'Round About Midnight
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'Round About Midnight is an album made in 1956 (see 1956 in music) by jazz musician Miles Davis.
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Overview
The recording dates for the album, were two sessions at a Columbia Recording studio on October 27, 1955, during which the tracks "Tadd's Delight", "Dear Old Stockholm" and the soon-to-be standard "Bye Bye Blackbird" were recorded. The next recording session in June 5, 1956, was when the rest of the tracks were recorded, forming the full album.
The title track of the album "'Round Midnight", a Thelonious Monk jazz tune, was chosen in virtue of Davis's performance of it at the Newport Jazz Festival, in 1955, which received a unanimously positive reception from many jazz fans, and critics. Miles's response to this performance was typically laconic: "I don't know what they're talking about. It's like I just came back from the moon. I just played the way I always do." The version played by the quintet is arguably equal to Monk's own version of it.
The record was his first for Columbia Records, and was for many, a significant comeback and indication of a healthy, drug-free Miles. It was the first of many excellent records for Columbia, and albums such as Kind of Blue, Sketches of Spain, Nefertiti, and Bitches Brew, would all follow as genre-defining masterpieces. He is backed on this record by the famous 1st Miles Davis quintet, which included John Coltrane.
The recording is considered one of the pinnacles of the hard bop era, and it is interesting to hear a young Coltrane, whose sheets of sound approach had not developed as such yet, nor had his lyrical modal style.
In 2001, Columbia released a reissue of the original album with four bonus tracks, which are listed below in the track listings.
Response
On release, 'Round About Midnight received an average reception. Ralph Berton of The Record Changer described it as "orthodox, middle-of-the-road conservative progressive jazz".
However 'Round About Midnight is now considered to be one of Miles's essential recordings in his vast discography, with great performances from the quintet all round. Many attest that this recording and others of Miles from this era sound fresh and innovative even now.
Track listing
- "'Round Midnight" (Hanighen, Monk, Williams) - 6:00
- "Ah-Leu-Cha" (Parker) - 5:55
- "All of You" (Porter) - 7:05
- "Bye Bye Blackbird (Dixon, Henderson) - 7:59
- "Tadd's Delight" (Dameron) - 4:33
- "Dear Old Stockholm" (Getz, Trad.) - 7:55
- "Two Bass Hit" (Gillespie, Lewis) - 3:47 (bonus track)
- "Little Melonae" (McLean) - 7:24 (bonus track)
- "Budo" (Davis, Powell) - 4:17 (bonus track)
- "Sweet Sue, Just You" (Harris, Young) - 3:39 (bonus track)
Credits
Perfomers
- Miles Davis - Trumpet, performer
- John Coltrane - Tenor saxophone
- Philly Joe Jones - Drums
- Red Garland - Piano
- Paul Chambers - Bass
Other personnel
- Michael Cuscuna - Reissue Producer
- Howard Fritzson - Reissue Art Director
- Don Hunstein - Photography
- Frank Laico - Engineer, Original Recordings
- Teo Macero - Mastering
- Randall Martin - Reissue Design
- Ray Moore - Engineer
- Seth Rothstein - Project Director
- Dennis Stock - Photography
- Mark Wilder - Engineer, Mastering
- Aram Avakian - Photography
- George Avakian - Producer, Liner Notes, Original Recording Producer
- Bob Belden - Reissue Producer
References
- Nisenson, E. 'Round About Midnight - A Portrait Of Miles Davis. Da Capo Press, 2nd ed., 1996.
- AMG All Music Guide - "(((Round About Midnight[Bonus Tracks>Credits)))"].
- Jurek, T. - "(((Round About Midnight[Bound Tracks>Review)))"].