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Miles Ahead session details

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May 15, 1949 (1 item; TT = 4:54)
Salle Pleyel, Paris (France)
Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF) radio broadcast (B-)

Miles Davis (tpt); Aime Barelli (tpt); Oran "Hot Lips" Page (tpt); Kenny Dorham (tpt); Bill Coleman (tpt); Russell "Big Chief" Moore (tb); Hubert Rostaing (cl); Sidney Bechet (ss); Charlie Parker (as); Don Byas (ts); James Moody (ts); Hazy Osterwald (vb); Jean "Toots" Thielemans (g); Al Haig (p); Tommy Potter (b); Max Roach (d)

1 Blues Final (inc) [Farewell Blues] (S. Bechet) 4:54

Shorter version (3:46) on all issues except Vogue YX-0001 and JFCD 22882


1 Blues Final (inc)
12" LP: Bird in Paris CP-3, Durium-Cicala BLJ-8024, Spotlite LP-118, Toho/Vogue YX-0001
CD: Philology Volume 12 (W 842), Volume 61 (892), FAP 001/3, Jazz Factory JFCD 22882


This is a broadcast recording from the Festival International 1949 de Jazz. The festival included many traditional acts from the United States -- Sidney Bechet, Russell Moore, Oran "Hot Lips" Paige -- but it also introduced bebop groups like the Charlie Parker Quintet and the Davis-Dameron quintet. Also on the bill were musicians from England (Vic Lewis' big band), Belgium (Toots Thielemans Trio), Switzerland (Hazy Osterwald's quintet), Italy (Armando Trovajoli), and of course many from France (including Aimé Barelli, Hubert Rostang, the Django Reinhardt Quintet). [roster front] [roster back] [program cover] [Jazz Hot Nr. 22 (Mai 1949)]

The Davis-Dameron Quintet were in Paris for eight days (May 8-15). During this period they performed at the Salle Pleyel on the 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th (two concerts), 14th, and 15th (two concerts). In addition, according to André Hodeir -- "Le Festival 1949" in Jazz Hot No. 34 (Juin 1949), pp. 7-10 -- the group played at the Lyon Opera on May 11 and the Alhambra in Bordeaux on May 13.

There are two different versions of this blues:

"Farewell Blues" (Philology Vol. 12, etc.)
0:00 - 0:29 Byas (ts) (inc)
0:29 - 1:37 Coleman/Page (tpt)
1:37 - 2:30 Bechet (ss)
2:30 - 3:03 Davis (tpt)
3:03 - 3:46 Parker (as) + ensemble (cut off mid-Parker solo)
"Blues Final" (Vogue Disque YX-0001)
0:00 - 0:26 Byas (ts) (inc)
0:26 - 1:37 Coleman/Page (tpt)
1:37 - 2:32 Bechet (ss)
2:32 - 3:06 Davis (tpt)
3:06 - 4:00 Parker (as) + ensemble
4:00 - 4:49 ensemble
4:49 - 4:54 applause

Thanks to Hideki Murayama for supplying me with a copy of the Vogue Disque LP, and to Pascal Garnier for sharing the Juin 1949 issue of Jazz Hot.

Sometime in late June, Davis -- "the youthful trumpet star" -- performed "the first 'bop' concert ever presented at Princeton University" (reported in the July 2 edition of The Michigan Chronicle, p. 20).

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