Product Description

The title does not refer to the trumpeter's composition from his first recording date but is an acknowledgement of thissession's visceral impact. Tenor saxophonist John Coltrane had left the trumpeter in the spring of 1957 to join Thelonious Monk for his engagement at New York's Five Spot, and wasreplaced by a rising star on alto saxophone, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. When he returned, Davis had a formidable three-horn front line to go with "The Rhythm Section".
MILESTONES is a bracing rhythmic tonic, coming after the refined ballad moods and lush orchestral pastels of MILES AHEAD. Andfrom the furious, adults-only hyper-drive of the opening "Dr. Jekyll" (with its thrilling tenor/alto battle and daredevil drum breaks), through a dazzling Dizzy Gillespie/John Lewis bebop anthem ("Two Bass Hit") to the bright dancing groove of "Straight, No Chaser", MILESTONES is an epic historicalevent--even by Miles' standards.
The slow, bluesy "Sid'sAhead" first appeared as "Weirdo" on Miles' March 1954 BlueNote session, and offers tantalising portraits of the horns. Coltrane attacks his line like a blues guitarist, in shortbursts of vocal cries and loping syncopated tangents; Milescomes out jabbing, slow and purposeful, feinting and fadingbehind the beat with lovely long tones and bends; Cannonball comes out all agitated and excitable, with little quicksilver runs and sing-songy asides (such as "Skip to my lou my darling"). Pianist Red Garland's famous feature on the traditional "Billy Boy" highlights his mastery of a two handed orchestral style, his brilliant use of space in blues phrasing,and his interplay with the driving young Paul Chambers (with his enormous beat and impeccable bow work) and the fiery Philly Joe Jones (whose complex melodic variations transcend the technical limitations of the drums).

Track Listing

1. Dr. Jeckle
2. Sid's Ahead
3. Two Bass Hit
4. Milestones
5. Billy Boy
6. Straight, No Chaser
7. Two Bass Hit (Alternate Take)
8. Milestones (Alternate Take)
9. Straight, No Chaser (Alternate Take)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33116 in Music
• Released on: 2001-04-16
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
This 1958 date finds Davis with alto and tenor saxophonists Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane, drummer Philly Joe Jones, bassist Paul Chambers and pianist Red Garland. It looks to the past with the bebop and blues of Jackie McLean's "Dr Jackle", John Lewis and Dizzy Gillespie's "Two Bass Hit" and Thelonious Monk's "Straight, No Chaser". The band points solidly to the future with the modal masterpiece "Milestones", which set the stage for the historic Kind of Blue. Davis's own tune, "Sid's Ahead", has a melodic line like Benny Golson's "Killer Joe"; "Billy Boy" features Garland, Chambers and Jones and is a stylistic shout to Ahmad Jamal. This superbly remastered edition also contains three alternate takes: "Two Bass Hit" snaps, crackles and pops with Jones's rope-a-dope rhythms and the title track rings with a more lyrical statement by Davis. On "Straight, No Chaser" Coltrane delivers a more harmonically daring solo, Adderley takes on Trane's supersonic scalar style and Chambers caps the cut with a grooving solo. This is a classic recording from a classic group. --Eugene Holley Jr

Customer Reviews

Better than Kind of Blue
Perhaps the jazz conservatives (e.g. Stanley Crouch) would burn me at the stake for the title of this review and yes, the soul-stirring Kind of Blue is certainly the best modal record I've heard, but I much prefer this, since Coltrane and Adderley really leap out and play from the get-go.
Dr. Jackle is absolutely manic to play, a Jackie McLean tune that this quintet seem to delight in playing rather fast. It's excellent hard-bop, and Miles plays an excellent solo which sticks to the middle register, a range which trumpeteers do not explore enough, though this can be only down to the influence of intervallic trumpeters like Dizzy. Listen out for the early duel between Adderley, and Coltrane. Listening to 'Two Bass Hit', it is an interesting contrast to hear it against the version on 'Round About Midnight. The two saxophonists play the opening line, and Red Garland plays the call-and-response piano. Coltrane's solo in this is very different, not relying on cliches, and theres still traces of those idiosyncratic runs of his in the solo. The excellent rhythmic support is almost forgotten in the midst of all this horn interplay. Sid's Ahead is another great piece.
'Milestones', my favourite track on the album, is a wonderful exploration of the modes, and I have to say, that Adderley's solo is certainly more assured and joyous than anything I've heard him play, even on Kind of Blue. If anyone sounds slightly perturbed by this piece, it's actually Coltrane. Garland's repetitive modal riff, keeps the tune pacing along wonderfully. He gets a chance to shine on 'Billy Boy', and his odd locked-hands style is on exhibit here, as well as his Ahmed-Jamal influenced bluesy runs on the piano. Philly Joe Jones and Paul Chambers are superb on this track too.
The version I've got closes on 'Straight No Chaser', which is a Monk tune. The quintet run through this and render it their own, due to the excellent playing of all the quintet, Adderley tries to match Coltrane's stellar scalar runs, and Coltrane's 'angry' saxophone style is in full flow here. Adderley's solo is wonderfully dissonant at points, forcing the listener to pay attention to what he is playing, and his solo is slightly more lyrical than Coltrane's, who I have to say, finds his modal voice on Kind of Blue.
This album may not be as lyrical or profound as Kind of Blue, but amidst all the recycled babble and attempts to explain Kind of Blue's genius, Milestones still stands the test of time, and benefits from being so unscathed.
I enjoy listening to this record more than Kind of Blue, which is simply a small matter of preference for that is all basically what musical criticism is about at the end of the day (unless you're employed by a firm to write). This record in its own right, is a tour de force, an example of true virtuosity, not just showboating, pretentious jazz, but also a fine portrait of what happens when some of the best musicians come into the studio and just play their arses off. Highly recommended.

Half a Great Album
If Milestones is one of Miles's great albums, meriting a 5-star rating, I think it's mainly on the strength of its three best tracks: "Milestones", "Straight No Chaser" and "Sid's Ahead". For me, the three less impressive tracks are the ones at the fastest tempos. "Billy Boy" is a feature for the rhythm section as a piano trio, therefore mainly for pianist Red Garland. Unfortunately, although a technically accomplished player and possibly highly regarded by many listeners, he always seemed to me a lightweight soloist; and since the piece is a corny arrangement of a very trite tune it's no surprise if it fails to improve with repeated listening, despite the brilliance of Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones which gives the piece its vitality. "Two Bass Hit" may have been an entertaining novelty number in the heyday of be-bop but it's hardly one of John Lewis's best compositions. Miles doesn't solo on this one, so it's mainly a feature for Coltrane's and Adderley's fast playing. If you like that sort of thing, there's more of it on "Dr Jackle", another rather uninteresting boppish theme. Coltrane and Adderley demonstrate their skill at playing lots of notes per minute. Miles shows how fewer notes can be used to greater effect ("less is more"), giving the impression that he is playing on top of the tempo rather than racing to keep up with it.

"Milestones" (a.k.a. "Miles") is better. Like most of the material on Miles's 'Kind of Blue' album it's a simply constructed but interesting modal theme which challenges the soloists and inspires them to some carefully thought out solos. Even better in my opinion is the group's version of Thelonius Monk's up-tempo blues, "Straight No Chaser". Like "Milestones" (though it's a different kind of piece) it's an interesting composition in its own right, ingeniously constructed out of a simple motif. With its strong harmonic foundation and bouncing swing it brings out the best in Coltrane and Adderley, as in Miles himself who plays with elegance as well as 'bite'. "Sid's Ahead" is another 12-bar blues, this one at a moderate 'walking' pace - a type of piece and a tempo which suited Miles and inspired some of his best improvising (try "Walkin' " and "Bags' Groove" from 1954 and "All Blues" and "Freddie Freeloader" on 'Kind of Blue').

If you like Coltrane's and Adderley's playing of this vintage (before Trane went 'avant garde' and Cannonball went commercial) you will probably want this album if you don't already have it. If you like Garland's piano playing you will enjoy "Billy Boy" more than I do. I respect his technical skill, but I never hear any kind of 'depth' in anything he played. I've known people to feel the same about 'Cannonball' Adderley. Miles in his solos never plays less than well and there is some of his best work on what I've identified as the three best tracks. Paul Chambers is superb as usual. Philly Joe Jones is magnificent and, for aficionados of modern jazz drumming, he may well be the real star of the session.

The bonus 'alternate takes' of "Milestones" and "Straight No Chaser" are worth having. You might think the 'alternate take' of "Two Bass Hit" is worth having too. If you like that sort of thing.

FANTASTIC
Where do I begin?! What a blast; exhilarating, exciting and plenty to get your cerebral listening gear into. The first cut (Dr Jackle). Introduces the album very succintly and it does not let up from there. To avoid analytical nonsense; it just sounds great, and surprises and pleases at every turn. Sometimes its a full blown solo which raises the goodbumps and sometimes just a single note chord from the comping piano played in perfect time which does the business. Just get the disc and enjoy a high octane ride! In so many ways this album is great.