CD Review essays

CD Review essays A CD Review of Bluing: Miles Davis Plays the Blues Miles Davis, from his beginnings as a nineteen-year-old kid in 1945 New York City, to his final days in the early 1990s, is to be considers one of the jazzs best. The 1996 album entitled, Bluing: Miles Davis Plays the Blues, the engineers at Prestige Records bring Miles Davis back to life. Packed with over 73 minutes and 12 bar blues, Bluing brings nine great tunes of Davis together on one disk. Having been originally recorded in the 1950s, these nine cuts take the listener through a decade of music and a decade of Davis life. On the opening track, entitled Bluing, we hear nearly ten minutes of Davis on trumpet, Jackie McLean on alto sax, Sonny Rollins on tenor, Walter Bishop, Jr. on piano, Tommy Porter on bass, and Art Blakey playing the drums. Bishop provides the intro of the song on the piano, with Blakey coming in soon after. Nearly a minute in, Davis begins and is soon softly accompanied by the saxes. Through the first five or so minutes of the tune, Davis enjoys a solo. He is then followed by the tenor and alto sax, respectively. I enjoy this track mostly for the tone Davis achieves and the moderate tempo. However, during Rollins tenor solo and then again for the last minute or so of the song, Davis and the rest of the group pick up the pace and begin double-timing. In the end, for me, this track is made classic by a botched ending on the part of Art Blakey. If you listen closely you can hear Davis instant reaction: Well have to play it again then, man. You know the arrangement. Obviously enough, Blakey doesnt contribute to any of the other songs on the album. Another cut that I enjoyed on this album is Bags Groove. ...