MILES DAVIS (repost)

MILES DAVIS
SOMEDAY MY PRINCE WILL COME (1961)
320 KBPS

The session that produced Someday My Prince Will Come is finally restored and collected together on one CD, and the transitional nature of the Miles Davis band at that moment is now clearer than ever. Hank Mobley produces some fine blues-inflected tenor solos, but when you hear guest John Coltrane (his last recording with Davis) on the alternate take of the title and on the modal "Teo," it's understandable why Davis was unhappy: Coltrane plays with a confidence and a bravado that no other saxophonist could have mustered at that time, and lifts the band from the first note on. And when Philly Joe Jones sits in on "Blues No. 2," playing with clarity and volatility, you know that Davis's working group was not quite up to his best. Still, Wynton Kelly is finely poised throughout; "Pfrancing" is one of Davis's most charming and durable works; and the muted trumpet on "Old Folks" and "I Thought About You" is vintage. Maybe not essential Davis, but very pleasurable nonetheless.

1. Someday My Prince Will Come
2. Olds Folks
3. Pfrancing
4. Drad Dog
5. Teo
6. I Thought About You
7. Blues N 2 (alternate take)
8. Someday My Prince Will Come (alternate take)