Walkin Appears on “The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965” (Columbia Legacy 1995). It is originally written by R. Carpenter.
Played live at the Plugged Nickel, First Set December 23, 1965 by:
Miles Davis – Trumpet / Wayne Shorter – Tenor Saxophone / Herbie Hancock – Piano / Ron Carter – Bass / Tony Williams – Drums.
Research for a Wayne Shorter biography revealed that drummer Tony Williams, during the plane ride to Chicago, challenged the rest of the band to play anti-jazz, in essence sabotaging the gig by playing whatever one wished rather than the standard versions. The band kept to the challenge, and the tunes were then radically altered for the Plugged Nickel performances. [source]
Title Track on the album Seven Steps to Heaven by Miles Davis.
It’s easy to pigeonhole this ’63 Miles Davis recording as a “transition” period between his classic quintets, but one thing is quite clear: Miles was always in transition. Each Davis band was going through a musical or personnel metamorphosis, so we might as well simply take the music on its own terms and forget about the historical context. On that standard alone, Seven Steps to Heaven is an absolute gem.
Introducing two future classics, Miles and company tear through “Joshua” and “Seven Steps to Heaven” and set the world on notice: life in the music world would never be the same again. [source]
Personnel:
Miles Davis – trumpet
George Coleman – tenor saxophone
Herbie Hancock – piano
Ron Carter – bass
Tony Williams – drums
Freedom Jazz Dance, written by Eddie Harris, is the second track on the B-side of the album Miles Smiles by Miles Davis Quintet.
Miles Smiles is an album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in January 1967 on Columbia Records. It was recorded by Davis and his second quintet at Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City on October 24 and October 25, 1966. It is the second of five albums recorded by Davis’s second great quintet, which featured saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams. [source]
Miles Davis – Trumpet
Wayne Shorter – Tenor Saxophone
Herbie Hancock – Piano
Ron Carter – Double Bass
Tony Williams – Drums
New Beginnings is from the album New beginnings by Don Pullen, recorded in New York City on December 12, 1988 and released on Blue Note in 1989.
Don Pullen (December 25, 1941 – April 22, 1995) was an American jazzpianist and organist. Pullen developed a strikingly individual style throughout his career. He composed masterworks ranging from blues to bebop and modern jazz. The great variety of his body of work makes it difficult to pigeonhole his musical style. [source]
To my ears, the sweetest music on this set comes from the third album, New Beginnings, which places Pullen in a trio with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Tony Williams. For a one-off unit, it sounds amazingly connected. Part of the success of the venture comes from the rhythm section’s forward, muscular stance. Peacock’s an amazingly versatile bassist, and here he not only offers due respect for vamps and the groove, but works the nooks and crannies in unexpected ways.
Pieces like “Once Upon a Time,” “Warriors,” and “New Beginnings” build from relatively simple vamp-oriented foundations, which offer Pullen ample opportunity to engage in his signature swoops and swirls. For some listeners, the intensity may be over the top, so be aware. But to hear the pianist fly free, launched skyward by sympathetic players who share his affinity for outer sounds, is high-octane rocket fuel for the soul. [source]
Gary Peacock – Bass / Tony Williams – Drums / Don Pullen – Piano
Evolution is the debut album by American trombonist Graham Moncur III recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label. [source]
All compositions by Grachan Moncur III : 1. Air Raid (9:19) / 2. Evolution (12:24) / The Coaster (11:39) / Monk in Wonderland (7:54)
Grachan Moncur III – Trombone / Lee Morgan – Trumpet / Jackie McLean – Alto Saxophone / Bobby Hutcherson – Vibes / Bob Cranshaw – Bass / Tony Williams – Drums
Maiden Voyage is the fifth album led by jazz musician Herbie Hancock, and was recorded by Rudu Van Gelder on May 17, 1965 for Blue Note Records. It was issued as BLP 4195 and BST 84195. It is a concept album aimed at creating an oceanic atmosphere. Many of the song titles refer to marine biology or the sea, and the musicians develop the concept through their use of space and almost tidal dynamics. The album was presented with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. According to Bob Blumenthal’s 1999 liner notes, “Blue Note logs indicate that an attempt had been made to record “Maiden Voyage”, “Little One” and “Dolphin Dance” six days earlier, with Hubbard on cornet and Stu Martin in place of Williams. Those performances were rejected at the time and have been lost in the ensuing years.” [source]
All compositions by Herbie Hancock:
Maiden Voyage (7:53)
The Eye of the Hurricane (5:57)
Little One (8:43)
Survival of the Fittest (9:59)
Dolphin Dance (9:16)
Personnel:
Herbie Hancock — Piano
Freddie Hubbard — Trumpet
George Coleman — Tenor saxophone
Ron Carter — Bass
Tony Williams — drums
