Session details: Columbia Studio B (May 16, 1968)

Miles Ahead session details

May 16, 1968 (25 items; TT = 40:25)

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	Black Comedy (take 1 (fs + inc)) (T. Williams)	2:03
	Macero: "CO 99683, take one." Davis: "And then you... we can, you can ad lib in some of those places." Williams: "Miles? The first part, ba-boo-boo-wa-boo-wah, why don't you shatter some of the notes? Ba-wa-ahhh--ahhh..." Davis: [undecipherable] Williams: "Make the sound of..." False start (0:05). Williams: "Herbie? We play that with the melody?" Hancock: "Not through that first part, just right where they stop..." Davis: "Just play it straight for the time being." Hancock: "...that's where they stop." Short run-through (1:12). Davis: "Look here. When you go back... Oh, I see, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I see..."
2	Black Comedy (take 2 (fs + CT)) (T. Williams)	7:59
	Macero: "Two." False start (0:01). Another brief run-through (0:31). Hancock: "That's what I get for tryin' to play the melody." Davis: "Sorry I didn't count it... Try it again." Long run-through (6:57), interrupted by Davis: "When's it go back, man? Where's it... wait a minute! WAIT a minute." Hancock: "Oh, yeah, we didn't tell you that." Williams: "What'd you say?" Hancock: "It never goes back to the first four bars." Davis: "No thanks!" Hancock, laughing: "It's all on the paper." Davis: "I mean, let's just play it..."
3	Black Comedy (take 3 (rehearsal)) (T. Williams)	1:37
	Macero: "Take three..." Hancock: "I just wanna learn it, you know. I can't learn it by just playin'. I gotta do some kind of... system." Davis: "What you wanna do now? What do you wanna do now?" Hancock: "Go over the last eight bars... over and over. Once we decide how we're gonna do it. Yeah, whether we're gonna do it the way it is on the paper, or the way we just recorded it." Davis: "The last eight bars." They work on the repeated unison passage
4	Black Comedy (rehearsal) (T. Williams)	1:29
	Frank Laico: "Here we go." Macero: "OK, rehearsal..." Four run-throughs of the eight-measure passage (0:39). Davis and Hancock discuss the chords. At one point Davis says, "This note is out of tune, Teo!"
5	Black Comedy (take 4 (fs + inc)) (T. Williams)	1:32
	Macero: "Take four." Hancock: "Last four bars? You wanna play B in the bass?" He plays three chords. Carter: "Eight bars back." Hancock: "What?" Carter: "Eight bars back from A where that figure comes in." Hancock: "Yeah?" Carter: "We'll play B in the bass, man." Hancock: "Oh that bop-dabbado-bop-badoo... that 5/4 bars?" Carter: "Wherever, whatever that is, yeah." Hancock: "OK." Williams: "Hey Herbie?" Hancock: "Hmm?" Williams: "And I'll say (sings)" Hancock:" Yeah... yeah, OK." Davis: "Let's go." Hancock: "Take the tune out, go back to the... to the... fifth bar." Carter: "Right. (Williams sings the ascending passage) That's the top, right there, man." Hancock: "Yeah, but then you have to come in on the last four bars then..." Williams: "Yeah." Hancock: "You'd always come in on the last four bars to take it out." Davis: "All right." Williams: "And that's where you... and that's the end of the tune, right aft... with that b minor at the end..." Hancock: "Oh, the b minor on the bottom, is the end." Carter: "After the repeat at the end." Williams: "The last chord of that..." Hancock: "Right. OK." False start (0:04). Macero: "Four..." Hancock: "We might as well play something different." False start, Davis only (0:02), then another false start (0:15), interrupted by Davis: "Is that five beats right there?" Williams: "Five beats, yeah." Davis: "OK, here we go..."
6	Black Comedy (take 5 (inc)) (T. Williams)	0:46
	Macero: "Five." False start, Hancock (0:01). Hancock: "I'm sorry." Short run-through (0:29). Hancock: "I think you were right, Miles." Davis: "Yeah, one-two-three, da-da-da-dah." Williams sings melody, then "one-to-three, ba-da-da..." Davis: "Yeah..."
7	Black Comedy (take 6 (inc)) (T. Williams)	0:58
	Macero: "Six..." Short run-through (0:52). Hancock: "Yeah, I think it was..." Davis: "Come on, Wayne..."
8	Black Comedy (take 7 (inc)) (T. Williams)	6:52
	Macero: "Seven..." Complete take (6:40). Davis: "Tony, it's the last... you're playin'... four bars of 6/4..." (cut)
9	Black Comedy (take 8 (fs x 2)) (T. Williams)	1:02
	Macero: "Take eight..." Hancock: "You're right, Ron, about those..." Williams: "I'm gonna lift this mic stand." Hancock: "The fifth and sixth bar, we'll play it in c minor, right?" Davis: "Union." Carter: "Yeah, yeah." Hancock: "That's cool, you can do it like that." Carter: "Yeah." Hancock: "Because one is c minor and the other's with a flat five." Davis: "Here you go, Herbie." Carter: "Right." Hancock: "I mean g minor..." Carter: "Mmm-hmm." False start (0:19), interrupted by Davis: "What's this...this bar here, Tony, is this four bar... beats on the D-flat chord, Herbie?" Williams: "Yeah, four." Hancock: "Four, yeah." Davis: "OK, yeah. Here we go." Hancock: "Yeah, just four." False start (0:07)
10	Black Comedy (take 9 (fs)) (T. Williams)	0:10
	Macero: "Nine..." False start (0:04) interrupted by Davis: "...miss on that... End on that G here..."
11	Black Comedy (take 10 (fs x 2)) (T. Williams)	0:48
	Macero: "Ten..." Davis: "Well just like [undecipherable] I'm gonna play that." False start (0:04). Davis (to Williams): "Make a pickup to the start..." Another false start (0:14). Davis: "Play four bars... I mean, four... four beats. Like uh... play g minor... in front, you know?" Williams: "Yeah." Davis: "Just walk it, Ron, and you and Herbie." Carter: "OK."
12	Black Comedy (take 11 (fs x 2)) (T. Williams)	0:36
	Macero: "Eleven." Davis: "Play 6/8." False start (0:06). Davis: "One-two-three-four... ch'pop, one-two-three-four, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-bah." Carter: "Ah!" Davis: "One. One-two, make a pickup to the... to the..." Williams: "Ba-ba-ba-bah..." Hancock: "Pickup to the... pickup... to, to the one bar before." Davis: "Make a pickup to the one, one, four bars." Williams: "And then pickup to the bar ending." Davis: "Yeah." False start (0:04). Hancock: "Yeah, yeah, yeah..."
13	Black Comedy (take 12 (fs x 2)) (T. Williams)	0:39
	Macero: "Twelve..." False start (0:04), interrupted by Hancock: "Wait up. We gotta fade it right away... Carter plays a couple notes. Hancock and Davis: [undecipherable] False start (0:04), interrupted by Davis: "Ch'bop... ch'bop-mmm-mmm, ch'bop-mmm, do-da-da-da-dah..." Hancock: "You play the same thing?" Williams: "Yeah, that's what my parents taught me...." Hancock, laughing: "Oh, yeah." Davis: "Ch'bop... Nowoomm... Or somethin', you know.... Ch'boom..." Hancock and Williams joke about "Sh-Boom"
14	Black Comedy (new take 1 (fs + inc)) (T. Williams)	0:20
	Macero: "New take one..." Two false starts (0:01, 0:10)
15	Black Comedy (new take 2 (inc)) (T. Williams)	0:31
	Macero: "Two." Short run-through (0:24). Davis: "That's right, Tony. We just mis-counted. Come on in, Wayne, COME ON..."
16	Black Comedy (new take 3 (inc)) (T. Williams)	0:38
	Macero: "Three." Short run-through (0:27). Davis: "Man, come on... Pretty messy in here..."
17	Black Comedy (new take 4 (inc)) (T. Williams)	0:30
	Macero: "Four..." Davis: "Don't lay behind... Come on..." False start (0:14), interrupted by Hancock: "Yeah, yeah, yeah... You came in too late." Davis: "Just do the bap! One-two-three-four-five, bop-bobba-do-bah..."
18	Black Comedy (new take 5 (fs x 2)) (T. Williams)	0:20
	Macero: "Six, FIVE..." False start (0:01). Davis: "Let's try it." Another false start (0:03). Macero: "Uh, hold it Miles, we..." (cut) (REEL CHANGE?)
19	Black Comedy (new take 6 (inc)) (T. Williams)	0:54
	Macero: "...fours -- two monaurals and two four-tracks. Take six..." Hancock: "Oh, four tracks, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's right." Davis: "Come on, man." Short run-through (0:31). Davis: "That's it... One-two-three. There you go..."
20	Black Comedy (new take 7 (fs + inc)) (T. Williams)	1:05
	Macero: "Seven." False start (0:03), then short run-through (0:30). Davis: "What?" Williams sings the melody. Davis: "Oh, you mean one-two-three. (Williams plays the snare) ONE-two-three, all right -- that's 6/8, then. You got four bars of that." Carter: "Yeah." Hancock sings the melody emphasizing the rhythm (cut)
21	Black Comedy (new take 8 (inc + 2 fs)) (T. Williams)	0:27
	Macero: "Take eight..." Three false starts (0:10, 0:02, 0:02)
22	Black Comedy (new take 9 (fs)) (T. Williams)	0:24
	Macero: "Nine." False start (0:01), Carter missing. Carter: "I'm start... I got it, OK." False start (0:02). Davis: "No, after you make the pickup." Carter: "You got it..." False start (0:02). Davis: "Yeah..." False start (0:07). Hancock: "You want me to lay out?"
23	Black Comedy (new take 10 (inc)) (T. Williams)	0:39
	Macero: "Ten." Davis: "No, you in there, Herbie." Hancock: "Right." Short run-through (0:27). Shorter: "No, I was playin' around, was playin' exactly, it's there. that's..." (cut)
24	Black Comedy (new take 11 (fs + inc)) (T. Williams)	0:32
	Macero: "Take eleven." False start (0:03), then short run-through (0:20). Davis: "Here we go..."
25	Black Comedy (new take 12) (T. Williams)	7:34
	Macero: "Twelve..." Complete take (7:26). Davis: "That's it, Teo." Williams: "Phew!"


2 Black Comedy (take 2 (fs + CT)) 12" LP: Mosaic MQ10-177 CD: Columbia C6K 67398, Columbia C6K 90925, Columbia CK 65684, Sony SRCS 8575/80, Sony SICP 663/8, Sony SRCS 9711, Sony SICP 830, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 88697 52492] (CD 30)
25 Black Comedy (new take 12) 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)

According to the track sheets for this session, the original title for "Black Comedy" was "Riverside." The master version includes 0:01-7:26 of new take 12; the alternate version includes 0:5-7:16 from take 2). Williams seems much more tentative on the alternate take released in the Quintet box (Mosaic MQ10-177, Columbia C6K 67398). By the time he gets to the master take 12 he is playing with his typical effervescent brashness. Vintage Tony Williams!

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).