Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.70 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 739 Mb | Artwork
© 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1216~21 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc
Jazz / Hard Bop / Modal Music / Fusion / Trumpet

With their second album, Miles Smiles, the second Miles Davis Quintet really began to hit their stride, delving deeper into the more adventurous, exploratory side of their signature sound. This is clear as soon as "Orbits" comes crashing out the gate, but it's not just the fast, manic material that has an edge – slower, quieter numbers are mercurial, not just in how they shift melodies and chords, but how the voicing and phrasing never settles into a comfortable groove. This is music that demands attention, never taking predictable paths or easy choices.

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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Miles Davis - Miles Smiles (1966) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 283 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 99 Mb | Artwork
© 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1216 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc

Its greatest triumph is that it masks this adventurousness within music that is warm and accessible – it just never acts that way. No matter how accessible this is, what's so utterly brilliant about it is that the group never brings it forth to the audience. They're playing for each other, pushing and prodding each other in an effort to discover new territory. As such, this crackles with vitality, sounding fresh decades after its release. And, like its predecessor, ESP, this freshness informs the writing as well, as the originals are memorable, yet open-ended and nervy, setting (and creating) standards for modern bop that were emulated well into the new century. Arguably, this quintet was never better than they are here, when all their strengths are in full bloom.

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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Miles Davis - Sorcerer (1962, 1967) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 253 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb | Artwork -> 72 Mb
© 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1217 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc

Sorcerer, the third album by the second Miles Davis Quintet, is in a sense a transitional album, a quiet, subdued affair that rarely blows hot, choosing to explore cerebral tonal colorings. Even when the tempo picks up, as it does on the title track, there's little of the dense, manic energy on Miles Smiles – this is about subtle shadings, even when the compositions are as memorable as Tony Williams' "Pee Wee" or Herbie Hancock's "Sorcerer." As such, it's a little elusive, since it represents the deepening of the band's music as they choose to explore different territory. The emphasis is as much on complex, interweaving chords and a coolly relaxed sound as it is on sheer improvisation, though each member tears off thoroughly compelling solos. Still, the individual flights aren't placed at the forefront the way they were on the two predecessors – it all merges together, pointing toward the dense soundscapes of Miles' later '60s work. It's such a layered, intriguing work that the final cut, recorded in 1962 with Bob Dorough on vocals, is an utterly jarring, inappropriate way to end the record, even if it's intended as a tribute to Miles' then-wife, Cicely Tyson (whose image graces the cover).

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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Miles Davis - Nefertiti (1968) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 238 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 93 Mb | Artwork -> 66 Mb
© 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1218 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc

Nefertiti, the fourth album by Miles Davis' second classic quintet, continues the forward motion of Sorcerer, as the group settles into a low-key, exploratory groove, offering music with recognizable themes – but themes that were deliberately dissonant, slightly unsettling even as they burrowed their way into the consciousness. In a sense, this is mood music, since, like on much of Sorcerer, the individual parts mesh in unpredictable ways, creating evocative, floating soundscapes. This music anticipates the free-fall, impressionistic work of In a Silent Way, yet it remains rooted in hard bop, particularly when the tempo is a bit sprightly, as on "Hand Jive." Yet even when the instrumentalists and soloists are placed in the foreground – such as Miles' extended opening solo on "Madness" or Hancock's long solo toward the end of the piece – this never feels like showcases for virtuosity, the way some showboating hard bop can, though each player shines. What's impressive, like on all of this quintet's sessions, is the interplay, how the musicians follow an unpredictable path as a unit, turning in music that is always searching, always provocative, and never boring. Perhaps Nefertiti's charms are a little more subtle than those of its predecessors, but that makes it intriguing. Besides, this album so clearly points the way to fusion, while remaining acoustic, that it may force listeners on either side of the fence into another direction.

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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Miles Davis - In A Silent Way (1969) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 228 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 92 Mb | Artwork
© 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1219 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc

Listening to Miles Davis' originally released version of In a Silent Way in light of the complete sessions released by Sony in 2001 (Columbia Legacy 65362) reveals just how strategic and dramatic a studio construction it was. If one listens to Joe Zawinul's original version of "In a Silent Way," it comes across as almost a folk song with a very pronounced melody. The version Miles Davis and Teo Macero assembled from the recording session in July of 1968 is anything but. There is no melody, not even a melodic frame. There are only vamps and solos, grooves layered on top of other grooves spiraling toward space but ending in silence. But even these don't begin until almost ten minutes into the piece. It's Miles and McLaughlin, sparely breathing and wending their way through a series of seemingly disconnected phrases until the groove monster kicks in. The solos are extended, digging deep into the heart of the ethereal groove, which was dark, smoky, and ashen. McLaughlin and Hancock are particularly brilliant, but Corea's solo on the Fender Rhodes is one of his most articulate and spiraling on the instrument ever. The A-side of the album, "Shhh/Peaceful," is even more so. With Tony Williams shimmering away on the cymbals in double time, Miles comes out slippery and slowly, playing over the top of the vamp, playing ostinato and moving off into more mysterious territory a moment at a time. With Zawinul's organ in the background offering the occasional swell of darkness and dimension, Miles could continue indefinitely. But McLaughlin is hovering, easing in, moving up against the organ and the trills by Hancock and Corea; Wayne Shorter hesitantly winds in and out of the mix on his soprano, filling space until it's his turn to solo. But John McLaughlin, playing solos and fills throughout (the piece is like one long dreamy solo for the guitarist), is what gives it its open quality, like a piece of music with no borders as he turns in and through the commingling keyboards as Holland paces everything along. When the first round of solos ends, Zawinul and McLaughlin and Williams usher it back in with painterly decoration and illumination from Corea and Hancock. Miles picks up on another riff created by Corea and slips in to bring back the ostinato "theme" of the work. He plays glissando right near the very end, which is the only place where the band swells and the tune moves above a whisper before Zawinul's organ fades it into silence. This disc holds up, and perhaps is even stronger because of the issue of the complete sessions. It is, along with Jack Johnson and Bitches Brew, a signature Miles Davis session from the electric era

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (1969) [2CD] {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 601 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 224 Mb | Artwork
© 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1220~21 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc

Thought by many to be among the most revolutionary albums in jazz history, Miles Davis' Bitches Brew solidified the genre known as jazz-rock fusion. The original double LP included only six cuts and featured up to 12 musicians at any given time, some of whom were already established while others would become high-profile players later, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Airto, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Don Alias, Bennie Maupin, Larry Young, and Lenny White among them. Originally thought to be a series of long jams locked into grooves around keyboard, bass, or guitar vamps, Bitches Brew is actually a recording that producer Teo Macero assembled from various jams and takes by razor blade, splice to splice, section to section. "Pharaoh's Dance" opens the set with its slippery trumpet lines, McLaughlin's snaky guitar figures skirting the edge of the rhythm section and Don Alias' conga slipping through the middle. Corea and Zawinul's keyboards create a haunted, riffing modal groove, echoed and accented by the basses of Harvey Brooks and Holland. The title cut was originally composed as a five-part suite, though only three were used. Here the keyboards punch through the mix and big chords ring up distorted harmonics for Davis to solo rhythmically over, outside the mode. McLaughlin's comping creates a vamp, and the bass and drums carry the rest. It's a small taste of the deep voodoo funk to appear on Davis' later records. Side three opens with McLaughlin and Davis trading fours and eights over a lockstep hypnotic vamp on "Spanish Key." Zawinul's lyric sensibility provides a near chorus for Corea to flit around in; the congas and drummers juxtapose themselves against the basslines. It nearly segues into the brief "John McLaughlin," featuring an organ playing modes below arpeggiated blues guitar runs. The end of Bitches Brew, signified by the stellar "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down," reflects the influence of Jimi Hendrix with its chunky, slipped chords and Davis playing a ghostly melody through the funkiness of the rhythm section. It seemingly dances, becoming increasingly more chaotic until it nearly disintegrates before shimmering into a loose foggy nadir. The disc closes with "Sanctuary," completely redone here as a moody electric ballad that was reworked for this band while keeping enough of its integrity to be recognizable. Bitches Brew is so forward-thinking that it retains its freshness and mystery in the 21st century.

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Miles Davis - The Original Jacket Collection (2006) [30 Albums, 37 CDs] {DSD Japan Mini LP Analog Collection} (part 4of6)

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