Session details: Davis' house (Unknown 1967)

Miles Ahead session details

Unknown 1967 (1 item; TT = 7:32)

Davis' house, New York NY

Commercial for Columbia

Show chatter

Miles Davis (p, talking); Wayne Shorter (talking)

1	Blues in F (My Ding) (M. Davis)	7:32
	Davis: "Look out, Wayne. What's happenin'? You want a drink?" Shorter: "Oh, no thanks." Davis: "About five or six, d'you want a hamburger?" Shorter: "Not yet." Davis: "Hey, give Wayne half of that hamburger, Bobby. Look out there, Wayne. Look out, Jim." Shorter: "What's goin' on?" Davis: "Ain't nothin' goin' on. Hey Wayne, where we gonna find a bass player?" Shorter: [undecipherable]. Davis: "Uh, I mean... Eddie's goin' on the train, right?" Shorter: "Yeah." Davis: "You don't know any other bass players?" Shorter: "None of them got that, that thing, like..." Davis: "Maybe Herbie'll switch to bass... (Laughs) Hey Wayne, I got somebody to speak to you on the phone. Shee-it..." Shorter: [undecipherable]. Davis: "Hey, Wayne, you want a steak? Why you wanna fuck with my hamburger, then, Jim? (At the piano, playing interspersed with talking throughout.) Listen to that chord..." He plays and sings, "My ding... My ding... Hey Wayne, I was thinkin' about writin' a blues, y'know? Like you play... like a blues, like in F, y'know? You know, and, uh... and then you go to A flat, y'know? You know, then start on F... y'know -- but it's a, in a slicker way, y'know? Then you say, from right here, y'know... y'know, somethin' like... y'know? Shorter sings, "Yeah, yeah." Hear it? Then... OH, no, no, that's wrong. Yeah, I like A flat right there... Y'know... y'know... y'know? And then... and then, you go to, you can go to this... or, or, or, let's see... no, no, go to this, like you said. Then go right here... Y'know that, bom, bom, bom, bom. Then this... This, Wayne. Y'know? In this key... OK, now, y'know what I mean? And uh, let's see, what other key you go to? Oh, uh... you can say... No. It's like uh, uh... y'know?" Shorter: "Uh-huh." Can you imagine that, playin' like this? Y'know? (Shorter laughs) That's how, that's how those Dixieland guys play it, y'know? They're like, dum-dum-dum. Y'know, they have a little, uh, little, uh, what d'you call that? You know, like you have a... So where we used to call it at school like the marches have, uh..." Shorter: "A trio." Davis: "...you know, a second strain. A TRIO." Shorter: "Oh, yeah." Davis: "You know what I mean? They had like... Or a trio go like this... Y'know? BAP! In F again, hear it? Yeah, look out. Hey Wayne, y'know what I mean? Wayne, you know, like... Right? Then, uh... Right?" Shorter: [undecipherable]. Davis: "Hey, know what I mean?"


1 Blues in F (My Ding) CD: Columbia Legacy 88985 35737, Sony SICJ 30005/7

The date of this informal recording is uncertain, but it is probably from the spring of 1967, during a period when the Davis Quintet had extended engagements at the Village Vanguard and the Village Gate. Early on Davis refers to a bassist "Eddie" -- this is Eddie Gomez, who occasionally sat in when Ron Carter was unable to perform on live dates.

In the first few months of 1967 the personnel in the Davus group varied a lot. Joe Henderson joined the group for several weekend engagements at the Village Vanguard (January 19-21, 26-28; February 2-4); the Sextet traveled to Philadelphia for a night at the Philadelphia Arena (February 5). A one-night engagement at the Masonic Temple in Detroit MI was canceled (February 10), but the group played at the Hilton Hotel in Washington DC (February 12), the Civic Opera House in Chicago (February 24-25). A one-night show at the Kiel Opera House in St. Louis was canceled (February 26), and the Sextet, with Eddie Gomez on bass, was booked for several days in early March at Lennie's on the Turnpike in Peabody MA. They returned to the Village Vanguard for a weekend engagement (March 9-12), with Bennie Maupin replacing Wayne Shorter. This recording was probably made around this time.