Perhaps the most popular jazz album of all time had no follow up. Read Ashley Kahn’s brilliant book about the making of the album. Here’s where I explain why this album is so popular and timeless.
Funny how these two knocked off recording sessions can still knock our socks off today. That just makes it all so much more enjoyable. Best of all with these four albums? There are a bunch of mistakes and missed notes. I chose Workin’ because of the tunes, such as “In Your Own Sweet Way,” “Half Nelson,” and the iconic version of “If I Were a Bell” which opens the record with Miles’ muted trumpet, soon to become his signature sound.
For some of us coming of age in the 60s and 70s, we were able to secure them as two-album sets, such that many of us can’t say Workin’ without Steamin’ or Cookin’ without Relaxin’. Music from those two sessions were pushed out by Prestige as four albums: Workin’, Steamin’, Cookin’ and Relaxin’. One reason was that the band featured one of his great quintets with John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. Jazz musicians and scholars of subsequent generations would nonetheless view these recordings as forming a virtual Rosetta Stone for post-bop jazz.
The material for this album comes from two recording sessions in 1956, done clearly to fulfill contractual obligations to Prestige Records, so that Miles could move on to a more lucrative deal with Columbia Records. We’ve listed their choices, beyond my ten recommendations, below. We loved hearing from our listeners and followers about their favorites. After all, as several of our listeners pointed out on social media, choosing your favorite Miles Davis album can depend on the time of day or your emotional mood. We listed the albums in chronological order, rather than pick a number one through ten. In this case, I went with both critical mass as well as gut feel, relying on my own four decades as a fan and listener.
So coming up with a short list of essential albums in his catalog makes for an interesting challenge. But during a career of under five decades, he managed to change the direction of jazz at least that many times, albeit with the help of gifted collaborators along the way, like Gil Evans, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller and many others. The brilliant trumpeter and bandleader was only 65 years old when he died in 1991. On May 26, 2023, Miles Davis would have turned 94 years old.
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