[78-L] Miles Davis etc [was Thelonious Monk [was Leonard

[Julian Vein]

Jeff Sultanof wrote:
> Julian,
> 
> When you say you have the complete Miles on Columbia on CD, which set are
> you talking about? There was so much Miles that Columbia had that they broke
> up their holdings into several sets: one with Coltrane, one with Gil Evans,
> one with just "In a Silent Way," etc. Unless Columbia put all of these
> together and is selling them in one big box, which is possible, but I'm not
> aware of it.
> 
> Van Gelder's big band recordings from the sixties would get an F from me if
> I were teaching recording; they are distorted and poorly balanced. He is
> also a bit of a nut; he has been known to throw out clients if they do
> things he doesn't like. I met him once and told him that I loved his CTI
> quadraphonic recordings, and he beamed, inviting me back to any session I
> wanted to come to. His later recordings ca. 1970s and later are much better
> than his earlier recordings, and the quads were among the best of the era.
> 
> I happen to think that the Gil Evans albums with Miles are among the
> masterpieces of music in the twentieth century. I admit I have a special
> relationship with this music; I was one of the first to see the scores and
> parts of these albums when Miles' possessions were gotten out of storage,
> and a colleague was asked to appraise three boxes of Miles' music. The Evans
> scores were among the most transcribed big band arrangements until they were
> found in these boxes. Also found were parts of most of the pieces of the
> Davis nonet, called The Birth of the Cool.
> 
> I understand there is a growing minority led by Stanley Crouch who believe
> these four albums are nothing more than 'easy listening' music, but I wonder
> about them.
> 
> Sorry, I've just realized this is very OT, but the subject of Miles did come
> up.
> 
> Jeff Sultanof
================
The set I have is MILES DAVIS & JOHN COLTRANE THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA 
RECORDINGS 1955-1961 SONY 65833 (6xCD).

The criticisms about van Gelder are those studio sessions where he had 
full control. The "Sonny Rollins at the Village Vanguard" on Blue Note 
have a more natural sound due to the fact that he wasn't able to 
manipulate the sound to his own satisfaction.

      Julian Vein


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