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Miles Ahead session details

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May 23, 1957 (11 items; TT = 50:56)
Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York NY
Commercial for Columbia
Show chatter

Miles Davis (flh); Ernie Royal (tpt); Bernie Glow (tpt); Louis Mucci (tpt); Taft Jordan (tpt); Johnny Carisi (tpt); Frank Rehak (tb); Jimmy Cleveland (tb); Joe Bennett (tb); Tom Mitchell (tb); Willie Ruff (frh); Jimmy Buffington (frh); Bill Barber (tuba); Romeo Penque (fl, cl, bcl, oboe); Sid Cooper (fl, cl); Lee Konitz (as); Danny Bank (bcl); Paul Chambers (b); Arthur Taylor (d); Gil Evans (arr, cond)

1 New Rhumba (take 2) (A. Jamal) 4:38
2 New Rhumba (take 5) (A. Jamal) 4:40
3 New Rhumba (master (takes 11/12)) (A. Jamal) 4:37
4 Blues for Pablo (take 1) (G. Evans) 5:24
5 Blues for Pablo (master (take 4)) (G. Evans) 5:19
6 Blues for Pablo (rehearsal) (G. Evans) 5:55
7 Springsville (rehearsal) (J. Carisi) 6:58
8 Springsville (master) (J. Carisi) 3:27

Unknown pianist audible at beginning (Evans?). The issued version includes an overdubbed tpt solo from August 22
9 Studio chatter 0:05
10 Springsville (take 5) (J. Carisi) 3:32
11 Springsville (rehearsal) (J. Carisi) 2:29
12 Studio chatter 0:19
13 Springsville (take 8) (J. Carisi) 3:33

Without overdubs


1 New Rhumba (take 2)
12" LP: Columbia CJ 40784, Mosaic MQ11-164
CD: Columbia CK 40784, Columbia Legacy CXK 67397, Columbia Legacy CXK 90923, Sony SRCS 7945/50, Sony SICP 657/62

2 New Rhumba (take 5)
12" LP: Mosaic MQ11-164
CD: Columbia Legacy CXK 67397, Columbia Legacy CXK 90923, Sony SRCS 7945/50, Sony SICP 657/62

3 New Rhumba (master (takes 11/12))
12" LP: Columbia CL 1041 (= CS 8633), Sony 88765 41386-1, Nippon Columbia YS-304, CBS/Sony SONP 50147, CBS/Sony SOPL 152, CBS/Sony 18AP 2053, CBS/Sony 23AP 2553, CBS/Sony 25AP 752, Mosaic MQ11-164
CD: Columbia CK 53225, Columbia Legacy CXK 67397, Columbia Legacy CXK 90923, Columbia Legacy C2K 85475, Columbia Legacy 88883 75664, CBS/Sony 32DP 511, Sony SRCS 5697, Sony SRCS 9106, Sony SRCS 7945/50, Sony SICP 657/62, Sony SRCS 9703, Sony SRCS 2493/4, Sony SRGS 4543, Sony SICP 811, Sony SICP 1202, Sony SICP 20052, Sony SICJ 12, Sony SICP 30521/9, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 4)

4 Blues for Pablo (take 1)
12" LP: Columbia CJ 40784, Mosaic MQ11-164
CD: Columbia CK 40784, Columbia Legacy CXK 67397, Columbia Legacy CXK 90923, Sony SRCS 7945/50, Sony SICP 657/62, Sony SRCS 9703, Sony SRGS 4543, Sony SICP 811, Sony SICP 30212, Sony SICJ 30039, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 4)

5 Blues for Pablo (master (take 4))
12" LP: Columbia CL 1041 (= CS 8633), Sony 88765 41386-1, Columbia C5X 45000, Nippon Columbia YS-304, CBS/Sony SONP 50147, CBS/Sony SOPL 152, CBS/Sony 18AP 2053, CBS/Sony 23AP 2553, CBS/Sony 25AP 752, Mosaic MQ11-164
CD: Columbia CK 53225, Columbia Legacy C4K 45000, Columbia Legacy C4K 86569, Columbia Legacy CXK 67397, Columbia Legacy CXK 90923, Columbia CK 61405, Columbia Legacy 88883 75664, CBS/Sony 32DP 511, CBS/Sony 80DP 5430/3, Sony SICP 5037/40, Sony SRCS 5697, Sony SRCS 6841, Sony SRCS 7218, Sony SRCS 9106, Sony SRCS 7945/50, Sony SICP 657/62, Sony SRCS 9703, Sony SRGS 4543, Sony SICP 811, Sony SICP 1202, Sony SICP 20052, Sony SICP 30212, Sony SICJ 30039, Sony SICJ 12, Sony SICP 30521/9, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 4)

6 Blues for Pablo (rehearsal)
12" LP: Mosaic MQ11-164
CD: Columbia Legacy CXK 67397, Columbia Legacy CXK 90923, Sony SRCS 7945/50, Sony SICP 657/62

7 Springsville (rehearsal)
12" LP: Mosaic MQ11-164
CD: Columbia Legacy CXK 67397, Columbia Legacy CXK 90923, Sony SRCS 7945/50, Sony SICP 657/62

8 Springsville (master)
12" LP: Columbia CL 1041 (= CS 8633), Sony 88765 41386-1, Nippon Columbia YS-304, CBS/Sony SONP 50147, CBS/Sony SOPL 152, CBS/Sony 18AP 2053, CBS/Sony 23AP 2553, CBS/Sony 25AP 752, Mosaic MQ11-164
CD: Columbia CK 53225, Columbia Legacy CXK 67397, Columbia Legacy CXK 90923, Columbia Legacy CK 64616, Columbia Legacy 88883 75664, CBS/Sony 32DP 511, Sony SRCS 5697, Sony SRCS 9106, Sony SRCS 7945/50, Sony SICP 657/62, Sony SRCS 9703, Sony SRGS 4543, Sony SICP 811, Sony SICP 1202, Sony SICP 20052, Sony SICP 30212, Sony SICJ 30039, Sony SICJ 12, Sony SICP 30521/9, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 4)

9 Studio chatter
12" LP: Mosaic MQ11-164

10 Springsville (take 5)
12" LP: Columbia CJ 40784, Mosaic MQ11-164
CD: Columbia CK 40784, Columbia Legacy CXK 67397, Columbia Legacy CXK 90923, Sony SRCS 7945/50, Sony SICP 657/62

11 Springsville (rehearsal)
12" LP: Mosaic MQ11-164
CD: Columbia Legacy CXK 67397, Columbia Legacy CXK 90923, Sony SRCS 7945/50, Sony SICP 657/62

12 Studio chatter
12" LP: Mosaic MQ11-164
CD: Columbia Legacy CXK 67397, Columbia Legacy CXK 90923, Sony SRCS 7945/50, Sony SICP 657/62

13 Springsville (take 8)
12" LP: Mosaic MQ11-164
CD: Columbia Legacy CXK 67397, Columbia Legacy CXK 90923, Sony SRCS 7945/50, Sony SICP 657/62


This is the third of four studio sessions scheduled for the recording of Miles Ahead.

The issued versions of "Springsville" and "New Rhumba" include overdubbed parts recorded during another session on August 22, 1957. All of these tunes involve some kind of post-production. Phil Schaap's discographical notes in the booklet for Mosaic MQ11-164 document hundreds of edits in the various issued versions. The reels that yielded Miles Ahead are more or less complete, but much of the music -- false starts, incomplete takes, and many complete takes -- remains unissued. Schaap notes that complete reels for the later sessions that produced Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain no longer exist.

The brief snippet of an exchange between Davis and Avakian that precedes take 5 of "Springsville" is included at the very beginning of side A of LP 8 in the Mosaic set. It is not included in the Sony/Columbia CD versions of this music. It's not clear that it belongs here, but since it isn't mentioned in the Mosaic notes, I have just left it here with "Springsville."

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