Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain
Miles Davis, trumpet, flugelhorn [click here to see more vinyl featuring Miles Davis]
Danny Bank, bass clarinet
Bill Barber, tuba
John Barrows, French horn
Albert Block, flute
James Buffington, French horn
Eddie Caine, flute, flugelhorn
Paul Chambers, bass [click here to see more vinyl featuring Paul Chambers]
Earl Chapin, French horn
Jimmy Cobb, drums [click here to see other vinyl featuring Jimmy Cobb]
Johnny Coles, trumpet
Harold Feldman, clarinet, flute, oboe
Bernie Glow, trumpet
Dick Hixon, trombone
Elvin Jones, percussion [click here to see more vinyl featuring Elvin Jones]
Taft Jordan, trumpet
Jack Knitzer, bassoon
Jose Mangual, percussion
Jimmy McAllister, tuba
Tony Miranda, French horn
Louis Mucci, trumpet
Romeo Penque, oboe
Janet Putnam, harp
Frank Rehak, trombone
Ernie Royal, trumpet
Joe Singer, French horn
Gil Evans, arranger, conductor [click here to see more vinyl featuring Gil Evans]
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Record Industry (The Netherlands)
Label : Sony
Original Label : Columbia
Recorded November 15 & 20, 1959 and March 10, 1960 at CBS 30th Street Studio, New York City
Engineered by Larry Keyes, Ray Moore
Produced by Teo Macero
Originally released in 1960
Reissued in October 2015
Tracks:
Side A :
- Concierto de Aranjuez (Adagio)
- Will O' the Wisp
Side B :
- The Pan Piper
- Saeta
- Solea
Awards:
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Rated 358/500
1961 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Composition of More Than Five Minutes Duration
Reviews :
"Along with Kind of Blue, In a Silent Way, and Round About Midnight, Sketches of Spain is one of Miles Davis' most enduring and innovative achievements. Recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 -- after Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley had left the band -- Davis teamed with Canadian arranger Gil Evans for the third time. Davis brought Evans the album's signature piece, "Concierto de Aranjuez," after hearing a classical version of it at bassist Joe Mondragon's house. Evans was as taken with it as Davis was, and set about to create an entire album of material around it. The result is a masterpiece of modern art. On the "Concierto," Evans' arrangement provided an orchestra and jazz band -- Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, and Elvin Jones -- the opportunity to record a classical work as it was. The piece, with its stunning colors and intricate yet transcendent adagio, played by Davis on a flügelhorn with a Harmon mute, is one of the most memorable works to come from popular culture in the 20th century. Davis' control over his instrument is singular, and Evans' conducting is flawless. Also notable are "Saeta," with one of the most amazing technical solos of Davis' career, and the album's closer, "Solea," which is conceptually a narrative piece, based on an Andalusian folk song, about a woman who encounters the procession taking Christ to Calvary. She sings the narrative of his passion and the procession -- or parade -- with full brass accompaniment moving along. Cobb and Jones, with flamenco-flavored percussion, are particularly wonderful here, as they allow the orchestra to indulge in the lushly passionate arrangement Evans provided to accompany Davis, who was clearly at his most challenged here, though he delivers with grace and verve. Sketches of Spain is the most luxuriant and stridently romantic recording Davis ever made. To listen to it in the 21st century is still a spine-tingling experience, as one encounters a multitude of timbres, tonalities, and harmonic structures seldom found in the music called jazz." AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek
Ratings :
AllMusic : 5 / 5 , Discogs : 4,49 / 5