Customer Rating: 
Summary: Classic Small-Group Jazz
Comment: When Miles Davis formed his classic 1st Quintet, he negotiated a record deal with Columbia records. Before he could release anything through Columbia, however, he had to fulfill recording obligations for the indie label Prestige. In two marathon sessions (May and October '56), the Quintet recorded enough material for four albums: Cookin', Relaxin', Workin' and Steamin'. Cookin' was the first to be released and despite its brief running time (33 minutes), features the strongest material and the best song selection. The two bop tunes, two blues and one ballad provide a balance that isn't really present on the other three albums. "My Funny Valentine" is a quintessential Davis ballad performance, with the mute trumpet and gently swinging rhythm section. "Airegin" and "Tune Up", on the other hand, feature the Quintet at its tightest and most intense - none of the other bop tunes from these sessions come close. Aside from the live material included on the deluxe version of 'Round About Midnight, Cookin' and the other 3 albums from these sessions may be the best taste of what this great group sounded like in person.
[This review is based on the K2 20-bit version, which has excellent sound. Both have the same tracklist.]
Customer Rating:
Summary: Jazz Man satisfied
Comment: Pleased is a great understatement for the way I felt when I received this flawless, hard to find CD shipped within and above the expectations I had.
Thumbs up to the partnership!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Down Payment
Comment: It's difficult to rate this one by itself, since it's merely one chapter in a 4-part novel. Even though I would put the Columbia recordings of the same quintet ahead of the hastily assembled and recorded four Prestige dates, this is still timeless and essential music. The RVG remaster captures Miles' vocal asides more clearly than ever, the bass is boosted but not overly much, the horns sparkle with clarity and presence--definitely one of the more impressive RVG remasters I've heard, one of the few, even, that might justify purchase of the new edition. At the same time, the depth and spaciousness, the natural piano sound, the attention to ambiance and room acoustics are simply not to be heard on Van Gelder's flat aural canvas. The sound is intimate and up-close (insuring that this version of "My Valentine," even more than Chet Baker's, made the tune as popular among instrumentalists as vocalists), but the session still falls short of the sheer magic and magnitude, the poignancy and inexhaustible depth and poetry of the Columbia dates, beginning with "'Round Midnight."
Why is "Cookin'" better known than the other three? Beats me. Coltrane's playing is at times even a bit restrained compared to the other sessions. If you're going to go with just one and don't feel obligated to own the original Miles' "Funny Valentine," "Steamin'" is probably the one that has the edge on all counts--programming, solos, ensemble cohesion.
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