Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

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Holden
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Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Holden »

Following with the poll from last month, in which I asked you to post your favorite U2 songs and albums in ranked lists and then compiled them, this month we will be moving on to the next artist on the list, Miles Davis! Please post as many songs/albums in your lists as you would like! We'll only be doing studio albums, no live albums, so I'll post a list of eligible ones below. Thank you and have fun! Deadline will be April 7th, and I will be continuing to use the EOY Albums/Songs formula for this one.

Albums:
1 | The New Sounds | 1951
2 | Young Man with a Horn | 1953
3 | Blue Period | 1953
4 | The Compositions of Al Cohn | 1953
5 | Miles Davis Volume 2 | 1953
6 | Miles Davis, Volume 3 | 1954
7 | Miles Davis Quartet | 1954
8 | Miles Davis Quintet | 1954
9 | Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins | 1954
10 | Classics in Jazz/Birth of the Cool | 1954
11 | Miles Davis All Star Sextet | 1955
12 | Miles Davis All Stars, Volume 1 | 1955
13 | Miles Davis All Stars, Volume 2 | 1955
14 | Blue Moods | 1955
15 | The Musings of Miles | 1955
16 | Miles | 1956
17 | Quintet / Sextet | 1956
18 | Collectors' Items | 1956
19 | 'Round About Midnight | 1957
20 | Cookin' | 1957
21 | Miles Ahead | 1957
22 | Relaxin' | 1958
23 | Ascenseur pour l'échafaud | 1958
24 | Milestones | 1958
25 | Porgy and Bess | 1959
26 | Kind of Blue | 1959
27 | Workin' | 1959
28 | Sketches of Spain | 1960
29 | Steamin' | 1961
30 | Someday My Prince Will Come | 1961
31 | Seven Steps to Heaven | 1963
32 | Quiet Nights | 1963
33 | E.S.P. | 1965
34 | Miles Smiles | 1967
35 | Sorcerer | 1967
36 | Nefertiti | 1968
37 | Miles in the Sky | 1968
38 | Filles de Kilimanjaro | 1969
39 | In a Silent Way | 1969
40 | Bitches Brew | 1970
41 | Jack Johnson | 1971
42 | Live-Evil | 1971
43 | On the Corner | 1972
44 | The Man with the Horn | 1981
45 | Star People | 1983
46 | Decoy | 1984
47 | You're Under Arrest | 1985
48 | Tutu | 1986
49 | Music from Siesta | 1987
50 | Amandla | 1989
51 | Aura | 1989
52 | Dingo | 1991
53 | Doo-Bop | 1992

Thanks to Honorio for help with this list of albums and also for continued support with the Artist of the Month Game!
Last edited by Holden on Sun Mar 21, 2021 1:40 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Schüttelbirne
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Schüttelbirne »

A few things about eligibility:

1. I see that Modern Jazz Trumpets is not eligible, probably because it features multiple artists sharing one album.

2. Could we substitute Classics in Jazz for Birth of the Cool? It's not the exact same album, but nobody cares about the former.

3. The only album I haven't heard from the ones listed is Jazz Track. Its first half features the entirety of Ascenseur pour l'échafaud, so I'm not sure if it should be eligible.

4. Here's a really important one: If Water Babies is eligible, why aren't Circle in the Round and Directions? That really makes no sense since they're the same type of album. Also Miles in the Sky is missing, which should definitely be eligible (thanks to carlos74 for that, I totally expected it to be there so I didn't check).

5. If Jazz Track, which is half a compilation, is eligible, why isn't Boppin' the Blues which features only previously unreleased material, even though it is from the archives? I mean, the entirety of the First Great Quintet albums are basically from when Miles was long gone from Prestige, and it was released during his lifetime.

6. I would also like to make a case for Agharta, Pangaea and Dark Magus, which are technically live albums, but don't really feature old material. They are also the most important albums in the artistic development of Davis and serve as the natural endpoint from his journey from Bebop and Cool Jazz over Hard Bop, Post-Bop and Modal Jazz to his own versions of Fusion and Jazz-Funk. These three live albums are tremendously important (and they also happen to be some of the best material he ever recorded). If it is decided that they're not eligible, would the songs be eligible (though "Gondwana" is basically an album by itself)?


That's basically it. I'll post my lists sometime later, though the song list will be largely determined by the randomizer because who can rank all this good stuff?!
Last edited by Schüttelbirne on Mon Mar 01, 2021 3:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by carlos74 »

Hi, I have provisionally included "Miles in the Sky" because it is listed as an album on RYM and Discogs and I don't know why it was left out. Anyway, thanks for the work.

Albums:

01 Kind of Blue (1959)
02 Classics in Jazz [Birth of the Cool] (1954)
03 In a Silent Way (1969)
04 Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958)
05 Cookin' With the Miles Davis Quintet (1957)
06 Round About Midnight (1957)
07 Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet (1958)
08 Workin' With the Miles Davis Quintet (1959)
09 Steamin' With the Miles Davis Quintet (1961)
10 E.S.P. (1965)
11 Someday My Prince Will Come (1961)
12 Sketches of Spain (1960)
13 Porgy and Bess (1959)
14 Miles Ahead (1957)
15 Milestones (1958)
16 Miles Smiles (1967)
17 Nefertiti (1968)
18 Sorcerer (1967)
19 Filles de Kilimanjaro (1969)
20 Miles in the Sky (1968)
21 Get Up With It (1974)
22 Bitches Brew (1970)
23 A Tribute to Jack Johnson (1971)
24 On the Corner (1972)
25 Tutu (1986)
26 Decoy (1984)
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Honorio »

Hi Schüttelbirne (and carlos74)!

Since I was the one who suggested to Holden which albums should be included I’m going to answer to you myself (even if Holden would have the last word in it). Holden usually does not include compilations, archival albums and live albums for the monthly polls. Every album you mention has been considered. Let's analyze it:
- "Modern Jazz Trumpets" features only 3 songs by Miles Davis, moreover these songs were previously released as singles the same year. So it should be considered a various artist compilation, so probably we should keep it as not eligible.
- "Classics in Jazz" is a half compilation, when it was released in 1954 half of the songs (4) were previously released as singles but the other 4 songs were previously unreleased. Three years later (in 1957) the album was completed when four more songs were added (all of them previously released as singles) being renamed "The Birth of the Cool." This 1957 album has received a lot of acclaim appearing in some all-time lists but it's technically a compilation. The 1954 album is only a half compilation. Maybe we could include it on the list as "Classics in Jazz/The Birth of the Cool" and Holden could add the votes separately received for both albums to the same one.
- I had a lot of doubts about including or not the "Jazz Track" album. The first side of the album contains the "Ascenseur pour l’échafaud" album (at the time only released in France) but the second side features 3 originals not previously released. Holden will have the last word but maybe we can remove it from the main list.
- "Miles in the Sky" is eligible, of course, I simply forgot it.
- The three live albums released in 1976 and 1977 ("Agharta," "Pangaea" and "Dark Magus"), as you stated, don't include material previously released in studio albums. But Holden usually doesn't include these kind of albums (he made an exception with Neil Young's "Time Fades Away" due to our insistence). He will decide on this. Anyway you can include tracks from these albums on the song lists, of course.
- The problem comes mainly here with the archival albums. Holden usually doesn't include archival albums, for instance "The Promise" was not included in the Bruce Springsteen poll (even if sometimes classic archival albums like "The Basements Tapes" has been included). Those three albums you mentioned ("Water Babies," "Circle in the Round" and "Directions") are archival albums. These albums were released during the retirement of Davis in the second half of the 1970s. Why I have included "Water Babies" and not the other two? Well, "Circle in the Round" included songs recorded from 1955 to 1970 and "Directions" songs recorded from 1960 to 1970. Moreover both albums include some songs previously released (even if in different versions), so these albums feel more like compilations. "Water Babies" include only material from two different sessions (1967 and 1968) without any previously released song. Anyway you're right, probably we should decide to include either the three albums or none, the difference is too subtle. Again Holden will have the last word.
- I think we should not include "Boppin' the Blues." Even if it's credited to Miles Davis it includes only sessions of him as a sideman for Earl Coleman and Ann Baker. If we include this we should have to include a lot of compilations credited to Miles Davis but including mainly material of him as a sideman on Charlie Parker band or other bands.
- Another archival album we haven't included is "Rubberband" (recorded in 1985 but not released until 2019).

So probably we should leave out "Modern Jazz Trumpets," "Jazz Track" and "Boppin' the Blues" and we can fuse "Classics in Jazz" with "The Birth of the Cool." About the three live albums and the three (or four) archival albums let's wait for Holden's opinion. And of course, we will add "Miles in the Sky"!!
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Holden »

I traditionally only want to include archival albums when they fall under the “unreleased album” category, where they were recorded with the intention of being a studio album but went unreleased until a later date. So on those archival albums, I’m gonna say no to all three. I’m also gonna say no to Jazz Track. I’m going to combine Classics in Jazz and Birth of the Cool. I’m still not sure about the live albums. Would someone more knowledgeable help me out. Are they analogous to Rust Never Sleeps/Time Fades Away, or are people passionate about their inclusion? The top post will be edited by tonight.
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by poorpete »

1 | Kind of Blue | 1959
2 | Sketches of Spain | 1960
3 | In a Silent Way | 1969
4 | Bitches Brew | 1970
5 | Classics in Jazz/Birth of the Cool | 1954
6 | On the Corner | 1972

I definitely should listen to more given how perfect the first two on this list are. #5 and #6 I bought just before and after Kind of Blue in my youth and were disappointments so I gave up on investigating further for a long time. Now I have no excuse :-)
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Schüttelbirne »

Thanks Honorio and Holden! It's all a bit convoluted...

If you want to shelve all archival albums, his entire output from the '70s would be gone, because he didn't record any material in the studio after On the Corner. Columbia just kept on releasing albums with recordings from previous sessions, so from the discography you wouldn't know that Davis didn't touch his trumpet for six years in the late '70s. The problem here is that a lot of the material that ended up on albums was not specifically recorded for a certain album. He didn't sit down and thought: "I need another album; I'm gonna put this composition on there and maybe something from Monk etc."
Instead he organized sessions that were then later turned into albums by the producers. The four ... with the Miles Davis Quintet albums were compiled from two recording sessions that were supposed to ensure enough material was present to fulfill Davis's contract with Prestige over albums.
Of course there are cases where there was a plan for an album, especially the further into the '60s we get (mostly involving his work with Macero at Columbia). But it's not like nobody ever intended for the songs on the so-called "archival albums" to be put onto an album, Columbia just released them when they didn't have any material left.

In short: You can exclude them if you want to, but it's not three albums, it's five (Big Fun, Get Up with It, Water Babies, Circle in the Round, Directions. Quiet Nights was released without Miles's blessing and features outtakes from his sessions with Gil Evans (intended to be an album one day, but not in its unfinished form), but it's a 1963 album.


I will still put them on my list (then just don't count them) because they're an integral part of his work, just like the live albums.
To explain the live albums: The material on them is not new and was performed on studio albums before, you just wouldn't know it, because he titles the tracks something like "Prelude" and "Interlude". They are medleys of existing tracks but with a large degree of improvisation. Michael Henderson suddenly starts playing "So What" for like half a minute in Agharta, but nobody seems to pick it up, so they just leave it. It's hard to realize that if you're not a music scholar, because you'd need to be familiar with Davis's "coded phrases" that signified to his band that they are gonna change from one song to the next without a break (that last part is rather important; the medley really goes on for the entire length of the album). The set lists for all concerts were very similar, but you wouldn't notice it because all the songs are changed almost beyond recognition.
I see these live albums as the ultimate endpoint of his development as an artist that started with the Bebop of The New Sounds and evolved over his co-invention of Cool Jazz, his two Great Quintets, his work with Gil Evans on orchestral jazz and the development of his very own Jazz Fusion sound to these incredibly difficult-to-grasp concerts (which are of course just examples of the stuff he did all the time while he was on tour).
I can certainly understand why these wouldn't be eligible. On the other hand: He didn't record any new studio material because he was pretty sure nobody liked him anymore (after the bad reception of On the Corner and his failing in DownBeat's critics poll), so he just did what he wanted and that was concerts.
I don't know, these three albums just seem like a central part of his body of work to me and leaving them out of any albums ranking would be misrepresenting his music in a way. (It also would deprive me of my number 1)


Lists are probably coming later today.
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Gillingham »

Albums:

1. Kind of Blue
2. Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
3. Milestones
4. In a Silent Way
5. On the Corner
6. Miles Smiles
7. 'Round About Midnight
8. Sketches of Spain
9. Workin' With the Miles Davis Quintet
10. Nefertiti
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Holden »

I'm going to conclusively say no to the five archival albums from the seventies as well as the three live albums. Feel free to still include them in your lists, though!
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Schüttelbirne »

Not eligible albums in cursive. I feel like I shouldn't have said anything, then his best period wouldn't be left out (though I do understand that it's in the interest of making the lists from different months comparable). I can only recommend for everybody to also check that stuff out, it's great. Also I dread the eventual winner...
Songs later.

ALBUMS
1 | Miles Davis | Agharta | 1975
2 | Miles Davis Quintet | Miles Smiles | 1967
3 | Miles Davis | Bitches Brew | 1970
4 | Miles Davis | Sketches of Spain | 1960
5 | Miles Davis | Pangaea | 1976

6 | The Miles Davis Quintet | Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet | 1957
7 | Miles Davis | A Tribute to Jack Johnson | 1971
8 | Miles Davis | Nefertiti | 1968
9 | Miles Davis | Get Up with It | 1974
10 | Miles Davis | In a Silent Way | 1969

11 | The Miles Davis Quintet | Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet | 1959
12 | Miles Davis | Dark Magus | 1977
13 | Miles Davis | Kind of Blue | 1959
14 | Miles Davis | 'Round About Midnight | 1957
15 | Miles Davis | Filles de Kilimanjaro | 1969

16 | Miles Davis | Live-Evil | 1971
17 | Miles Davis | Sorcerer | 1967
18 | Miles Davis | Circle in the Round | 1979
19 | Miles Davis | Someday My Prince Will Come | 1961
20 | Miles Davis | Birth of the Cool | 1957

21 | Miles Davis | Ascenseur pour l'échafaud | 1958
22 | The Miles Davis Quintet | Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet | 1961
23 | Miles Davis | On the Corner | 1972
24 | The Miles Davis Quintet | Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet | 1958
25 | Miles Davis | Milestones | 1958

26 | Miles Davis | Big Fun | 1974
27 | Miles Davis | Water Babies | 1976
28 | Miles Davis & Marcus Miller | Music from Siesta | 1987
29 | Miles Davis | Aura | 1989
30 | Miles Davis | Directions | 1981

31 | Miles Davis | E.S.P. | 1965
32 | Miles Davis All Stars | Miles Davis All Stars, Vol. 1 | 1955
33 | Miles Davis | Miles in the Sky | 1968
34 | Miles Davis | Blue Moods | 1955
35 | Miles Davis | Miles Davis, Vol. 3 | 1954

36 | Miles Davis | The Man with the Horn | 1981
37 | Miles Davis + 19 | Miles Ahead | 1957
38 | Miles Davis | Porgy and Bess | 1959
39 | Miles Davis All Star Sextet | Miles Davis All Star Sextet | 1955
40 | Miles Davis | Star People | 1983

41 | Miles Davis | Young Man with a Horn | 1953
42 | Miles Davis Quartet | Miles Davis Quartet | 1954
43 | Miles Davis | Seven Steps to Heaven | 1963
44 | Miles Davis Quartet | The Musings of Miles | 1955
45 | Miles Davis All Stars | Miles Davis All Stars, Vol. 2 | 1955

46 | Miles Davis & Milt Jackson | Quintet / Sextet | 1956
47 | Miles Davis | Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins | 1954
48 | Miles Davis | You're Under Arrest | 1985
49 | Miles Davis | The Compositions of Al Cohn | 1953
50 | Miles Davis & Michel Legrand | Dingo | 1991

51 | Miles Davis | Blue Period | 1953
52 | Miles Davis | Amandla | 1989
53 | Miles Davis | Miles Davis, Vol. 2 | 1953
54 | Miles Davis | Decoy | 1984
55 | The New Miles Davis Quintet | Miles | 1956

56 | Miles Davis | Bopping the Blues | 1987
57 | Miles Davis Quintet | Miles Davis Quintet | 1954
58 | Miles Davis | The New Sounds | 1952
59 | Fats Navarro / Dizzy Gillespie / Miles Davis / Kenny Dorham | Modern Jazz Trumpets | 1951
60 | Miles Davis | Tutu | 1986

61 | Miles Davis | Collectors' Items | 1956
62 | Miles Davis | Quiet Nights | 1963
63 | Miles Davis | Doo-Bop | 1992
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Schüttelbirne »

These lists are largely randomized, but they show the stuff I like (his catalogue is about 400 songs).

1 | Zimbabwe
2 | Prelude
3 | Yesternow
4 | Circle in the Round
5 | Freedom Jazz Dance (Evolution of the Groove)

6 | Concierto de Aranjuez
7 | Two Bass Hit
8 | Right Off
9 | It Never Entered My Mind
10 | Rated X

11 | Blue in Green
12 | So What
13 | Will O' the Wisp
14 | Bitches Brew
15 | Milestones

16 | Theme from Jack Johnson
17 | Pharaoh's Dance
18 | He Loved Him Madly
19 | Interlude
20 | Tout de suite

21 | Maiysha
22 | Saeta
23 | Duran
24 | Fat Time
25 | Bags' Groove

26 | Masqualero
27 | Boplicity
28 | Gone
29 | Mtume
30 | Siesta / Kitt's Kiss / Lost in Madrid, Pt. II

31 | Love for Sale
32 | Move
33 | It Ain't Necessarily So
34 | My Funny Valentine
35 | Hannibal

36 | Weirdo
37 | Frelon brun
38 | Madness
39 | Song No. 1
40 | Don't Sing Me the Blues

41 | Moon Dreams
42 | Flamenco Sketches
43 | Ms. Morrisine
44 | Four
45 | Take Off

46 | Conchita / Lament
47 | Star People
48 | One and One
49 | Water Babies
50 | Prayer (Oh, Doctor Jesus)

51 | Little Church
52 | Spanish Key
53 | Tadd's Delight
54 | Indigo
55 | Guinnevere

56 | Gondwana
57 | 'Round Midnight
58 | I'll Remember April
59 | My Old Flame
60 | All Blues

61 | The Theme
62 | Sanctuary
63 | Générique
64 | New Rhumba
65 | Orange

66 | Splash
67 | What I Say
68 | A Night in Tunisia
69 | Woody'N You
70 | Lazy Susan

71 | Theme for Augustine / Wind / Seduction / Kiss
72 | Oleo
73 | Teo
74 | Yesterdays
75 | Black Satin

76 | Helen Butte / Mr. Freedom X
77 | Dolores
78 | It's Only a Paper Moon
79 | Chance It
80 | Eighty-One

81 | I Don't Wanna Be Kissed (By Anyone But You)
82 | Footprints
83 | Pinocchio
84 | I've Always Got the Blues
85 | Dual Mr. Tillman Anthony

86 | Electric Red
87 | Moja
88 | Gingerbread Boy
89 | Surprise!
90 | Solea

91 | Swing Spring
92 | Aida
93 | The Pan Piper
94 | Directions I
95 | All of You

96 | Los Feliz
97 | Ah-Leu-Cha
98 | Stuff
99 | Godchild
100 | Blues by Five

101 | Jeru
102 | Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
103 | Tutu
104 | Water on the Pond
105 | Springsville

106 | Salt Peanuts
107 | Minor March
108 | Airegin
109 | E.S.P.
110 | Ahmad's Blues

111 | Blue Room
112 | Agitation
113 | Wili
114 | Miles Ahead
115 | Well You Needn't

116 | Blues No. 2
117 | Gemini/Double Image
118 | Blue Haze
119 | Alone Together
120 | If I Were a Bell

121 | Summertime
122 | Orbits
123 | Honky Tonk
124 | Go Ahead John
125 | Filles de Kilimanjaro

126 | Shhh / Peaceful
127 | Tune Up/When Lights Are Low
128 | I Didn't
129 | In a Silent Way
130 | Sur l'autoroute

131 | Capricorn
132 | Circle
133 | Surrey with the Fringe on Top
134 | Trane's Blues
135 | Tatu

136 | Nefertiti
137 | Someday My Prince Will Come
138 | Basin Street Blues
139 | Fall
140 | Walkin'

141 | Riot
142 | Pfrancing
143 | Israel
144 | Directions II
145 | Blue 'N' Boogie

146 | So Near, So Far
147 | Inamorata and Narration by Conrad Roberts
148 | Yellow
149 | Nature Boy
150 | Dear Old Stockholm
Last edited by Schüttelbirne on Mon Mar 22, 2021 3:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by griffo »

Albums:

1 - Sketches of Spain
2 - Round About Midnight
3 - Kind of Blue
4 - Seven Steps to Heaven
5 - Bitches Brew
6 - Miles Ahead
7 - In a Silent Way
8 - Miles Smiles
9 - Porgy and Bess
10 - Someday My Prince Will Come
11 - The Musings of Miles
12 - Steamin'
13 - Milestones
14 - Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
15 - Birth of the Cool
16 - Nefertiti
17 - Relaxin'
18 - Blue Moods
19 - Miles in the Sky
20 - E.S.P.
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by mileswide »

I set out with the aim of listening to 1 Miles album for each year covered in 2021's & 2022's run through the decades and succeeded in finding an album of his I could place on an all-time list (my #1 here, naturally). Albums while I remember:

1 | Miles Smiles | 1967
2 | Milestones | 1958
3 | On the Corner | 1972
4 | E.S.P. | 1965
5 | The New Sounds | 1952
6 | Miles Davis Vol. 2 | 1953
7 | Miles in the Sky | 1968
8 | Miles Davis Quartet [Blue Haze] | 1954
9 | Kind of Blue | 1959
10 | Sketches of Spain | 1960
Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall [The Complete Concert Edition | 1962
Miles & Monk at Newport | 1964
Modern Jazz Trumpets | 1951
11 | 'Round about Midnight | 1957
12 | Steamin' | 1961
13 | Workin' | 1959
14 | In a Silent Way | 1969
15 | Nefertiti | 1968
16 | The New Miles Davis Quintet/Miles | 1956
Birth of the Cool | 1957
17 | Tutu | 1986
18 | Blue Moods | 1955
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Fred »

Songs:

1. Blue in Green
2. In a Silent Way / It's About That Time
3. It Never Entered My Mind
4. Concierto de Aranjuez
5. Shhh / Peaceful
6. He Loved Him Madly (Panthalassa)
7. Pharaoh's Dance
8. So What
9. Freddie Freeloader
10. Flamenco Sketches
11. Nefertiti
12. All Blues
13. Right Off
14. Two-Bass Hit
15. Nature Boy
16. Prelude
17. Miles
18. Walkin'
19. Great Expectations
20. Bitches Brew
Last edited by Fred on Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:18 am, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by griffo »

Well, Miles Davis is really a whole album (or at least a whole "side") listening experience. With such breadth of genre and all the different lineups and song versions, any list of ranked Miles Davis songs would seem wildly disparate (even a bit unfair on some levels), or at the very least would require all kinds of asterisks, pointers and disclaimers. But sure, this isn't a scholarly exercise, so I'll play.

Songs:

1 - Solea
2 - Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
3 - 'Round Midnight
4 - So What
5 - Concierto de Aranjuez
6 - Tutu
7 - Generique
8 - Solar
9 - Bye Bye Blackbird
10 - Prelude
11 - Autumn Leaves
12 - Bag's Groove
13 - Florence sur Les Champs-Elysees
14 - Circle in the Round
15 - Nature Boy
16 - In a Silent Way / It's About That Time
17 - Pharaoh's Dance
18 - Blue in Green
19 - Petits Machins
20 - Love for Sale
21 - Stuff
22 - All of You
23 - Flamenco Sketches
24 - Stella by Starlight
25 - Zimbabwe
26 - Freddie Freeloader
27 - Spanish Key
28 - Someday My Prince Will Come
29 - Shhh / Peaceful
30 - Smooch
31 - Saeta
32 - Corcovado
33 - It Never Entered My Mind
34 - Easy Living
35 - Bitches Brew
36 - My Funny Valentine
37 - He Loved Him Madly
38 - All Blues
39 - Freedom Jazz Dance
40 - Stuff
41 - Nefertiti
42 - Seven Steps to Heaven
43 - Masqualero
44 - Hannibal
45 - One for Daddy-O
46 - Ah-Leu-Cha
47 - Basin Street Blues
48 - Summertime
49 - Prince of Darkness
50 - Old Folks
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by bonnielaurel »

This gave me some discoveries, but his best know album remains on top. I included some standards that I know from vocal versions, and recordings from the late forties up to the eighties.

Albums:
1 | Kind of Blue | 1959
2 | Milestones | 1958
3 | Porgy and Bess | 1959
4 | Someday My Prince Will Come | 1961
5 | Ascenseur pour l'échafaud | 1958
6 | Bitches Brew | 1970
7 | Blue Moods | 1955
8 | 'Round About Midnight | 1957
9 | You're Under Arrest | 1985
10 | Sketches of Spain | 1960
11 | Young Man with a Horn | 1953
12 | Miles Davis Quartet | 1954
13 | In a Silent Way | 1969
14 | Classics in Jazz/Birth of the Cool | 1954
15 | E.S.P. | 1965
16 | The New Sounds | 1951
17 | Relaxin' | 1958
18 | On the Corner | 1972
19 | Blue Period | 1953
20 | Seven Steps to Heaven | 1963

Songs:
1 | So What | 1959
2 | Milestones | 1958
3 | Summertime | 1959
4 | Someday My Prince Will Come | 1961
5 | Blue in Green | 1959
6 | All Blues | 1959
7 | Dr. Jackle | 1958
8 | Générique | 1958
9 | Pharaoh's Dance | 1970
10 | Nature Boy | 1955
11 | Bye Bye Blackbird | 1957
12 | Time After Time | 1985
13 | Flamenco Sketches | 1959
14 | Freddie Freeloader | 1959
15 | It Ain’t Necessarily So | 1959
16 | Bitches Brew | 1970
17 | Will o’ the Wisp | 1960
18 | I Fall in Love Too Easily | 1963
19 | Jeru | 1949
20 | E.S.P. | 1965
21 | Miles Ahead | 1954
22 | Human Nature | 1985
23 | My Old Flame | 1951
24 | If I Were a Bell | 1958
25 | 'Round Midnight | 1957
26 | Stella by Starlight | 1958
27 | Footprints | 1967
28 | Boplicity | 1949
29 | Dear Old Stockholm | 1953
30 | Right Off | 1971
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by mileswide »

Miles' boisterous stuff is more my bag than his cool jazz but the piano figure that opens It Never Entered My Mind turns slickness into an art form:

45 | Orbits | 1967
44 | How Am I l to Know | 1956
43 | So What | 1959
42 | Hand Jive | 1968
41 | Half Nelson | 1959
40 | Well You Needn't | 1961
39 | Pharaoh's Dance | 1970
38 | Shh/Peaceful | 1969
37 | Round Midnight | 1957
36 | Will o' the Wisp | 1960
35 | Stuff | 1968
34 | All Blues | 1959
33 | On the Corner/New York Girl/Thinkin' of One Thing and Doin' the Other | 1972
32 | Miles Ahead | 1954
31 | Straight, No Chaser [Live at the Newport Festival version] | 1958
30 | Stablemates | 1956
29 | New Rhumba | [Live at the 1961 Carnegie Hall version] | 1957
28 | Tempus Fugit | 1953
27 | E.S.P. | 1965
26 | Dig | 1952
25 | Dolores | 1967
24 | Blue in Green | 1959
23 | Sanctuary | 1970
22 | Walkin' [Live at the 1961 Carnegie Hall version] | 1957
21 | Eighty-One | 1965
20 | Godchild | 1949
19 | C.T.A. | 1953
18 | Tune-Up | 1954
17 | Concerto de Aranjuez: Adagio | 1960
16 | Milestones | 1958
15 | Four | 1954
14 | Teo [Live at Carnegie Hall version] | 1961
13 | Ah-Leu-Cha [Live at the 1958 Newport Festival version] | 1957
12 | Ray's Idea | 1953
11 | Gingerbread Boy | 1967
10 | Agitation | 1965
9 | Morpheus | 1951
8 | Conception | 1952
7 | Country Son | 1968
6 | Black Satin | 1972
5 | Footprints | 1967
4 | Two Bass Hit [Live at the 1958 Newport Festival version] | Originally released 1957
3 | Salt Peanuts | 1961
2 | It Never Entered My Mind | 1959
1 | Freedom Jazz Dance (Evolution of the Groove) | 1967
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by aalamar »

Albums:

1. You're Under Arrest
2. Tutu
3. Dingo
4. Decoy
5. Amandla
6. Music from Siesta
7. Kind of Blue
8. Sketches of Spain
9. The Man with the Horn
10. 'Round About Midnight
11. Porgy and Bess
12. Milestones
13. Classics in Jazz/Birth of the Cool
14. Miles Ahead
15. Collectors' Items
16. In a Silent Way
17. Star People
18. Bitches Brew
19. Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
20. On the Corner


(Am I the only one who thinks "You Are Under Arrest" and "Tutu" are just masterworks?)
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by aalamar »

Songs:

1. Human Nature
2. Time After Time
3. Backyard Ritual
4. Perfect Way
5. The Dream
6. Ms. Morrisine
7. Concert on the Runway
8. Full Nelson
9. Amandla
10. Code MD

11. Robot 415
12. Tutu
13. So What
14. Round Midnight
15. You're Under Arrest
16. Decoy
17. Big Time
18. Conchita/Lament
19. Summertime
20. Will O' the Wisp

21. Katia
22. Blue In Green
23. Going Home
24. The Arrival
25. Jo-Jo
26. Milestones
27. Feliz
28. Shhh/Peaceful
29. Concierto de Aranjuez
30. The Man With The Horn

31. Seat Betty
32. Intro: MD 1/Something's On Your Mind/MD 2
33. Don't Lose Your Mind
34. Splatch
35. Trumpet Cleaning
36. Letter as Hero
37. What It Is
38. Freaky Deaky
39. Siesta - Kitt's Kiss/Lost in Madrid Pt 2
40. All Blues

41. Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)
42. One Phone Call/Street Scenes
43. Portia
44. Club Entrance
45. Jilli
46. Catembe
47. Submission
48. Claire/Lost in Madrid Pt 5
49. Freddie Freeloader
50. Saeta

51. Ursula
52. Tadd's Delight
53. Two Bass Hit
54. There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon for New York
55. Rocker
56. Straight, No Chaser
57. Move
58. Venus de Milo
59. Jeru
60. Blues for Pablo
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Neil »

Songs

1. All Blues
2. In A Silent Way
3. So What
4. Blue in Green
5. Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
6. Shh/Peaceful
7. Bitches Brew
8. Round Midnight
9. Summertime
10.Flamenco Sketches
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Honorio »

aalamar wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 12:32 am(Am I the only one who thinks "You Are Under Arrest" and "Tutu" are just masterworks?)
I understand you, aalamar, those albums are great! But I'm afraid your opinion is unpopular, the much maligned Miles1980s discography is still waiting for a vindication. Jazz purists worship 1950s Miles (especially the first great Quintet) but also like the 1960s second great Quintet. Rock aficionados and music nerds worship late 1960s and 1970s Miles, from "Bitches Brew" to "Dark Magus" because of his rabid experimentalism and stubbornly innovative attitude. And casual listeners and mainstream audiences (like me before March of 2021) mainly like "Kind of Blue" and the albums that surround it ("Sketches of Spain," "Workin'," "Porgy and Bess" and "Milestones").

But his albums of the 1980s got enormous backlash mainly for: a) incorporating current sounds of the period, especially synthesizers (unfairly because Miles always used current sounds of the different periods, being latin, rock or funk), b) covering pop hits like "Human Nature" or "Time After Time" (also unfair, Miles during the 1950s and 1960s covered many pop tunes, like many other jazz musicians, thus elevating these tunes to the category of jazz standards, songs like "On Green Dolphin Street" or "Someday My Prince Will Come") and c) relaying mainly of his collaborators being like a guest on his own albums (also something that Miles did throughout his career, he always was the perfect scout talent, always discovering young musicians, incorporating them to his bands and pushing them to the status of jazz greats). Even if some of this criticism is justified, there is no such thing as a bad Miles Davis album, and the 1980s albums are not an exception. Probably not "You're Under Arrest" (I'm not too fan of it) but you can expect to see "Tutu" on the Top 10 of my list (well, or Top 15, there is too much competition).

Talking about my list, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able of doing it before the deadline. I'm listening to the whole discography of Miles Davis (including his records as a sideman) backwards, right now I'm in 1961 and I got the whole 1950s ahead and little spare time. So, Holden, I would like to ask for an extension of the deadline. Maybe 3 or 4 days could be enough. Until Sunday 4th maybe?
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Holden »

I can add a week’s extension, just like I did for Elvis.
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by antonius »

ALBUMS
1. Kind of Blue
2. In a Silent Way
3. Jack Johnson
4. On the Corner
5. Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
6. Bitches Brew
7. Get Up With It
8. Les Filles de Kilimanjaro
9. Tutu
10. Live-Evil

TRACKS
1. So What
2. Générique
3. On the Corner - take 4
4. In A Silent Way
5. Yesternow
6. All Blues
7. Flamenco Sketches
8. Sivad
9. On the Corner Suite
10. Mademoiselle Mabry
11. Florence sur les Champs Elysées
12. Shh / Peaceful
13. It's About that time
14. Right Off
15. Blue in Green
16. Tutu
17. Time after time
18. Human nature
19. Bitches Brew
20. Spanish Key
21. One and One
22. Helen Butte/Mr Freedom X
23. Freddie Freeloader
24. He Loved Him Madly
25. Red China Blues
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by aalamar »

Honorio wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 1:37 pm
aalamar wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 12:32 am(Am I the only one who thinks "You Are Under Arrest" and "Tutu" are just masterworks?)
I understand you, aalamar, those albums are great! But I'm afraid your opinion is unpopular...
Yes Honorio, you are right. I know few else love those albums. I do because I discovered Miles Davis in the 1980s. For me Miles was, at that time, a "modern" musician that had played old school jazz in his youth. Not the opposite. :D :D :D
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Honorio »

That's fine, aalamar! Yeah, Miles was "modern" throughout his whole career!
Holden wrote: Sun Mar 21, 2021 1:40 pmI can add a week’s extension, just like I did for Elvis.
Thank you!!
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Schüttelbirne »

About '80s Miles:

I didn't put them very high on my list, but that's not due to them being bad, and more due to the sheer awesomeness of the other stuff.
My problem with Tutu is mostly Miller's production which doesn't really work for me, except for the title track. But his 80s albums aren't bad.

His 90s album Doo-Bop is another case though, but its history explains why it sounds so weird. The rap tracks are pretty cringe-worthy (in my opinion).
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by sonofsamiam »

OK, here we go. I was very bummed to not be able to vote for Get Up with It or Agharta ... I understand the reasoning, though I feel we are applying a rock-oriented set of rules (due to live/archival albums often being greatest hits summaries or summations of leftovers) to jazz, which is just fundamentally different in approach.

But I digress, and I don't mean to re-litigate decided law. :whistle: I'd just love for folks to check out those albums!

Anyway, lists:

ALBUMS

1 | Bitches Brew
2 | Miles Smiles
3 | Kind of Blue
4 | In a Silent Way
5 | Jack Johnson
6 | Sketches of Spain
7 | On the Corner
8 | Filles de Kilimanjaro
9 | Nefertiti
10 | Live-Evil


TRACKS

1 | Pharaoh's Dance
2 | So What
3 | He Loved Him Madly
4 | Gingerbread Boy
5 | Prelude
6 | Concierto de Aranjuez
7 | In a Silent Way / It's About That Time
8 | Freedom Jazz Dance (Evolution of the Groove)
9 | All Blues
10 | Right Off
11 | Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
12 | Black Satin
13 | Footprints
14 | Petits Machins
15 | Blue in Green
16 | Bitches Brew
17 | It Never Entered My Mind
18 | Circle in the Round
19 | Theme from Jack Johnson
20 | Zimbabwe
21 | Stuff
22 | Shhh/Peaceful
23 | Nefertiti
24 | Two Bass Hit
25 | Sivad
26 | Will o' the Wisp
27 | Yesternow
28 | Calipso Freelimo
29 | Boplicity
30 | Tout de Suite
31 | On The Corner / New York Girl / Thinkin' of One Thing and Doin' Another / Vote for Miles
32 | Ife
33 | Spanish Key
34 | Maiysha
35 | Orbits
36 | E.S.P.
37 | Walkin'
38 | Flamenco Sketches
39 | Wili
40 | Rated X
41 | Tutu
42 | Milestones
43 | Pinocchio
44 | Jeru
45 | Gondwana
46 | Miles Ahead
47 | Sanctuary
48 | Airegin
49 | Circle
50 | Someday My Prince Will Come
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Schüttelbirne »

I put "Freedom Jazz Dance (Evolution of the Groove)" on #5 and the others fall down a bit. That's all the changes I made.

Thanks!
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Father2TheMan »

So I come into this as a COMPLETE novice to Davis.

I have only ever heard KIND OF BLUE, SKETCHES OF SPAIN and BITCHES BREW all the way through, probably twice each.

My plan of attack is to skip albums entirely this time. I made a Spotify library based on a quick spreadsheet that calculated a mean score for each of the songs getting mentioned at least twice in this thread, basically letting y'all be my curators.

My song list will probably be only 10 songs definitely no more than 25 skating in at the end of the time period a la Honorio.
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Live in Phoenix »

Albums:
1. Kind of Blue
2. Bitches Brew
3. In a Silent Way
4. Sketches of Spain
5. On the Corner

Songs:
1. All Blues
2. So What
3. Bitches Brew
4. Flamenco Sketches
5. Black Satin
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by FrankLotion »

I’ve been excited about this poll ever since Holden started this series since Miles has such an enormous discography (and my top 25 albums for him are all classics as far as I’m concerned).

I was hoping to make a much longer list of songs to cover the breadth of his career but I think I’ll have even less time to complete this in the coming weeks so I’ll settle for a round top 100.

Albums:

1. Kind of Blue
2. Bitches Brew
3. Sketches of Spain
4. Porgy and Bess
5. In a Silent Way
6. Birth of the Cool
7. Miles Ahead
8. 'Round About Midnight
9. Cookin’ With the Miles Davis Quintet
10. On the Corner
11. Milestones
12. Miles Smiles
13. Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
14. Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet
15. Workin' With the Miles Davis Quintet
16. Someday My Prince Will Come
17. Nefertiti
18. Tutu
19. Jack Johnson
20. Live-Evil
21. Doo-Bop
22. E.S.P.
23. Steamin' With the Miles Davis Quintet
24. Miles Davis Volume 2
25. Aura
26. Miles in the Sky
27. Filles de Kilimanjaro
28. Miles Davis All Star Sextet
29. Young Man with a Horn
30. Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins
31. Seven Steps to Heaven
32. Miles Davis Quintet
33. The New Sounds
34. Miles Davis Quartet
35. Quiet Nights
36. Sorcerer
37. Blue Period
38. Miles Davis All Stars, Volume 1
39. Miles Davis All Stars, Volume 2
40. Quintet / Sextet
41. The Man with the Horn
42. The Compositions of Al Cohn
43. Blue Moods
44. Miles
45. Miles Davis, Volume 3
46. Collectors' Items
47. The Musings of Miles
48. Amandla
49. Dingo
50. Star People
51. Music from Siesta
52. Decoy
53. You're Under Arrest

Songs:

1. So What
2. Move
3. Buzzard Song
4. Pharaoh’s Dance
5. All Blues
6. Will O’ the Wisp
7. Flamenco Sketches
8. It Never Entered My Mind
9. My Ship
10. ‘Round Midnight
11. Someday My Prince Will Come
12. Shhh / Peaceful
13. Solea
14. Spanish Key
15. Concierto de Aranjuez: Adagio
16. On the Corner...
17. The Maids of Cadiz
18. Airegin
19. Springsville
20. My Funny Valentine
21. Bitches Brew
22. Gone
23. Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)
24. I Loves You, Porgy
25. Footprints
26. In a Silent Way
27. The Pan Piper
28. Milestones
29. Black Satin
30. Well You Needn’t
31. Bye Bye Blackbird
32. Blue in Green
33. Two Bass Hit
34. Freddie Freeloader
35. Agitation
36. Générique
37. Deception
38. Lament
39. E.S.P.
40. Sanctuary
41. The Meaning of the Blues
42. Circle
43. Little One
44. Ah-Leu-Cha
45. Bess, You is My Woman Now
46. Jeru
47. Israel
48. New Rhumba
49. Salt Peanuts
50. Freedom Jazz Dance (Evolution of the Groove)
51. Dr. Jekyll
52. Budo
53. Mood
54. Nefertiti
55. Circle in the Round
56. Riot
57. Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
58. Right Off
59. Tomaas
60. Chez le photographe du motel
61. John McLaughlin
62. Portia
63. Helen Butte...
64. Feio
65. Conception
66. Zimbabwe
67. I Could Write a Book
68. Orbits
69. Eighty-One
70. Boplicity
71. Full Nelson
72. Yesternow
73. Hand Jive
74. Nature Boy
75. Delores
76. Surrey With the Fringe on Top
77. You’re My Everything
78. Madness
79. Something I Dreamed Last Night
80. Saeta
81. Gingerbread Boy
82. Old Folks
83. Blues By Five
84. Tutu
85. One and One
86. I Thought About You
87. Don’t Lose Your Mind
88. Pinocchio
89. Perfect Way
90. When I Fall in Love
91. Solar
92. Fall
93. If I Were a Bell
94. Four
95. Tune Up / When Lights Are Low
96. Oleo
97. Half Nelson
98. Straight, No Chaser
99. In Your Own Sweet Way
100. He Loved Him Madly
Last edited by FrankLotion on Sat Mar 27, 2021 4:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Holden »

Fun fact that may come as a relief to those who keep up with this game religiously, Miles Davis has more studio albums than the next five artists combined!

The Velvet Underground: 5
Nirvana: 3
The Clash: 6
Jimi Hendrix: 3
Marvin Gaye: 25
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by LunarPiper »

Albums:
1. Kind of Blue
2. Bitches Brew
3. In a Silent Way
4. A Tribute to Jack Johnson
5. Sketches of Spain
6. Miles Smiles
7. On the Corner
8. Nefertiti
9. Porgy and Bess
10. Milestones

Songs:
1. So What
2. Pharaoh's Dance
3. All Blues
4. Concierto de Aranjuez (Adagio)
5. Shhh/Peaceful
6. Right Off
7. Freddie Freeloader
8. Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
9. In a Silent Way/It's About That Time
10. Footprints
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Jackson »

Holden wrote: Sat Mar 27, 2021 1:08 am Fun fact that may come as a relief to those who keep up with this game religiously, Miles Davis has more studio albums than the next five artists combined!

The Velvet Underground: 5
Nirvana: 3
The Clash: 6
Jimi Hendrix: 3
Marvin Gaye: 25
Almost every artist so far has had a massive discography; I think we can all use the break! Thanks for the extra week on Miles - I needed it.
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Father2TheMan »

Found more time to listen so I am posting a list of 30 songs.

30 | Jeru | | 1949
29 | Conception | | 1951
28 | If I Were a Bell | | 1958
27 | Four | | 1954
26 | Bye Bye Blackbird | | 1957
25 | Tutu | | 1986
24 | Stella by Starlight | | 1958
23 | Tempus Fugit | | 1953
22 | Concierto de Aranjuez | | 1960
21 | Flamenco Sketches | | 1959
20 | New Rhumba | | 1957
19 | Florence sur Les Champs-Elysees | |
18 | Summertime | | 1959
17 | It Never Entered My Mind | | 1954
16 | Ah-Leu-Cha | | 1957
15 | Freedom Jazz Dance (Evolution of the Groove) | | 1967
14 | Orange | | 1989
13 | Boplicity | | 1949
12 | Godchild | | 1949
11 | All Blues | | 1959
10 | Générique | | 1958
9 | Human Nature | | 1985
8 | Amandla | | 1989
7 | Two Bass Hit | | 1957
6 | Freddie Freeloader | | 1959
5 | Bags' Groove | | 1955
4 | Will O' the Wisp | | 1960
3 | Milestones | | 1958
2 | Blue in Green | | 1959
1 | So What | | 1959
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Honorio »

Some comments before posting my votes:

1) I've included on my list most of the archival albums (as we did on the first list we posted on this thread). In my opinion we made a mistake not including them, especially "Get Up with It," an album that includes songs recorded shortly before the album release. I still got my doubts instead about the live albums, probably it was correct not to include them.

2) In case of different recordings of the same songs I've always chosen the first released version, except in three cases:
- I've selected the 1956 recording of "'Round Midnight" (released in 1957 as part of the album "'Round About Midnight") instead of the first released recording (recorded in 1953 and released in 1956 as "'Round About Midnight" as part of the "Collector's Items" album).
- I've chosen the 1956 recording of "It Never Entered My Mind" (released in 1959 as part of the "Workin'" album) instead of the version recorded and released in 1954. Both are excellent, by the way.
- I've chosen the medley "Tune Up / When Lights Are Low" recorded in 1956 and released in 1957 as part of the "Cookin'" album and not the first recordings, recorded in 1953 and released in 1954 as separate songs on the "Quartet" album.
Moreover sometimes Davis used the same name for different songs, so I've chosen:
- The 1958 song "Milestones" (originally called "Miles" but later named "Milestones"), a different composition than "Milestones," the very first song that Miles released under his own name, recorded in 1947 and released in 1948.
- I'm not sure if the tune "Miles Ahead" that appears on the 1957's "Miles Ahead" is the same that appeared on the 1954's "Miles Davis Quartet" album. Since bonnielaurel and mileswide already voted for the 1954 version you can add my votes to them, even if I prefer the 1957 version.

3) Even it has been exhausting (Miles Davis recorded many many hours of music) travelling throughout his discography has been an absolute discovery and an excellent guide through the history of Jazz. Miles Davis played and pioneered Bebop and Cool Jazz in the 1940s, Hard Bop, Modal Jazz and Third Stream in the 1950s, Post-Bop and Jazz Fusion in the 1960s, Jazz-Rock and Avant-Garde Jazz in the 1970s, Jazz-Funk and Smooth Jazz in the 1980s and even Jazz Rap in the 1990s. He was a capital part on the creation of these music styles, something that probably can only be said about him, no other musician has changed the course of music (at least in the jazz world) so many times. Let me finish with a quote I've taken from the internet, not sure if it's real:
"Interviewer: How does it feel to be ahead of your time?
Miles Davis: Ain't nobody ahead of his time, man. Just a whole lotta people behind."




Albums:
(all credited to Miles Davis except where otherwise noted)

1. Kind of Blue (1959, my #45 album of all-time)
The favourite jazz album for the people that usually don't listen to jazz, "a rare example of the highest art having universal appeal" (Dever 78, RYM). Understandable, instead of the flourishes and pyrotechnics that sometimes dead-weights the genre here it's all about mood, about atmosphere, depicting "five different shades of blue—carefree, happy-go-lucky, pensive, somber, and quiet" (Pantagruel, RYM). Six musicians improvised at the very moment such amazing music as if it was the easiest thing to do.

2. In a Silent Way (1969)
Even if other musicians (some of them playing here) watered down the concept, jazz fusion here sounds mysterious and edgy.

3. Sketches of Spain (1960)
An African American musician created the sound of a mythical Spain, introducing Spanish music to the world. Thank you, Miles!

4. Bitches Brew (1970)
The word "groundbreaking" was created to define this album. A monumental work of art, both spacey and earthy. Voodoo music.

5. 'Round About Midnight (1957)
First album for Columbia, first with the First Great Quintet, a terrific first track with a stellar appearance of the Harmon mute.

6. Classics in Jazz (1954) / Birth of the Cool (1957)
7. Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958)
8. Miles Davis Quintet — Miles Smiles (1967)
9. Milestones (1958)
10. Porgy and Bess (1959)

11. Blue Moods (1955)
12. E.S.P. (1965)
13. Miles Davis Quintet — Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet (1957)
14. Jack Johnson (1971)
15. Tutu (1986)
16. Get Up with It (1974)
17. Miles Davis + 19 — Miles Ahead (1957)
18. Nefertiti (1968)
19. Miles Davis Quintet — Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet (1958)
20. Young Man With a Horn (1952)
21. Aura (1989)
22. Filles de Kilimanjaro (1968)
23. Miles Davis Quintet — Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet (1959)
24. Live-Evil (1971)
25. Star People (1983)

26. Miles in the Sky (1968)
27. Miles Davis & Marcus Miller — Music from Siesta (1987)
28. Sorcerer (1968)
Circle in the Round (1979)
29. Big Fun (1974)
30. Seven Steps to Heaven (1963)
31. Miles Davis Quintet — Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet (1961)
32. Collectors' Items (1956)
33. Miles Davis All Star Sextet — Miles Davis All Star Sextet (1954)
34. Doo-Bop (1992)
35. On the Corner (1972)
36. Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins (1954)
37. The New Sounds (1951)
38. Decoy (1984)
Water Babies (1976)
39. You're Under Arrest (1985)
40. Miles Davis, Vol. 2 (1953)
41. The New Miles Davis Quintet — Miles (1956)
42. Miles Davis Sextet — Someday My Prince Will Come (1961)
43. Miles Davis All Stars — Miles Davis All Stars, Vol. 1 (1955)
Directions (1981)
44. Miles Davis, Vol. 3 (1954)
45. Miles Davis Quartet — The Musings of Miles (1955)
46. Miles Davis Quintet — Miles Davis Quintet (1954)
47. Miles Davis Quartet — Miles Davis Quartet (1954)

48. Miles Davis and Milt Jackson — Quintet/Sextet (1956)
49. The Man with the Horn (1981)
50. Blue Period (1953)
51. Miles Davis All Stars — Miles Davis All Stars, Vol. 2 (1955)
52. Quiet Nights (1963)
53. Amandla (1989)
54. Play the Compositions of Al Cohn (1953)
55. Miles Davis & Michel Legrand — Dingo (1991)
Rubberband (2019)




Songs:
(all credited to Miles Davis except where otherwise noted)

1. Sanctuary (1970, my #247 song of all time)
After the kaleidoscopic trip that is "Bitches Brew," the Shorter composition "Sanctuary" initially feels like its title, a warm refuge to end the album in a peaceful note. It begins mellow with Davis playing a musical motif (based on two notes) over two electric pianos. But the band slowly builds up, going crazier while Davis manically repeats these two notes like a clarion call. Calm and frenzy comes again (there were in fact two takes spliced together), providing the perfect closer for such an adventurous album.

2. So What (1959)
It sounded innovative then (the main melody played by the bass, the modal approach based on scales), now it's a classic.

3. Concierto de Aranjuez (1960)
Originally written for Spanish guitar and orchestra, Miles Davis made it his and now it's a piece for trumpet and wind ensemble.

4. Blue in Green (1959)
Bill Evans stayed on Miles Davis Sextet a mere six months but he left for eternity moody pieces as sublime as this one. Blue.

5. He Loved Him Madly (1974)
Miles' tribute to the recently deceased Duke Ellington was a capital influence on ambient music, as acknowledged by Brian Eno.

6. In a Silent Way / It's About That Time (1969)
7. It Never Entered My Mind (1959)
8. Miles [Milestones] (1958)
9. 'Round Midnight (1957)
10. Générique (1958)
11. Miles Davis Quintet — Solar (1954)
12. Miles Davis and His Orchestra — Venus de Milo (1950)
13. Miles Davis Quintet — Footprints (1967)
14. Will o' the Wisp (1960)
15. Flamenco Sketches (1959)
16. Spanish Key (1970)
17. Right Off (1971)
18. Prelude (Part I) (1975)
19. White (1989)
20. Time After Time (1985)
21. Miles Davis + 19 — Miles Ahead (1957)
22. Miles Davis Quintet — My Funny Valentine (1957)
23. Miles Davis and His Orchestra — Boplicity (1949)
24. Guinnevere (1979)
25. Miles Runs the Voodoo Down (1970)

26. What I Say (1971)
27. Nefertiti (1968)
28. Tutu (1986)
29. Miles Davis All Star Sextet — Walkin' (1954)
30. Shhh / Peaceful (1969)
31. Circle in the Round (1979)
32. Julien dans l'ascenseur (1958)
33. In Your Own Sweet Way (1956)
34. All Blues (1959)
35. Nature Boy (1955)
36. Solea (1960)
37. Stuff (1968)
38. I Fall in Love Too Easily (1963)
39. Miles Davis Quintet — Freedom Jazz Dance (1967)
40. Summertime (1959)
41. Two Bass Hit (1958)
42. Miles Davis and His Orchestra — Move (1949)
43. Miles Davis All Stars — Bags' Groove (1955)
44. The Ghetto Walk (2001)
45. Lonely Fire (1974)
46. Miles Davis + 19 — My Ship (1957)
47. Miles Davis Quintet — Salt Peanuts (1961)
48. Dear Old Stockholm (1952)
49. Zimbabwe (1976)
50. Rated X (1974)

51. The Doo-Bop Song (1992)
52. Star People (1983)
53. Moja (1977)
54. E.S.P. (1965)
55. Corcovado (1963)
56. Miles Davis Sextet — Someday My Prince Will Come (1961)
57. Miles Davis Quintet — If I Were a Bell (1958)
58. Stella by Starlight (1959)
59. Seven Steps to Heaven (1963)
60. Bye Bye Blackbird (1957)
61. Miles Davis Quartet — Four (1954)
62. Miles Davis - Charlie Parker — Half-Nelson (1949)
63. Early Minor (2001)
64. Miles Davis Quintet — Circle (1967)
65. Calypso Freelimo (1974)
66. Go Ahead John (1974)
67. Bitches Brew (1970)
68. Airegin (1954)
69. Agitation (1965)
70. Decoy (1984)
71. Water Babies (1976)
72. Saeta (1960)
73. Directions I (1981)
74. Miles Davis & Marcus Miller — Siesta / Kitt's Kiss / Lost in Madrid Part II (1987)
75. Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus) (1959)

76. Miles Davis Quintet — Tune Up / When Lights Are Low (1957)
77. Yesternow (1971)
78. Dig? (1951)
79. Easy Living (1955)
80. Maiysha (1974)
81. Miles Davis Quintet — When I Fall in Love (1961)
82. Miles Davis Quintet — Gingerbread Boy (1967)
83. On Green Dolphin Street (1959)
84. The New Miles Davis Quintet — The Theme (1956)
85. Mademoiselle Mabry (Miss Mabry) (1968)
86. Miles Davis and His Orchestra — Budo (1949)
87. Pinocchio (1968)
88. Theme from Jack Johnson (1975)
89. Green (1989)
90. Mr. Pastorius (1989)
91. Recollections (1998)
92. Little Church (1971)
93. Masqualero (1967)
94. Fat Time (1981)
95. Tatu (1977)
96. Freddie Freeloader (1959)
97. Straight, No Chaser (1958)
98. You're Under Arrest (1985)
99. Helen Butte / Mr. Freedom X (1972)
100. Sugar Ray (2003)

101. Minnie (2007)
102. Paraphernalia (1968)
103. Joshua (1963)
104. Oleo (1954)
105. Enigma (1953)
106. The New Miles Davis Quintet — Just Squeeze Me (1956)
107. All of You (1957)
108. Miles Davis Quintet — Trane's Blues (1959)
109. Florence sur les Champs-Elysées (1958)
110. Alone Together (1955)
111. Moon Dreams (1954)
112. Petits Machins (Little Stuff) (1968)
113. Miles Davis and His Orchestra — Jeru (1949)
114. It Ain't Necessarily So (1959)
115. Prince of Darkness (1967)
116. Miles Davis + 19 — Springsville (1957)
117. Mystery (1992)
118. Full Nelson (1986)
119. No Blues (1961)
120. Miles Davis & Michel Legrand — Trumpet Cleaning (1991)
121. Conception (1951)
122. Two Faced (1976)
123. Duran (1981)
124. Gone (1959)
125. Miles Davis + 19 — New Rhumba (1957)

126. Miles Davis Quartet — Green Haze (1955)
127. Eighty-One (1965)
128. Black Satin (1972)
129. Pharaoh's Dance (1970)
130. Basin Street Blues (1963)
131. Riot (1968)
132. Miles Davis All Star Sextet — Blue n' Boogie (1954)
133. Miles Davis Sextet — Teo (1961)
134. Sid's Ahead (1958)
135. Tout de Suite (1968)
136. Miles Davis and Milt Jackson — Changes (1956)
137. The Serpent's Tooth (Take 1) (1956)
138. Weirdo (1954)
139. Song No. 1 (1963)
140. Miles Davis Quartet — Will You Still Be Mine? (1955)
141. Miles Davis Quintet — Surrey with the Fringe on Top (1961)
142. Amandla (1989)
143. Sur l'autoroute (1958)
144. Miles Davis feat. Ledisi — Rubberband of Life (2019)
145. Miles Davis and His Band — Blue Room (1951)
146. Big Fun (1973)
147. Electric Red (1989)
148. Miles Davis & Marcus Miller — Los Feliz (1987)
149. Perfect Way (1986)
150. John McLaughlin (1970)





And, like I did with Kanye West, these are my favourite 25 songs including Miles Davis as a sideman, as a featured artist or a collaborator (ranked according to my enjoyment of the song, not only to Davis' collaboration):
1. Charlie Parker Septet — A Night in Tunisia (1946, my #134 song of all time)
2. Cannonball Adderley — Autumn Leaves (1958)
3. Charlie Parker Septet — Ornithology (1946)
4. Charley Parker's Ree Boppers — Billies Bounce (1946)
5. Cannonball Adderley — Love for Sale (1958)
6. Charlie Parker Septet — Yardbird Suite (1946)
7. Sarah Vaughan — Mean to Me (1950)
8. Scritti Politti — Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry for Loverboy) (1988)
9. Charley Parker — Donna Lee (1947)
10. Lee Konitz featuring Miles Davis — Yesterdays (1951)
11. Michel Legrand — Django (1959)
12. Artists United Against Apartheid — The Struggle Continues (1985)
13. Betty Davis — You and I (1975)
14. Shirley Horn — You Won't Forget Me (1991)
15. Prince feat. Miles Davis — Can I Play with U? (2020)
16. Charlie Parker & His Orchestra — Au Privave (1952)
17. Jack Nitzsche — End Credits (1990)
18. Charlie Parker's All Stars — Chasing the Bird (1949)
19. Sarah Vaughan — Nice Work If You Can Get It (1950)
20. Rubberlegs Williams with Herbie Fields Orch. — Deep Sea Blues (1945)
21. Tadd Dameron Quintet — Lady Bird (1977)
22. Sonny Rollins Quartet — I Know (1952)
23. Charlie Parker Quintet — Scrapple from the Apple (1948)
24. Brass Ensemble of the Jazz and Classical Music Society — Poem for Brass (1957)
25. The Metronome All-Stars — Victory Ball (1949)

User avatar
Holden
Never Going Back Again
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Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Holden »

Tomorrow is the last day for this poll!
"The better a singer's voice, the harder it is to believe what they're saying."
Jackson
Into the Groove
Posts: 2075
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2012 6:05 am
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Artist of the Month Song/Album Polls - March '21 - Miles Davis!

Post by Jackson »

I had aimed to do a much deeper dive into Miles' discography this month, but work got in the way (same issue for me starting the non-English language poll). I did move up In a Silent Way significantly on my AT albums list after revisiting this; it's a magical piece of music.

Albums:
1. In a Silent Way
2. On the Corner
3. Bitches Brew
4. Jack Johnson
5. Miles Smiles
6. Kind of Blue
7. Sketches of Spain
8. Nefertiti
9. Porgy and Bess
10. E.S.P.

Songs:
1. Black Satin
2. Shhh/Peaceful
3. So What
4. Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
5. Gingerbread Boy
6. Concierto de Aranjuez
7. In a Silent Way/It's About That Time
8. All Blues
9. Right Off
10. Bitches Brew
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