Miles DAVIS - Porgy and Bess 1958

Miles DAVIS - Porgy and Bess  1958
Label: Columbia / Legacy
Original Release Date: March 25, 1997

Jazz            

In jazz, only a handful of albums never lose their lustre. Each listening is a magical experience, no matter how familiar the material has become. The second collaboration between Miles Davis and Gil Evans, Porgy and Bess, is one such distinctive recording.

Davis and Evans’ recasting of the George Gershwin opera was their followup to the magnificent Miles Ahead. Many of that album’s characteristics are also present on Porgy and Bess : lush orchestrations, a wide-range of material between exuberant swingers and tender ballads, and plenty of virtuoso playing by Davis.

At the time the album was recorded in the summer of 1958, the trumpeter was leading one of the greatest small-groups in jazz history, with front-line mates John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley as well as a rhythm team of Bill Evans, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb. Miles was also enjoying a level of popularity normally not reserved for a jazz musician, reflecting a combination of reaping the benefits of recording for a major record label and the image he created of the ultra-cool, yet ultra-temperamental, take-no-crap artist.

So, it’s no surprise that Davis’ trumpet work on Porgy and Bess reflects a man full of confidence who knows he is at the top of his game. Rarely did Davis ever play with such consistency . His uptempo work is full of swagger, such as his hip, laid-back rendering of “Summertime” and the marvellous trumpet break at the end of the first chorus of “The Buzzard Song.” His ballad playing has his trademark warmth and depth of emotion, with Davis performing beautifully on “Oh Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess” and “I Loves You, Porgy,” for example.

Complementing and heightening the magnificence of Davis’s work are the wonderful arrangements from the pen of Gil Evans. Davis’s tortured thoughts at the end of “Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)” wouldn’t mean much if Evans hadn’t written out a series of orchestral crescendos against them. On each track there is at least one moment of pure musical bliss as a result of the genius of Evans. The tuba and bass duet that closes “The Buzzard Song,” the unbelievably delicate sound Evans elicits from the orchestra on “Fisherman, Strawberry and Devil Crab” and the sudden burst of brass at the five-minute mark on “My Man’s Gone Now” are all defining moments that elevate Porgy and Bess to the level of a masterpiece.

Any appreciation of Porgy and Bess would be sorely lacking without mentioning Evans’ recasting of “Gone, Gone, Gone” (itself a wonderful performance) into “Gone.” The tune is a showcase for drummer Philly Joe Jones, who performs some unbelievable drum fills in between statements by the orchestra. An alternate take of the tune was added to the 1997 CD reissue illustrating the perfection of Jones’ playing on the master version.

Porgy and Bess is just one of many great albums that Miles Davis recorded over his lifetime. It reaches a higher plateau than most, though, in its way that it can reach the listener on both a musical and emotional level. That the album is still able to do this after almost forty-five years is a testament to the rare magic that occurred in a New York studio over four days in the summer of 1958.
By Robert Gilber. AAJ.
**
Tomes are available annotating the importance of this recording. The musical and social impact of Miles Davis, his collaborative efforts with Gil Evans, and in particular their reinvention of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess are indeed profound. However, the most efficient method of extricating the rhetoric and opining is to experience the recording. Few other musical teams would have had the ability to remain true to the undiluted spirit and multifaceted nuance of this epic work. However, no other musical teams were Miles Davis and Gil Evans. It was Evans' intimate knowledge of the composition as well as the performer that allowed him to so definitively capture the essence of both. The four dates needed to complete work on Porgy and Bess include contributions from several members of his most recent musical aggregate: Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (alto sax), Paul Chambers (bass), and Jimmy Cobb (drums). Although the focus and emphasis is squarely on Davis throughout, the contributions of the quartet on "Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)," "I Loves You, Porgy," and "There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon for New York" are immeasurable. They provide a delicate balance in style and, under the direction of Evans, incorporate much of the same energy and intonation here as they did to their post-bop recordings. There is infinitely more happening on Porgy and Bess, however, with much of the evidence existing in the subtle significance of the hauntingly lyrical passages from Danny Banks' (alto flute) solos, which commence on "Fishermen, Strawberry and Devil Crab." Or the emotive bass and tuba duet that runs throughout "Buzzard Song." The impeccable digital remastering and subsequent CD reissue — which likewise applies to the Miles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings box set — only magnifies the refulgence of Porgy and Bess. Likewise, two previously unissued performances have been appended to the original baker's dozen. No observation or collection of American jazz can be deemed complete without this recording.
By Lindsay Planer. AMG.
**
Cannonball Adderley- Saxophone, Sax (Alto)
Danny Bank Clarinet- (Bass), Flute (Alto), Sax (Baritone)
Billy Barber- Tuba
John Barber- Tuba
Joseph Bennett- Trombone
Phil Bodner- Clarinet, Flute, Flute (Alto)
Paul Chambers- Bass
Jimmy Cleveland- Trombone
Jimmy Cobb- Drums
Johnny Coles- Trumpet
Miles Davis- Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Performer
Gil Evans- Arranger, Conductor, Orchestra
Bernie Glow- Trumpet
Dick Hixon- Trombone
Philly Joe Jones- Drums
Louis Mucci- Trumpet
Romeo Penque- Clarinet, Flute, Flute (Alto)
Frank Rehak- Trombone
Jerome Richardson- Clarinet, Flute, Flute (Alto)
Ernie Royal- Trumpet
Willie Ruff- French Horn
Gunther Schuller- Horn, French Horn
Julius Watkins- French Horn
**
01. The Buzzard Song    4:07
02. Bess, You Is My Woman Now    5:10
03. Gone    3:37
04. Gone, Gone, Gone    2:03
05. Summertime    3:17
06. Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess?    4:28
07. Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)    4:39
08. Fisherman, Strawberry and Devil Crab    4:06
09. My Man's Gone Now    6:14
10. It Ain't Necessarily So    4:23
11. Here Come de Honey Man    1:18
12. I Loves You, Porgy    3:39
13. There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon for New York    3:23
14. I Loves You, Porgy   4:14
15. Gone   3:40
**
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