Track Listing

1. Dr. Jackle
2. Sid's Ahead
3. Two Bass Hit
4. Milestones
5. Billy Boy
6. Straight, No Chaser
7. Two Bass Hit [Alternate Take][*]
8. Milestones [Alternate Take][*]
9. Straight, No Chaser [Alternate Take][*]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5889 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2001-04-17
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording remastered, Extra tracks
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Amazon.com
This 1958 date finds Davis with his first super group: alto and tenor saxophonists Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane, drummer Philly Joe Jones, bassist Paul Chambers, and pianist Red Garland. It looks to the past with the bebop and blues likes of Jackie McLean's "Dr. Jackle," John Lewis and Dizzy Gillespie's "Two Bass Hit," and Thelonious Monk's "Straight No Chaser." The band points solidly to the future with the modal masterpiece "Milestones," which set the stage for the historic Kind of Blue. Davis's own tune, "Sid's Ahead" has a melodic line like Benny Golson's "Killer Joe," and "Billy Boy" features Garland, Chambers, and Jones and is a stylistic shout to Ahmad Jamal. This superbly remastered edition of Milestones contains three alternate takes. "Two Bass Hit" snaps, crackles, and pops with Jones's rope-a-dope rhythms. The title track rings with an even more lyrical statement by Davis, and on "Straight, No Chaser" Coltrane delivers an even more harmonically daring solo, while Adderley takes on Trane's supersonic scalar style, capped by Chambers's grooving solo. A classic recording from a classic group. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Customer Reviews

No Mediocre Middle Child
This was Miles' second album for Columbia. But because it came in right after his heralded first Columbia album, "Round Midnight," and just before the immortal "Kind of Blue," it tends to be overlooked in the Miles' canon. Make no mistake about it, the album contains some of the most fiery yet organized music of Miles on record. Cannonball, after all, was not on the 1st Columbia album, and "Kind of Blue," as magical as it is, often acquires a kind of meandering, moody quality due to its quiet, introspective nature.

"Milestones" also represents a kind of "second chance" for the members of Miles' sextet. Due to the personal and alcohol/drug-related problems of his sidemen, Miles simply decided to disband the group for most of 1957. When he had a change of heart and resurrected the sextet for this late 1957 recording, the other five members sensed they had to prove themselves to two audiences: the public and Miles himself.

Cannonball not only brings his characteristic fire to each of the selections, but stands up more effectively to Coltrane's advanced harmonies on this date than on the "Kind of Blue" session, in my opinion. The trio number with Red Garland is representative of some of Red's best trio work on the Prestige label but without the Rudy Van Gelder sound (which tends to make all pianists' touches sound the same). Moreover, I can vouch from memory and personal experience that the title tune, "Milestones," had a far greater influence on musicians' moving to modal and "free" harmonies than anything on "Kind of Blue" (perhaps because the latter album's singular beauty is beyond replication). Finally, the alternate takes appear to be first takes because Miles, if anything, sounds fresher and more inventive on these than on the master tracks. Like Sinatra, Miles had little patience with, or reason for, a second take.

Few Others Can Match It
I'd consider "Milestones" one of Miles Davis' five or so best albums, which means it's probably one of the best 15 or so albums in the entire jazz genre and perhaps one of the top 40 in any genre.
If you listen to the first two tracks and find it a bit off-kilter ("Dr. Jekyll") or slow ("Sid's Ahead"), keep listening. The final four tracks, particularly the brilliant "Miles" / "Milestones," will get you hooked. In fact, while Thelonious Monk gets credit for his classic composition "Straight, No Chaser," I believe that this album's version is the definitive one -- much like "All Along the Watchtower" may be a Bob Dylan song, but it really belongs to Jimi Hendrix.
Don't hesitate to buy it and make it a regular part of your collection. "Milestones" is well worth it!

One of my favorites.
I have virtually every album Miles has ever made. I began collecting his albums when I was in fifth grade. I own pretty much everything from the 1949 Live Performances in Paris with Tadd Dameron to Star People. This particular recording is among my favorites of all of those Miles albums. It swings like no other, and is also, along with Porgy & Bess, the direct link between Miles Ahead and Kind Of Blue. Any fan of trumpet or jazz music needs to own this. Miles Davis, John Coltrane on tenor, Cannonball Adderley on alto, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. With a group like this you'd think these guys would get in the way of each other because they're all so incredible. However, this is far from the case. They interact perfectly. From the brilliant fast pace of Jackie McLean's "Dr. Jekyll" to the stolen "Walkin'" remake "Sid's Ahead", Miles is in miraculous form on some bebop and blues. Cannonball and Trane really get into it as well. Listen to Trane tear through Dizzy Gillespie and John Lewis's "Two Bass Hit". "Miles" better known now as "Milestones" (either one is acceptable), has become a cool jazz classic and Miles sounds amazing on it. So does everyone else. "Billy Boy" gives Red Garland a chance to shine and finally solo (I don't recall him soloing on any of the previous tunes). Here Miles does not play, and reportedly asked Red to imitate Ahmad Jamal, one of his favorite pianists. What a fun tune, it swings like crazy. However, the best is saved for last on "Straight, No Chaser", with everyone going absolutely insane. Cannonball has a witty quotation of Bird's "Now's The Time" solo, check that out. Every solo is fun and swinging. If you're a fan of great music, you'll love this album. One of Miles's many great records.