Session details: Columbia Studio B (May 15, 1968)

Miles Ahead session details

May 15, 1968 (6 items; TT = 48:42)

Columbia Studio B, New York NY

Commercial for Columbia

Show chatter

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

1	Country Son (rehearsal 1 (rhythm only)) (M. Davis)	6:41
	Macero: "OK." Hancock (slowly): "One-two-three..." False start (0:17), interrupted by Davis: [undecipherable]. Hancock: "Let Ron sing..." Macero: "Is that a rattle in your bass?" Carter: "That's a good sound, man, whaddya mean, rattle?" Davis: "Do it..." Carter plays a note. Macero: "OK." Hancock: "Now I gotta hear the thump..." Williams: "Hey, Herbie..." Hancock: "Hey, I'll let you know when I get to the g minor, I'm gonna... noodle till I get to the g minor." Carter: "OK. Stand up on that chord." Hancock: "Huh?" Carter: "Stand up on it." Hancock: "Yeah." Macero: "Give a downbeat." Hancock (after singing a couple high notes): "Like, uh, what's that cat?" Williams: "Little Richard." Hancock (laughing): "Little Richard, yeah!" Williams: "Did you see he was at the... the show last week?" Hancock: "Right, OK. (Williams sings a high note) One-two-three..." Slow run-through (4:33). Davis: "You need all that, even that D7 chord." Hancock: "Yeah." Davis: "Quit acting, Tony. I mean..." Carter: "The microphone head is loose. Not the bass..." Frank Laico (engineer): "I know, I know. I'll fix it later." Hancock: "OK." Davis: "One-two-three..." Short run-through (0:22). Williams: "Yes, yes." Carter: "Do you have some?" Williams: "No. I'd like some. Uh, may I have some earphones also?" Carter: "That's, that's another one..." Davis: "You know what I mean, Herbie?" Williams: "Also?" Carter: "...but it's excellent blues." Laico: "There's a speaker alongside of you. Is that helpin' you?" Williams: "No." Carter: "Tony!" Laico: "OK, I'll get you phones then." Hancock: "Yeah, that's all right." Carter: "Wait a minute..." Davis: "The chords, they got a different kind of rhythm." Laico: "Are we gonna stop for a few minutes?" Davis: "This is slow and clustered..." Williams: "Fix his microphone." Laico: "Teo, telephone." Davis: "...like you don't [undecipherable] with them chords, come out of here, then you can swing them, and this should be..." (cut)
2	Country Son (rehearsal 2 (rhythm only)) (M. Davis)	9:37
	Laico: "Take two..." Macero: "I'm..." Hancock: "Hey man, wait a minute. (he plays a few note and chords) There's only one ear workin'." Davis: "Hey, play it sanctified..." Carter: "You want a Q-Tip, Herbie?" Davis: "Herbie?" Williams: "Ask him for the Q-Tips. He said only one ear's workin', and give him a Q-Tip." Hancock plays a gospel-like chord sequence. Williams: "No, no, I just know when that's not right..." Hancock laughs. Davis: "No, just keep it straight." Macero: "All right, we'll call this 'Seeing Thru', here we go..." Hancock: "Man, this one, it's one, this one doesn't work..." Williams: "It's [undecipherable] and in the wrong key." Macero: "You don't need two." Hancock: "What's that? Huh?" Macero: "You don't need it." Laico: "You're only getting a mono feed anyway, Herbie." Hancock: "They have it out of two ears." Macero: "'Seein' Thru', take one..." Hancock: "Is this a... it's a nice inspiring sound, see? Through the earphones, or somethin'. All right... Ready?" False start, with gospel-like chords (0:05). Davis objects: "Get outta here, Herbie." Hancock: "You said you want some sanctified..." Davis: "No, I don't want that, I just want what's there. (Hancock laughs) Go hit the, go hit the G... Play it..." Hancock: "OK." Davis: "Here you go..." Slow run-through (7:41). Hancock: "What was that... (cut) Yeah! Yeah!" Macero: "Try that again." Davis practices by himself (1:20)
3	Country Son (take 1) (M. Davis)	13:55
	Complete take (13:46). Davis: "Play some of that, Teo." Macero: "Yeah, we'll play that back." Macero/Laico crosstalk
4	Country Son (take 2 (inc)) (M. Davis)	1:12
	Macero: "Yeah. This'll be... Before this was rehearsal, now it's take two..." Short run-through (0:57) interrupted by Davis: "Stop." Hancock: "Ah!" Carter: "Wait a minute. How long is the... the first chord gonna be? I got lost right there, man." Davis: "Play it again." Williams: [undecipherable]
5	Country Son (take 3) (M. Davis)	14:56
	Macero: "Take three..." Davis: "Go ahead." False start (0:04). Complete take (14:32). Macero: "Do you wanna hear that back?"
6	Black Comedy (take 1 (inc)) (T. Williams)	2:21
	Macero: "Call it 'Riverside', take one..." Davis: "One... One-two-three-four..." Short run-through (1:26), interrupted by Hancock: "No, I can't do it like... I can't do it. You play three and go into the five. I can't do it... Six into the five, nah..." Carter: "What are you doin'? I got 4/4 time up there." Williams: "I know. Well, see, the triplets... the melody has triplets in it... Carter: "That's..." Williams: "I know. I counted... (Hancock plays six staccato chords) ...well, one, three, four... (singing) dah-dah-three-four, one-two-three-four, one-two-three-four... I forget... You know. All right, Herbie..." Carter and Williams, while Hancock plays the chords again: [undecipherable] Williams: "Right, yeah, I was, right. I could... you could put 3/4 under it... Yeah, do that, I'll do that." Hancock: "Yeah! All right! That's it, thank you." Laico: "All right, Herbie, thank YOU." Williams: "Go." Carter: "Go where?" Macero: "See you tomorrow. Uh, Wayne, you better fill out one of these slips, would you please?"


2 Country Son (rehearsal 2 (rhythm only)) CD: Columbia 88985 35737
3 Country Son (take 1) 12" LP: Columbia CS 9628, Mobile Fidelity Sound Laboratory MFSL 2-45437, CBS/Sony SONP 50023, CBS/Sony SONZ 54014, CBS/Sony SOPL 168, CBS/Sony 18AP 2073, CBS/Sony 23AP 2573, Mosaic MQ10-177 CD: Columbia CK 48954, Columbia CK 65684, Columbia C6K 67398, Columbia C6K 90925, CBS/Sony 32DP 728, Sony SRCS 5711, Sony SRCS 9305, Sony SRCS 8575/80, Sony SICP 663/8, Sony SRCS 9711, Sony SICP 830, Sony SICJ 30073, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 88697 52492] (CD 30)
5 Country Son (take 3) 12" LP: Mosaic MQ10-177 CD: Columbia CK 65681, Columbia C6K 67398, Columbia C6K 90925, Columbia CK 65945, Sony SRCS 8575/80, Sony SICP 663/8, Sony SRCS 2230, Sony SRCS 9711, Sony SICP 830, Columbia 86975 24922 (CD 30)

According to the track sheet for this session, the original title for "Country Son" was "Seeing Thru." The notes to the Quintet box (Mosaic MQ10-177, Columbia Legacy C6K 67398) explain that "Rehearsed in sections, the released version [of "Country Son"] is the first complete take (the engineer missed the opening bars of take 2, the released version), but a drum pickup was found and added to the master." The alternate version of "Country Son" included in the Quintet box is take 3. The alternate rhythm-only version included on disc 3 of the Freedom Jazz Dance box (Columbia Legacy 88985 35737) is an excerpt of a rehearsal take.

The notes to the Quintet box (Mosaic MQ10-177, Columbia C6K 67398) explain that "Rehearsed in sections, the released version [of "Country Son"] is the first complete take (the engineer missed the opening bars of take 2, the released version), but a drum pickup was found and added to the master." The alternate version of "Country Son" released in the Quintet box includes 0:13-14:46 from take 3. The alternate rhythm-only version released in the Freedom Jazz Dance box includes 1:16-8:57 from take 2 (rhythm only).

In addition to its busy studio schedule (six dates in just over a month), the Quintet was also busy with live dates, including the Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis (May 26); Showboat Lounge, Philadelphia (May 29-June 5); Village Gate, New York (July 16-28, with Buster Williams and Miroslav Vitous subbing for Carter); the Laurel Jazz Festival (August 2); the New York Jazz Festival at Randall's Island (August 17); Count Basie's Club, New York (August 23-September 2) -- Dave Holland's first gig with the Quintet, and Hancock's last. During this period several players joined the group for the odd engagement: Stanley Cowell (p); Marshall Hawkins, Cecil McBee, Gary Peacock, Bill Plummer, Reggie Workman, and Buster Williams (b); Jack De Johnette (d). Chick Corea joined the Quintet in time for a week at Peyton Place, Baltimore (September 17-22), then Chicago's Plugged Nickel Club (September 25-29); Royce Hall on the UCLA campus (October 5), Las Lomas High School Auditorium, Walnut Creek (October 6), San Francisco's Both/And Club (October 8-20), Shelly's Manne-Hole (October 22-November 3). Back to New York for short stays at the Village Gate (November 8-9, 15-16, and 22-23); and close out the year at the Jazz Workshop, Boston (December 5-8, with Stanley Cowell joining as a second el-p) and the Black Bottom Club in Montréal (December 9-14).