set, The Last Word, covering Davis's work after leaving Columbia in 1985. According to Ice magazine, "The Last Word would have included every track from the late trumpeter's three studio albums recorded between 1985 and 1991, fleshed out with soundtrack recordings and outside collaborations. Eleven previously unreleased performances also had been cleared, but reissue co-producer Matt Pierson told Ice that Prince refused to allow the inclusion of three compositions ("Jailbait," "Penetration" and "Can I Play With U?") that would have marked the first officially released glimpses into his fabled collaborations with Davis."
On October 15, 2002 The Complete Miles Davis At Montreux: 1973-1991 (20 CDs) was released in the U.S. (details)
On October 23, 2001, Columbia Legacy issued The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions, a three-CD set which includes material recorded between September 1968 and February 1969. A five-LP version is also available from Mosaic Records. (LP details) (CD details)
The six-CD The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis and John Coltrane was released on on Tuesday, April 11, 2000. The Mosaic LP set is also available. (LP details) (CD details)
In Mosaic Records Brochure #24 (Winter 1998), Michael Cuscuna wrote:
Mosaic had had its eye on Miles Davis' extraordinary legacy at Columbia Records for some time when Columbia contacted us in 1994 to help plan a series of definitive reissues on Miles. In short order, we devised a plan for a series of seven complete boxed sets dealing with the trumpeter's major periods from signing with the label until mid-1970 when he took a two-year hiatus from recording.
The sets are:
- All concert and studio sessions by Miles' group with John Coltrane [released April 11, 2000] (LP details) (CD details)
- The complete Miles Davis/Gil Evans collaborations [released September 3, 1996] (LP details) (CD details)
- The 1963-64 studio and concert recordings during which his second great quintet evolved [released September 28, 2004] (LP details) (CD details)
- The complete studio recordings of the second great quintet [released March 24, 1998]. (LP details) (CD details)
- All the studio sessions covering the In a Silent Way period [released October 23, 2001]. (LP details) (CD details)
- All the studio recordings covering the Bitches Brew period [released November 24, 1998]. (LP details) (CD details)
- All the studio sessions during the guitar-dominated Jack Johnson period [released September 30, 2003]. (CD details)
Along the way, Miles did a number of live club recordings which generated a hefty amount of quality music which merit boxed sets of their own. The 1965 Plugged Nickel recordings are the first of these [released July 18, 1995] (LP details) (CD details), with the 1961 Blackhawk material to follow next [released June 24, 2003] (LP details) (CD details).
When completed, this series of nine releases will represent one of the most important and diverse bodies of work in 20th century music, with the best possible sound, definitive documentation, and in complete form.
The following appeared in Mosaic Records Brochure #20. Michael Cuscuna outlines plans for the boxed sets Columbia proposes to release:
In May 1998, Columbia will issue a two-CD set of the complete Miles Davis 1961 Carnegie Hall Concert, which doesn't fit conceptually into any boxed set (details).
Next September, Columbia will release a four-CD set that begins in August 1969, when Miles recorded Bitches Brew, and extends six months to February 1970, after which Wayne Shorter left the group and Miles scaled down his large Bitches Brew-size recording ensembles. It is doubtful that Mosaic will issue this one on LP for several reasons. With reconstructed editing of new mixes, it may be impossible to keep this set in the analog domain. Also, we're not sure that this era of Miles will be of interest to Mosaic LP buyers. Scream if you disagree.
The complete Miles Davis studio recordings from September 1968 to February 1969 are scheduled for February 1999. This set covers all the recordings made after Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter left the quintet and before the Bitches Brew sessions. The three-CD/five-QLP set will begin with two selections from Filles de Kilimanjaro and end with In a Silent Way, plus an extended session made two days later.
The two final boxes in this series will come in 1999 and 2000. Their release order has yet to be determined. The sets are: (1) the remainder of the 1970 studio sessions that produced Jack Johnson after which Miles left the studio for a year and a half; (2) all the sessions with the quintet and sextet that included John Coltrane; and (3) the 1963-64 recordings that began with Seven Steps to Heaven and ended with Miles in Berlin, chronicling the evolution and fine-tuning of what became the quintet that we are celebrating in the current boxed set, Along the way will be the 1961 Blackhawk sessions, probably issued by Columbia as two two-CD sets and by Mosaic as a six-LP set.
The original announcement of the Davis reissue project
NEW YORK -- (ENTERTAINMENT WIRE) -- May 24, 1996 --
Eight Definitive Boxed Sets Will Be Released Over The Next Three Years Featuring Groundbreaking Recordings + Unreleased Music From The Masterpieces of Miles Davis.
On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Miles Davis' birth (May 25, 1926) [sic], Columbia Records/Legacy is proud to announce the release of MILES DAVIS + GIL EVANS: THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA STUDIO RECORDINGS. The lavish 6-CD boxed set is the first installment in a series of definitive collections covering the entirety of Davis' studio recordings for Columbia Records. The Davis/Evans set is due in stores on August 27.
MILES DAVIS + GIL EVANS: THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA STUDIO RECORDINGS covers all of the pair's studio collaborations from 1957 through 1968 and includes the classic albums Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess, and Sketches of Spain in their entirety. Additional musical material includes the Davis/Evans collaboration on the album Quiet Nights, sessions with vocalist Bob Dorough, alternate takes, rehearsals, and two previously unissued sessions: "The Time of the Barracudas" and "Falling Water." More than 50% of the material included in the boxed set is previously unreleased.
An audiophiles' dream, the Davis/Evans recordings were restored from the original session tapes and transferred without the compression, echo, and high-end equalization that were added during the mastering of the original vinyl releases in the 50's and 60's. The result is an astounding clarity of sound and a full natural musical ambiance. As Quincy Jones writes in his liner notes for the set, "This is as good as it gets. Timeless!" In addition to Jones' personal commentary on Davis, the 198-page booklet included in the box features notes by original Davis producer George Avakian, producer/arranger Bob Belden, and Bill Kirschner; annotations and a discography of the sessions by producer Phil Schaap; and many rare studio photographs.
Columbia Records/Legacy will continue to release definitive Miles Davis boxed sets over the next three years. Each of the eight boxed sets will feature music meticulously remixed and remastered via Sony Super Bit Map technology (SBM), original album graphics and liner notes, session photographs, and newly issued material. Each set will be simultaneously released on pristine high-petroleum content 180-gram vinyl via Mosaic Records. Mosaic's Michael Cuscuna is executive producer of the Miles Davis Complete Columbia Studio Recordings project. The series directors are Columbia Records' Steve Berkowitz and Kevin Gore.
In preparation for the Miles Davis project, every master tape from the Columbia vaults was brought to Sony Music's New York studio where all issued and unreleased material could be reviewed and researched.
Slated for March 1997 release (Ed. note: released March 1998):
MILES DAVIS: THE COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS OF THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET 1965-1968
The 6-CD set covers all the studio material -- spanning January 1965 to June 1968 -- from the Quintet consisting of Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams.
The box will include material from E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Nefertiti, Water Babies, Miles In The Sky, Sorcerer, and Filles de Kilimanjaro, as well as alternate takes and unpublished photographs.
Future Miles Davis boxed sets will include:
MILES DAVIS: THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA STUDIO RECORDINGS, SEPTEMBER 1968-FEBRUARY 1969.
This 3-CD set covers Davis' transitional period between "The Quintet" and Bitches Brew and features the masterpiece In a Silent Way.
MILES DAVIS: THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA RECORDINGS, AUGUST 1969-JUNE 1970 (BITCHES BREW AND BEYOND)
This set begins with Bitches Brew and runs from Jack Johnson through the music recorded prior to Davis' two-year hiatus from the studio.
MILES DAVIS + JOHN COLTRANE: THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA STUDIO RECORDINGS
This set spans 1955-1961 and includes such seminal works as 'Round About Midnight and Kind of Blue.
MILES DAVIS: THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA RECORDINGS, 1963-64
This set is a breathtaking document of the evolution of Davis' music from Seven Steps to Heaven to the development of the classic Quintet.
Supplementing and complimenting [complementing?] the eight boxed sets of Miles Davis' complete Columbia studio work, Columbia will release several significant live Miles Davis sessions from various stages of his career. These include Davis' 1961 Blackhawk and Carnegie Hall dates, the unissued 1970 Fillmore East gig (Wayne Shorter's last performance with the group), and the recently-released critically acclaimed boxed set MILES DAVIS: THE COMPLETE LIVE AT THE PLUGGED NICKEL 1965.
The Miles Davis Complete Columbia Studio Recordings Project has the complete involvement and cooperation of the Miles Davis Estate.
For more information, please contact Don Lucoff, DL Media, New York, 212/353-2334 or Fran DeFeo, Columbia Records, Media, N.Y., 212/833-5784.
