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Miles Ahead session details

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October 25, 1966 (11 items; TT = 26:51)
Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York NY
Commercial for Columbia
Show chatter

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

1 Gingerbread Boy (rehearsal) (J. Heath) 0:50
2 Gingerbread Boy (take 1 inc) (J. Heath) 0:37
3 Gingerbread Boy (take 2 inc) (J. Heath) 0:32
4 Gingerbread Boy (take 3 inc) (J. Heath) 0:50
5 Gingerbread Boy (take 4 inc) (J. Heath) 0:26
6 Gingerbread Boy (take 5) (J. Heath) 7:54
7 Footprints (rehearsal) (W. Shorter) 0:34
8 Footprints (take 1 inc) (W. Shorter) 3:51
9 Footprints (take 2 inc) (W. Shorter) 0:57
10 Footprints (take 3 fs) (W. Shorter) 0:20
11 Footprints (take 4) (W. Shorter) 10:00


1 Gingerbread Boy (rehearsal)
CD: Columbia Legacy 88985 35737, Sony SICJ 30005/7

2 Gingerbread Boy (take 1 inc)
CD: Columbia Legacy 88985 35737, Sony SICJ 30005/7

3 Gingerbread Boy (take 2 inc)
CD: Columbia Legacy 88985 35737, Sony SICJ 30005/7

4 Gingerbread Boy (take 3 inc)
CD: Columbia Legacy 88985 35737, Sony SICJ 30005/7

5 Gingerbread Boy (take 4 inc)
CD: Columbia Legacy 88985 35737, Sony SICJ 30005/7

6 Gingerbread Boy (take 5)
12" LP: Columbia CL 2601 (= CS 9401), Speakers Corner CS 9401, CBS/Sony SONP 50177, CBS/Sony SONT 52042, CBS/Sony SOPL 165, CBS/Sony 18AP 2069, CBS/Sony 23AP 2569, CBS/Sony 25AP 765, Mosaic MQ10-177
CD: Columbia CK 48849, Columbia CK 65682, Columbia CK 65945, Columbia Legacy C6K 67398, Columbia Legacy C6K 90925, Columbia Legacy 88985 35737, Sony SICJ 30005/7, Mobile Fidelity Sound Laboratory UDSACD 2201, CBS/Sony 32DP 724, Sony SRCS 5707, Sony SRCS 9114, Sony SRCS 9710, Sony SRCS 8575/80, Sony SICP 663/8, Sony SRCS 2230, Sony SRGS 4538, Sony SICP 827, Sony SICP 1216, Sony SICP 20058, Sony SICP 30263, Sony SICJ 30069, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 26)

7 Footprints (rehearsal)
CD: Columbia Legacy 88985 35737, Sony SICJ 30005/7

8 Footprints (take 1 inc)
CD: Columbia Legacy 88985 35737, Sony SICJ 30005/7

9 Footprints (take 2 inc)
CD: Columbia Legacy 88985 35737, Sony SICJ 30005/7

10 Footprints (take 3 fs)
CD: Columbia Legacy 88985 35737, Sony SICJ 30005/7

11 Footprints (take 4)
12" LP: Columbia CL 2601 (= CS 9401), Speakers Corner CS 9401, Columbia C5X 45000, CBS/Sony SONP 50177, CBS/Sony SONT 52042, CBS/Sony SOPL 165, CBS/Sony 18AP 2069, CBS/Sony 23AP 2569, CBS/Sony 25AP 765, Mosaic MQ10-177
CD: Columbia CK 48849, Columbia Legacy C4K 45000, Columbia Legacy C4K 86569, Columbia CK 65682, Columbia CK 65945, Columbia Legacy C6K 67398, Columbia Legacy C6K 90925, Columbia Legacy 88985 35737, Sony SICJ 30005/7, Mobile Fidelity Sound Laboratory UDSACD 2201, CBS/Sony 32DP 724, Sony SRCS 5707, CBS/Sony 80DP 5430/3, Sony SICP 5037/40, Sony SRCS 9114, Sony SRCS 9710, Sony SRCS 8575/80, Sony SICP 663/8, Sony SRGS 4538, Sony SICP 827, Sony SICP 1216, Sony SICP 20058, Sony SICP 30263, Sony SICJ 30069, Sony SRCS 2230, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 26)


At the beginning of take 1 of "Gingerbread Boy" Macero asks whether this is "502 D and D Blues" -- a reference to Jimmy Rowles' "502 Blues (Drinkin' and Drivin')," which Shorter and Hancock had recorded in February for Blue Note while Davis was in the hospital. (Was this tune brought into the studio for this date? It was not played.) Both it and "Footprints" were included on Shorter's Adam's Apple (Blue Note BST 84232), which had been released earlier in October.

A tambourine can be heard toward the end of Davis' solo on take 1 of "Footprints" (listen between 3:06 and 3:21 of take 1 or between 3:41 and 4:06 of the "session reel" issued on Columbia Legacy). Maybe Shorter picked it up after his solo? Or perhaps it is the woman whose voice is briefly audible at the beginning of the take?

There is one extant live version of "Dolores," and a few live versions of "Gingerbread Boy," but the only tune from the Miles Smiles sessions that entered the live book immediately and stayed there was Wayne Shorter's "Footprints." Davis continued to play the tune regularly; the last extant recording is from April 1970, after Shorter's departure from Davis' working group.

The Quintet played at the Pacific Jazz Festival in Costa Mesa CA on Sunday October 9. Later in the year they were booked for a week at the Village Vanguard (November 22-27), and the following month they returned -- with Jack De Johnette on drums -- for two nights (December 16-17).

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