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Miles Ahead session details

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November 30, 1957 (6 items; TT = 38:12)
Olympia Theatre, Paris (France)
RTF radio broadcast (C+)

Miles Davis (tpt); Barney Wilen (ts); René Urtreger (p); Pierre Michelot (b); Kenny Clarke (d)

1 Bags' Groove (M. Jackson) 7:21
2 Tune Up (E. Vinson) 4:33
3 Four (E. Vinson) 6:27

Missing first chorus on Carlyne
4 Walkin' (R. Carpenter) 7:06
5 No Moe (S. Rollins) 7:34
6 'Round Midnight (B. Hanighen-C. Williams-T. Monk) 5:11


1 Bags' Groove
12" LP: Carlyne CAR 006
CD: Rare Live Recordings RLR 88665

2 Tune Up
CD: Rare Live Recordings RLR 88665

3 Four
12" LP: Carlyne CAR 006
CD: Rare Live Recordings RLR 88665

4 Walkin'
CD: Rare Live Recordings RLR 88665

5 No Moe
CD: Rare Live Recordings RLR 88665

6 'Round Midnight
CD: Rare Live Recordings RLR 88665


Davis flew to Paris at the end of November for this concert at the Olympia, followed by some shows at the Salle Gaveau and a three-week residency at the Club St. Germain. During this time Davis and the Urtreger Trio also played at the Concertegebouw in Amsterdam (December 8) and the Théâre Patria in Brussels (December 20). The final concert at the Club St. Germaine was apparently on December 20. While in Paris Davis agreed to collaborate with Louis Malle on the soundtrack for a new film, and the quintet gathered in Le Poste Parisien Studio on December 4. They also appeared in Jean-Christophe Averty's Au Claire de la Lune, filmed in Buttes Chaumont Studio on December 7. For more details about the circumstances of Davis's time in Paris, see an interview with Jeanne de Mirbeck, René Urtreger's sister and Davis's companion during his 1956 European tour (Jazz Magazine, December 2007, pp. 20-21).

This music was originally broadcast on AFRS's One Night Stand, but I don't know the date of the broadcast. The versions issued on Carlyne and RLR are about a semitone sharp, and the times above are from a pitch-corrected version. Thanks to Bruno Leicht for help with this session.

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