Session details: Birdland (February 17, 1951)

Miles Ahead session details

February 17, 1951 (10 items; TT = 30:37)

Birdland, New York NY

WJZ-AM radio broadcast (C+)

Show chatter

Miles Davis (tpt); J.J. Johnson (tb); Sonny Rollins (ts); Kenny Drew (p); Tommy Potter (b); Art Blakey (d); Symphony Sid Torin (ann)

1	Jumpin' with Symphony Sid (voiceover begins at 0:13) (L. Young)	0:59
	Voiceover introduction: "And there we are, ladies and gentlemen, with our theme, 'Jumpin' with Symphony Sid', we bring to you the hour that we set aside every Friday night, Saturday morning, and make it for you a real live broadcast, presenting to you the current show here at Birdland, the jazz corner of the world, Broadway at 52nd Street, where for one dollar you can sit back and relax in the most talked-about room, and listen to all the wonderful things we have in store for you. And now ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to bring to you for the first portion of our live broadcast, a wonderful guy, an all-star winner on everybody's poll this year, let's bring him out with a great big hand, Miles Davis and His All-Stars... We have, ah, in our little jazz group..."
2	Introduction (Symphony Sid Torin)	0:49
	"...we have Miles Davis on trumpet, J.J. Johnson on trombone, Sonny Rollins on tenor, Kenny Drew at the piano, Art Blakey on drums, and Tommy Potter on bass. And of course you know, it's going to make for a lot of wonderful, wonderful sounds for the next 55 minutes. We have little gimmick here on our live broadcast, we'll mention your name at about, ah, 3:30 if you live at least 500 miles from New York. If you live at least 500 miles from New York, and you'd like to have your name mentioned on the show, just call right now, regardless of where you live, but at least 500 miles from New York, call Justin-six-five-four-five-four, and at 3:30 we'll mention your name, and I think it'll be a lot of fun. So while you call from a least 500 miles from New York at Justin-six-five-four-five-four, here's Miles Davis and the All-Stars and an original tune called 'Evance'..."
3	Evance [Out of the Blue] (M. Davis)	5:53
4	Introduction (Symphony Sid Torin)	0:41
	"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, thank you, Miles Davis. Remember we're here at Birdland, at the jazz corner of the world, Broadway at 52nd Street, and it's a lot of fun. I see Benny Green is here with us this morning, I see Oscar, and well just about everybody makes it here at Birdland. How are the telephone calls there, son? Just five? You mean we only have five people that are listening at least 500 miles from New York? Don't be squares! Come on, call Justin-six-five-four-five-four if you live at least 500 miles from New York, we'll mention your name just about 3:30 on the break when we make a little switch. Right now, ladies and gentlemen, here's Miles Davis with a very popular thing that you always call for, a thing that, ah, that Miles made with the Bird, and here it is, 'Half Nelson'..."
5	Half Nelson (M. Davis)	7:41
6	Introduction (Symphony Sid Torin)	1:17
	"Thank you, thank you very much. (Splice) So far, hope it's a lot of fun. Hey, ah, Dick, how we doin' there with, ah, those requests? Dick! Hey Dick! What's the matter, you got a cold? Well, ha-ha-ha... How are the calls coming in? Five ten. I think that's about as many as we can use. But if you'd like, if you leave, live at least 500 miles from New York or more, and you'd like to hear your name mentioned on the show -- we've all got a little ham in our.. in us, and you know, we'd like to make it like that. Well anyhow, call Justin-six-five-four-five-four and leave your name and address, and, uh, who knows? Maybe I'll call you and make a trip somewhere... Uh, here's another Miles Davis original... This one huh? The last one, you want? All right. Didn't Dizzy do this too when he was here? Dizzy, man. Don't you dig Dizzy? I dig him the most. You dig [undecipherable]? How 'bout Rosh Hashanah? Ladies and gentlemen, we keep right on going with the Miles Davis All-Stars and J.J. Johnson, Sonny Rollins, and Art Blakey and all the fellas, Tommy Potter and... Kenny Drew... How you feel, Kenny? You all right? Good. Let's play the music. Here's Miles Davis and the fellas and a thing called 'Tempus Fugit'..."
7	Tempus Fugit (B. Powell)	6:45
8	Introduction (Symphony Sid Torin)	0:43
	"That sounds like, uh, one of those old Bar Mitzvah tunes. Are you for hire for Bar Mitzvahs? Could you make a Bar Mitzvah? I'd like to remind you that this is the Symphony Sid show, it's a live broadcast that we have every Friday night, Saturday morning, and we take our ABC microphones right out of the snake pit and bring it right here on the Bird pit, and we have a live program for 55 minutes. This is WJZ, New York's first station, as I've said on record, having a lot of fun here at Birdland, at the jazz corner of the world, Broadway at 52nd Street. I know you wanna hear the one that everybody asks for, it's a Capitol side that we get so many calls for... Miles Davis made it for Capitol, and here he is in person, and ladies and gentlemen, 'Move'..."
9	Move (D. Best)	5:44
10	Jumpin' with Symphony Sid (inc) (L. Young)	0:05


2 Introduction (Symphony Sid Torin) CD: Charly/Le Jazz CD 45, Blue Note B2-41779, Toshiba TOCJ-66225
3 Evance CD: Charly/Le Jazz CD 45, Blue Note B2-41779, Toshiba TOCJ-66225
5 Half Nelson CD: Blue Note B2-41779, Toshiba TOCJ-66225
7 Tempus Fugit CD: Charly/Le Jazz CD 45, Blue Note B2-41779, Toshiba TOCJ-66225

The Miles Davis All-Stars were booked for one week at Birdland, February 15-21 (Thursday-Wednesday). It was during this engagement that Jackie McLean made his debut with Davis, and there's an often-repeated story that he was so nervous that he ran off the bandstand one night, only to throw up on the way to the men's room.