Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet); John Coltrane (tenor saxophone); William "Red" Garland (piano); Paul Chambers (bass); Philly Joe Jones (drums).
Recorded at Columbia Studios, New York, New York between October 26, 1955 and September 10, 1956. Includes liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.
With the release of the spectral title tune, and the efforts of the Columbia marketing and publicity departments behind him, a thirty-year old Miles Davis entered into a period of extraordinary artistic maturity and growth. And Miles instinctively knew how to cultivate his star quality. Looming behind those shades, was the diffident, sensitive anti-hero--proud and defiant--who only spoke to his audience through his horn, and turned his back on them when the other soloists were blowing.
The combination of attitude and intellect was irresistible. Beginning with ROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT and proceeding through a remarkable succession of famous recordings over the next 30 years, Miles Davis became one of the greatest soloists, arrangers and talent scouts in the history of American music. People who didn't own a single jazz record came to know his name--Miles was a jazz icon.
His famous intro on the title tune is based on mentor Dizzy Gillespie's arrangement, and Miles' tone, always a strong point, has here matured into something deeply personal and unique. His provocative use of space and silence--matched only by Lester Young, Billie Holiday and Thelonious Monk--sets up the famous release and Coltrane's agitated statement. Here and on the Prestige recordings, Coltrane found his voice as Miles' foil, while "The Rhythm Section" (pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones), became the most celebrated in jazz--capable of smooth, bouncy delicacy ("Dear Old Stockholm," "All Of You" and "Bye Bye Blackbird"), hard swing ("Tadd's Delight") and relentless complexity (Charlie Parker's contrapuntal "Ah-Leu-Ch"). A masterpiece.
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