A History Of Blue Note Records: 1953

The Miles Davis Sextet – April 20 1953

Richard Cook - Blue Note Records – Secker and Warburg 2001 pp 56

If Lion was disappointed with these results [of the first Blue Note session, see May 9 1952], he still convened another 'All Stars' session nearly a year later, on 20 April 1953. This time, everything turned out much better. Alt Blakey is his normal purposeful self at the drums. Tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath replaced McLean and brought one excellent theme, 'C.T.A.', to the date. Johnson also came in with two pieces, the dryly effective 'Kelo' and a stark ballad named 'Enigma' which actually features very little improvising - the only solo is given, surprisingly, to Coggins. Davis is excellent on 'Ray's Idea' and Bud Powell's 'Tempus Fugit', constructing fast, clear lines that have none of the preening quality which masks so much of his later playing. Blakey's superb drumming on both surviving takes of 'Tempus Fugit' underscores how important this musician was to Blue Note: he seems to raise the musical conversation on every date he plays in this period.

What is also striking is how sharp and well-drawn the ensemble playing is. It was a feature which Alfred Lion set great store by. Perhaps Blue Note's most renowned characteristic of all was their pre-session preparation.

Jimmy Heath
Photo by Francis Wolff

Bob Blumenthal – Miles Davis Volume 2 RVG CD Reissue Liner Notes – 2001

Producer Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records has often been credited with an ability to get performances out of great musicians that they never quite matched on other labels. This Miles Davis Sextet session of April 20, 1953 is a case in point, at least as it relates to the trumpeter's other work at the time. Davis taped three sessions for Prestige in early 1953 as well, yet none produced music of the brilliance heard here. It's not that Prestige skimped on supporting players, given that Charlie Parker (on tenor), Sonny Rollins, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, John Lewis and Max Roach were among the featured notables; or that the compositions recorded for Prestige were trite or unoriginal. Blue Note just seemed to find a balance of sidemen, old and new material, and ambience, the later generated in major part on this occasion by the dynamic Art Blakey. The results were so spectacular that the generally critical Davis even admitted to considering this one of his most successful days in a recording studio.

Photo by Francis Wolff

The instrumentation is similar to that of his first Blue Note date from a year earlier (included on Miles Davis Volume 1 in the RVG series), with tenor sax in place of alto sax. Both J.J. Johnson and Gil Coggins had appeared on the earlier session. Brothers Jimmy and Percy Heath were best known at this point for their respective tenures with Dizzy Gillespie, although Percy's new cooperative band the Modern Jazz Quartet was just starting to gain attention. Blakey was also garnering some overdue notices through his touring with clarinetist Buddy DeFranco's quartet. Davis, Johnson and the Heaths had also been part of a band called Jazz, Inc. that worked briefly in this period. These are players who were clearly comfortable with each other, and who may have played some of this very music in live performance.

Davis was said to have a touch as rare as Lion's when it came to getting the most out of musicians, and this is one early example of his ability to both find players with new ideas and provide a forum in which those ideas could be best expressed. The six selections, originally released on 78 singles and as the 10" LP Miles Davis Volume 2, are equally divided between new compositions and lines that had gained currency among modernists in the previous decade. There are also five alternate takes, three of which first appeared when the masters were first reissued on 12" LP. The present program gives us all of the master takes first, in the order of recording, followed by the five alternates. With one exception noted below, the alternates were recorded prior to the master takes.

Photo by Francis Wolff

The first two compositions are by Johnson. "Kelo" begins and ends with horn fanfares and drum breaks, and finds the sextet totally in synch in its execution of the 24-bar ABA theme. Davis plays two choruses, followed by Heath and Johnson (one apiece) and eight bars from Coggins on each take; and while the playing is uniformly strong, the leader and Heath assert themselves more on the master. One constant here and throughout the session is the earth-moving force of Blakey's beat.

"Enigma" is one of the great neglected jazz ballads. It's hard to understand why more musicians haven't covered this gem, given the sensitivity of Davis's reading and the taut arrangement that surrounds his horn. Clearly Lion was impressed with Johnson's contributions, because the trombonist recorded the first of his own three sessions for Blue Note two months later. Davis and Coggins are the soloists on both takes, each of which features some of Davis's strongest trumpet work of the period.

"Ray's Idea" is one of two titles identified with the 1946 Dizzy Gillespie big band and its chief arranger, Walter "Gil" Fuller. The Ray in this instance is bassist Ray Brown, who was responsible for the very boppish initial phrase of the melody. The introduction and the interlude between trumpet and tenor solos come from Fuller's arrangement, while the riff that launches Davis's first chorus on each take is a variation on the material that Gillespie blew over on the original recording. Blakey's forceful accompaniment was a step beyond the commentary of even the most active bop bomb-droppers, and almost steals the spotlight from soloists Davis, Heath and Coggins; yet both horn soloists display great poise and thrive on the active percussion commentary.

Blakey was only warming up, however, as we hear on the master take of Bud Powell's "Tempus Fugit." His playing is like a manifesto of the new hard bop style, and some of the most incredible drumming ever committed to record. The ringing ride cymbal, left-hand combinations, rim shots and deep tom-tom patterns would all become trademarks in Blakey's work with his own bands, and they reach a peak during Johnson's two heated choruses; then we get 16 bars of Afro-Latin grooving before the theme returns. This is the one instance on the session where the master take was cut before the alternate. Lion may have asked for one more in an attempt to get the band to come out of the introduction and into the theme more cleanly. They do, but the ensuing performance sounds button-downed in comparison, and the producer wisely stayed with the hotter initial take.

Photo by Francis Wolff

"C.T.A. " let the world know that Jimmy Heath was also a very talented composer. It presents a different kind of harmonic movement than the standard bop tune, one that each of the horn soloists (Davis in particular on the alternate take) find quite inspiring. The first trumpet chorus includes a band riff similar to the one heard on "Ray's Idea." Coggins was considered a superior accompanist, and shows why with his support 'here. Some indecision on the final theme chorus on the alternate take may have occasioned the subsequent master.

"I Waited for You," which had been the Gillespie big band's theme song and a feature for vocalist Kenny "Pancho" Hagood, is performed by Davis and the rhythm section. It has a lovely introduction and coda from Coggins, who subsequently recorded with his boyhood friends Sonny Rollins and Jackie McLean as well as John Coltrane, and who joined Rollins and Percy Heath in a 1995 concert in New York City. Davis plays a ravishing theme chorus that sticks uncommonly close to the melody, followed by a half-chorus that takes greater liberties yet still keeps the striking melody in focus.

These recordings were made at a particularly difficult point in Davis's life, during which he was in the throes of heroin addiction. Soon he would retreat to his family's home in Illinois and conquer his habit through sheer force of will. The timeless strengths of this music, indicative of so much else that he would go on to accomplish, may have provided some of the motivation that Davis called upon to put his health and his career in order.

Ira Gitler: Miles Davis – Enigma – BLP 5071 Liner Notes – 2014

Miles Davis, trumpet; J.J. Johnson, trombone; Jimmy Heath, tenor saxophone; Jackie McLean, alto saxophone; Percy Heath, bass; Oscar Pettiford, bass; "Gil" Coggins, piano; Art Blakey, drums; Kenny Clarke, drums.

In May 1952 and April '53, Miles Davis cut these sides for Blue Note, sandwiching a date for Prestige, where I produced him. The Blue Note recordings that first came out as singles and 10-inch LPs were later collected on 12-inch LPs and eventually on CD with alternate takes. Somehow, a few alternate takes went missing, but now we have them and they are a joy to hear.

Photo by Francis Wolff

Listening to these tracks after six decades recalled the atmosphere of the era so vividly for me, I was knocked out. Miles' career was all over the map, but here he's at his hard bop best, leading a collection of all-stars. They could play a mile a minute, then slow it down to great effect.

The beautiful "Enigma," especially, gave me a deep feeling of nostalgia. Every time I've listened to it, I hear more and something different: Percy Heath's big bass sound, Art Blakey's understated drumming, Miles' commanding tone, Jimmy Heath's wonderful second melody behind Miles and the fine Bud Powell-like run from Gil Coggins, the least-known of these musicians, but a fine pianist. This rhapsodic J.J. Johnson composition cries out for lyrics.

"Kelo" is a tour de force for Blakey's explosive drumming, the engine driving this machine as he engages in conversation with the rest of the band. Miles immaculately throws out some serious notes here.

The two takes of bassist Oscar Pettiford's "Chance It" show how well top flight musicians play at top speed. J.J. is particularly marvelous on trombone. Jackie McLean's staccato alto pierces the melody. Kenny Clarke, usually so tight on the drum kit, clatters along like Blakey. And Miles gets playful on both takes, his little quote from "Go In And Out The Window" serving as a pivot during his solos.

After all these years, this music still sounds amazingly fresh, proving these guys were masters. They were technicians with soul.

Note: Previously released versions of these tunes, noting take numbers similar to those above, are listed incorrectly; these are the correct take numbers.

Down Beat 18 November 1953 Volume 20 Issue 23

A largely inconclusive session— except for Art Blakey. Recorded in April, before Miles left for the coast, the sides contain some of his better recent solo moments, but he rarely seems to feel wholly free or relaxed.

Davis is at his best here on the two bittersweet ballads. Walter Fuller’s Waited and J. J. Johnson’s Enigma. Being primarily a lyric trumpet player, Miles does generally express himself more memorably at slow and medium tempos. His intonation is not the steadiest nor is that of some of the ensemble choruses (e. g., Tempus Fugit).

J.J. is almost always apt but is not given enough space to extend his ideas. Young tenor Jimmy Heath, Percy’s brother, displays— as of this date—little tonal or imaginative distinction. Pianist Gil Coggins isn’t heard fully enough to warrant expanded appraisal, but I'd certainly like to hear more. Percy’s bass work is firstrate, and his tone has become more full and sure over the last two years. It is Art Blakey, however, who rides through these sides like William The Conqueror. Not only does he lay down a remarkable, swinging beat, but his individual aid to | each soloist is reminiscent of the | imaginativeness of the late Sid Catlett (hear Art behind Johnson ix. Tempus Fugit).

That third star is wholly due to Blakey. (Blue Note LP 5022)

Peter Losin – Session Notes

The original material on Peter Losin’s excellent Miles Davis Reference site here:
http://www.plosin.com/MilesAhead/Sessions.aspx?s=530420

Davis, still in the throes of heroin addiction, participated in four desultory studio sessions in the first half of 1953. He was working very little, usually as a guest with people like Charlie Parker (February) or Dizzy Gillespie (May). The group assembled here is similar to that used for Davis's 1952 Blue Note session -- Johnson and Coggins are included again; Jimmy and Percy Heath replace Jackie McLean and Oscar Pettiford; and Kenny Clarke is replaced by Art Blakey.

The solos on "Kelo" are by Davis (2x), Heath (1x), Johnson (1x), and Coggins (eight measures). The ensemble is tight on both takes, and Davis's staccato phrasing is striking.

Both takes of "Enigma," a tune based on the chord changes of "Conception," are nicely arranged, with horn figures behind Davis's sensitive solo. He takes a full chorus, and Coggins and Davis split the next one. Davis has more control of his tone and phrasing on this date than on the Prestige sessions from this period.

"Ray's Idea" was written by Walter "Gil" Fuller for Ray Brown. Its angular opening, reminiscent of "Salt Peanuts," reminds us of this tune's roots in the Gillespie Big Bands of the mid-1940s. Davis's two-chorus solo ends with a trumpet/saxophone interlude, and Jimmy Heath follows with two choruses of his own. Coggins, with solid support from Percy Heath, solos briefly before Davis enters to finish the out chorus. Coggins's solo turn is much more active on the master take.

Bud Powell's "Tempus Fugit" was already in Davis's live repertoire in the early 1950s -- it's included in a WJZ radio broadcast from Birdland in February 1951. Here it is a showcase for Art Blakey, the drummer on the earlier live version. The first of the two full takes preserved is the master. Davis takes two choruses (note again his staccato phrasing), Heath one, Johnson two; Blakey's effervescent drumming is especially effective during Johnson's solo, and he has a half-chorus with Percy Heath before Davis rejoins for the rest of the closing chorus. The structure is the same for the alternate. Davis's solo runs over into Heath's space, and Blakey's accompaniment is a slightly less rambunctious than the master.

Jimmy Heath's "C.T.A." presented some challenges for the group, and the alternate take is ragged in places (listen at 2:47 during the closing chorus); the master is much tighter. On both takes the solos are by Johnson (1x), Heath (1x) followed by a short staccato interlude, then Davis (2x).

Davis is the only soloist on "I Waited for You," and his solo does not stray far from the very pretty melody. He seems unsure of himself.

Independent Press Telegram – 1 November 1953 MILES DAVIS..."Man With a Horn"...Vol. 2 (Bluenote). Tasty thing this, with Miles blowing ever so pretty on Waited and also on Enigma. Not his best by any means, but it's still Miles, and he swings.