Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 is a four-CD album compiling five of Miles Davis's performances at the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island and two European concerts branded under the Festival moniker with one additional track recorded in New York City.Miles Davis website album entry, accessed October 6, 2015
The first disc contains Davis's debut appearance at the 1955 festival and his headlining performance from 1958, the later of which was originally released in part as one side of the split-LP by Columbia in 1964 as Miles & Monk at Newport and given its first complete release as part of The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis with John Coltrane box set in 1999 before being released individually as Miles Davis at Newport 1958 in 2001. The second disc contains previously unreleased performances from the 1966 and 1967 festivals. The third disc contains the Newport Festival concert from 1969 which was released as part of Bitches Brew Live in 2011, a complete previously unreleased concert from Berlin in 1973 and one performance from New York in 1975. The fourth CD contains a complete previously unreleased performance from Switzerland in 1971.
Reception
Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 received positive reviews on release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 92, based on 14 reviews which is categorised as universal acclaim. Matt Collar's review on AllMusic stated "Miles Davis at Newport details the association between Davis and the festival, each performance serendipitously documenting his ever-morphing sound, from swinging cool jazz in the '50s to aggressive, free jazz-influenced modal bop in the '60s and finally to funky, acid-soaked fusion in the '70s." PopMatterss John Paul gave the album 10 out of 10 saying "Perhaps no other recording better illustrates how Miles Davis bridged the gap between jazz's old guard and its younger visionaries." The Observers Dave Gelly said "Summer is traditionally the season for unearthing treasures from the jazz archives, and this is a real prize."
Track listing
Personnel
July 15, 1955 — Newport Jazz Festival, Festival Field, Newport, RI All-Star Jam Session: Miles Davis – trumpet Zoot Sims – tenor saxophone Gerry Mulligan – baritone saxophone Thelonious Monk – piano Percy Heath – bass Connie Kay – drums
July 3, 1958 — Newport Jazz Festival, Festival Field, Newport, RI Miles Davis – trumpet Cannonball Adderley – alto saxophone John Coltrane – tenor saxophone Bill Evans – piano Paul Chambers – bass Jimmy Cobb – drums
July 4, 1966 & July 2, 1967 — Newport Jazz Festival, Festival Field, Newport, RI Miles Davis – trumpet Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone Herbie Hancock – piano Ron Carter – bass Tony Williams – drums
July 5, 1969 — Newport Jazz Festival, Festival Field, Newport, RI Miles Davis – trumpet Chick Corea – electric piano Dave Holland – bass Jack DeJohnette – drums
October 22, 1971 — Newport Jazz Festival in Europe, Neue Stadthalle, Dietikon, Switzerland Miles Davis – electric trumpet with wah-wah Gary Bartz – soprano saxophone, alto saxophone Keith Jarrett – electric piano, organ Michael Henderson – electric bass Leon "Ndugu" Chancler – drums Don Alias – percussion James Mtume Foreman – percussion
November 1, 1973 — Newport Jazz Festival in Europe, Berlin Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany Miles Davis – electric trumpet with wah-wah, organ Dave Liebman – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute Pete Cosey – electric guitar, percussion Reggie Lucas – electric guitar Michael Henderson – electric bass Al Foster – drums James Mtume Foreman – percussion
July 1, 1975 — Newport Jazz Festival – New York, Avery Fisher Hall, New York, NY Miles Davis – electric trumpet with wah-wah, organ Sam Morrison – tenor saxophone Pete Cosey – electric guitar, percussion Reggie Lucas – electric guitar Michael Henderson – electric bass Al Foster – drums James Mtume Foreman – percussion
References