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Miles Ahead session details

[Return to 1960s sessions]

October 11, 1964 (6 items; TT = 59:05)
Teatro dell' Arte, Milan (Italy)
Radio Televisione Italian (RAI) TV broadcast (B-)

Miles Davis (tpt); Wayne Shorter (ts); Herbie Hancock (p); Ron Carter (b); Tony Williams (d)

1 Autumn Leaves (J. Prevert-J. Mercer-J. Kosma) 13:50
2 My Funny Valentine (R. Rodgers-L. Hart) 11:47
3 All Blues (M. Davis) 13:40
4 All of You (C. Porter) 10:38
5 Joshua (V. Feldman) 8:52
6 The Theme (with applause) (M. Davis) 0:18


1 Autumn Leaves
CD: Moon MCD 063, RLR 88629, Eternal Grooves EGHO-003
Video: Impro Jazz 525

2 My Funny Valentine
CD: RLR 88629, Eternal Grooves EGHO-003
Video: Impro Jazz 525

3 All Blues
CD: RLR 88629, Eternal Grooves EGHO-003
Video: Impro Jazz 525

4 All of You
CD: RLR 88629, Eternal Grooves EGHO-003
Video: Impro Jazz 525

5 Joshua
CD: RLR 88629, Eternal Grooves EGHO-003
Video: Impro Jazz 525

6 The Theme (with applause)
CD: RLR 88629, Eternal Grooves EGHO-003
Video: Impro Jazz 525


The Davis Quintet embarked on a European tour, the USA Jazz Festival, in late September. In addition to the Davis Quintet, several other groups were involved, though I don't know if they all performed at every stop on the tour. The itinerary (with several gaps) was as follows:

September 25: Philharmonie, Berlin, West Germany
September 26: Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Holland
September 29: Le Théâtre Municipal, Lausanne, Switzerland
September 30: Kongresshaus, Zürich
October 1: Salle Pleyel, Paris, France (two concerts)
October 3: Johanneshov Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden
October 4: KB-Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
October 5: Mässhallen, Gothenburg, Sweden
October 6: Messuhalli, Helsinki, Finland
October 8: Stadthalle, Sindelfingen, Germany (two concerts)
October 10: unknown venue, Marseilles, France (two concerts)
October 11: Teatro dell' Arte, Milan, Italy

The Quintet was booked in other cities as well -- e.g. Vichy, Barcelona, and Frankfurt -- but I have been unable to find dates or confirm that these concerts occurred. Thanks to Flurin Casura for the advertisement for the Zürich concert, and to Frederik Adlers for providing the festival poster and for telling me about the Gothenburg date. Apparently the drummer for Papa Celestine's Original Tuxedo Jazz Band was sick that day and Tony Williams stepped in to take his place. He brought the house down!

Davis' deteriorating hip joint caused him trouble and led him to cancel an engagement at Birdland (ca. October 14-22). The Quintet was booked for four nights at the Casa Loma Club in Montréal (November 4-7); and for two weeks at the Plugged Nickel, Chicago (November 11-22). A week-long engagement at the Penthouse in Cincinnati in early December may have been canceled. The Quintet closed the year with two weeks at the Bohemian Caverns in Washington DC (December 4-17) and a three-week stay at Basin Street West in San Francisco (December 30-January 19).

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