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Miles Ahead session details

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November 30, 1957 (12 items; TT = 72:53)
Olympia Theatre, Paris (France)
Soundboard recording (B)

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

1 Solar (M. Davis) 7:24
2 Four (E. Vinson) 6:27

Missing first chorus on Carlyne
3 What's New? (J. Burke-B. Haggart) 3:26
4 No Moe (S. Rollins) 8:11
5 Lady Bird (T. Dameron) 7:25

Davis out
6 Tune Up (E. Vinson) 4:44
7 I'll Remember April (D. Raye-G. DePaul-P. Johnston) 6:29

Davis out
8 Bags' Groove (M. Jackson) 7:29
9 'Round Midnight (B. Hanighen-C. Williams-T. Monk) 5:11

After Davis' solo the master tape is unusable; Fresh Sound incudes an alternate source
10 Now's the Time (C. Parker) 6:28

Davis out
11 Walkin' (R. Carpenter) 7:18
12 The Theme (M. Davis) 2:21


1 Solar
12" LP: Fresh Sound FSR33-101 LP
CD: Fresh Sound FSR CD 1135

2 Four
12" LP: Carlyne CAR 006, Fresh Sound FSR33-101 LP
CD: Rare Live Recordings RLR 88665, Fresh Sound FSR CD 1135

3 What's New?
12" LP: Fresh Sound FSR33-101 LP
CD: Fresh Sound FSR CD 1135

4 No Moe
12" LP: Fresh Sound FSR33-101 LP
CD: Rare Live Recordings RLR 88665, Fresh Sound FSR CD 1135

5 Lady Bird
12" LP: Fresh Sound FSR33-101 LP
CD: Fresh Sound FSR CD 1135

6 Tune Up
12" LP: Fresh Sound FSR33-101 LP
CD: Rare Live Recordings RLR 88665, Fresh Sound FSR CD 1135

7 I'll Remember April
12" LP: Fresh Sound FSR33-101 LP
CD: Fresh Sound FSR CD 1135

8 Bags' Groove
12" LP: Carlyne CAR 006, Fresh Sound FSR33-101 LP
CD: Rare Live Recordings RLR 88665, Fresh Sound FSR CD 1135

9 'Round Midnight
12" LP: Fresh Sound FSR33-101 LP
CD: Rare Live Recordings RLR 88665, Fresh Sound FSR CD 1135

10 Now's the Time
12" LP: Fresh Sound FSR33-101 LP
CD: Fresh Sound FSR CD 1135

11 Walkin'
12" LP: Fresh Sound FSR33-101 LP
CD: Rare Live Recordings RLR 88665, Fresh Sound FSR CD 1135

12 The Theme
12" LP: Fresh Sound FSR33-101 LP
CD: Fresh Sound FSR CD 1135


Davis flew to Paris at the end of November for this concert at the Olympia. The 6:00 pm concert was sold out and the group was well received. André Hodeir wrote in Jazz Hot, "This concert by Miles Davis was one of the most beautiful jazz concerts we have ever heard in Paris. Brilliantly supported by Kenny Clarke, René Urtreger, Pierre Michelot, and Barney Wilen, the great trumpeter gave the best of himself in many passages."

Michael Zwerin recalled this concert in Down Beat (March 10, 1966):

By curtain time Miles' whereabouts were still a mystery. They started playing “Walkin'” and sounded fine, but no Miles Davis. Barney took a tenor solo, and as he was finished backing away from the microphone Miles appeared from the wings, and arrived at the mike without breaking his stride, just in time to start playing.

I don't know what to make of this, since Davis is clearly audible from the beginning of "Walkin'." Were there perhaps two concerts on this date?

This concert was 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 Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (December 8 ) and the Théâtre 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. More details about the circumstances of Davis' time in Paris are included in a 2007 interview with Jeanne de Mirbeck, René Urtreger's sister and Davis' companion during his 1956 European tour (Jazz Magazine, December 2007, pp. 20-21).

This music was originally broadcast on Armed Forces Radio Service's One Night Stand, but I don't know the date of the broadcast. The tunes issued on Carlyne and RLR are about a semitone sharp.

Thanks to Bruno Leicht, Alexander Keth, and Jan Lohmann for help with this session.

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