New Miles Davis Box Set Collects Unreleased Material from Second Great Quintet

  I  
Image

Miles Davis

(Photo: DownBeat Archive)
Nearly 25 years after his death, the recorded artistry of trumpet genius Miles Davis continues to grow. Columbia/Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release Miles Davis Quintet: Freedom Jazz Dance: The Bootleg Series, Vol 5 on Oct. 21.

The three-CD box set collection chronicles Davis’ musical evolution during his Second Great Quintet period (1966–1968), in which he worked primarily with saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, drummer Tony Williams and bassist Ron Carter.

The latest edition in Columbia/Legacy’s acclaimed Miles Davis Bootleg Series, these albums provide a glimpse into trumpeter’s creative process, drawing on full session reels and rehearsal footage, partial and alternate takes, extensive studio conversation and more.

The box set will be released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Davis’ landmark album Miles Smiles, which was the second album to be recorded by this iteration of the Great Quintet. The new collection includes the master takes of performances which would appear on the Miles Smiles, and later on Nefertiti (1968) and Water Babies (recorded 1967, released 1976). The set also features more than two hours of previously unreleased studio recordings from original sessions produced by Teo Macero.

Miles Davis Quintet: Freedom Jazz Dance: The Bootleg Series, Vol 5 box set was produced for contemporary release by the multi Grammy Award-winning team of Steve Berkowitz, Michael Cuscuna and Richard Seidel. The album was mixed from the original 4-track tapes and mastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Mark Wilder.

In addition to more than two hours of previously unreleased studio sessions, the collection includes “Blues In F (My Ding),” a rare home recording of Davis and Shorter working out a new blues composition on piano.

The box set includes liner notes by Grammy Award-winning writer and educator Ashley Kahn, author of Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece, as well as new interviews with Quintet members Ron Carter and Wayne Shorter.

For more information, visit LegacyRecordings.com.



  • DB26_Joshua_Redman_Courtesy_Joshua_Redman.jpg

    A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.

  • Coltrane_John_by_Joe_Alper_copy.jpeg

    “It was just that suddenly … I could hear it,” Ravi Coltrane said of an epiphany he experienced during his late teens regarding his father’s music. “And it was almost like a calling, like something saying, ‘Hey, man, come on. It’s time to get serious.’ And the first time you really tune in and dial in and focus like that, it can be very life-changing.”

  • Thurman_copy.jpeg

    Camille Thurman took to the stage alongside bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Tommy Campbell for a rendition of Johnny Mercer’s “I’m An Old Cowhand” that recalled Rollins’ epochal 1957 trio outing Way Out West.

  • 5_Elling_Russell_Cohen_Courtesy_Signature_Cruise_Experiences.jpg

    Kurt Elling, Katherine Russell and Emmet Cohen (host on the 2027 Jazz Cruise) share a laugh at sea.

  • DB-CollegeGuide-Cover-Oct26_copy4.jpg