Best Miles Davis Album Recs

Music
22

Bitches Brew

In terms of the influence it had upon acid jazz/jazz rock it revolutionised everything

23

Iā€™ve yet to explore much of his discography but my top picks are the below and they are all 5* records really:

  1. In A silent Way
  2. Sketches of Spain
  3. Kind of Blue
  4. On the Corner
  5. Seven Steps to Heaven
24

Got round to enjoying in Kind of Blue yesterday. Others to follow.

1 Like
25

If youā€™re interested in Miles I would recommend reading his autobiography- one of the most entertaining music autobiographies Iā€™ve read

4 Likes
26

An oft overlooked Miles record, and one of my personal favorites, is My Funny Valentine. Itā€™s a live recording of the ballads and mid-tempo numbers from a '64 concert at the Philharmonic Hall. It was shortly before the second great quintet was completed with the addition of Wayne Shorter so the band features the core of Hancock/Carter/Williams and George Coleman on Sax.

Apart from All Blues (for Kind of Blue obvs) the pieces are all standards that Miles would return to repeatedly throughout his career so its a really interesting way of charting his development by comparing to earlier performances.

The quality of the recording is astounding (some say its one of the greatest concert recordings of all time) and the depth and the lyricism of playing is enchanting. I could listen to Milesā€™ solos of Stella by Starlight for hours.

2 Likes
27

he did so so so many different things over the years

iā€™d recommend going on youtube and clicking links of various live sets

iā€™m not sure if any musician has gone through so many style so well in a career

niche but i really like this cover of Human Nature

28

This is one of the first Miles albums I got into and itā€™s a great starting point for anyone. The version of My Bloody Valentine is unsurpassed.

Also when I finished University and first had to wear a suit and tie to work I spent a long time getting one just like the one Miles wears on the cover.

1 Like
29

Just seen this is on YouTube. One of the absolute best, totally stunning piece of music.

There was always a tension between Miles and some of his younger band members who were getting into free jazz and wanted to explore it more. Unlike Coltrane Miles was somewhat conservative and resisted this trend but this peformance is the closest he got to free jazz in my opinion.

Really interesting to see how he ā€˜conductsā€™ the band, often one note is enough to signal a total change in direction.

1 Like
30

Great video. Need to watch that properly later

31

Good recommendation. Ill check it out. Ive got a couple of Miles Live albums including live at Carnegie Hall but the sound quality isnt great on that one!

32

Started listening to a lot of recommendations early on and then I just settled in to listen to all the albums in the original Columbia run of 1955 to 1975

which is quite a lot!

Seems none of the Blue Note ones are in Spotify (or rather Iā€™m not searching each individually but the ones I was trying werenā€™t).

Itā€™s now beginning to merge a little but ESP is up next which is apparently the first of the albums with the Quintet including Herbie Hancock so that should be interesting.

33

Everyone in that book is either bad, a motherfucker or a bad motherfucker.

3 Likes
34

Thanks for the ā€˜On the Cornerā€™ recommendation, itā€™s fantastic.

2 Likes
35

iā€™m a Miles novice but On the Corner is unbelievably good

3 Likes
36

Even though itā€™s ghostwritten thereā€™s a real sense of Milesā€™s genuine voice growling away in your ear when you read it (Quincey Troupe is not your normal hack ghostwriter though). Itā€™s a great book.

1 Like
37

Absolutely love Birth of the Cool - the arrangements on it are absolutely staggering in places (Gil Evans at his best, perhaps).

The high note in Moon Dreams and the chords that fall out of it is one of my favourite Miles moments of all time.

38

Totally my favourite too.

70s Miles is definitely the best Miles for me. All the studio albums from Bitches Brew through to Get Up With It are incredible.

For anyone that likes electric Miles, would massively recommend Agharta and Pangaea, two ā€˜electric periodā€™ live albums he recorded in Japan. Not really heard anything else like them. Think anyone into heavier psyche stuff would really dig them. Huge influence on bands from Acid Mothers Temple to Squarepusher by all accounts

39

Think Iā€™m right in saying that they were both recorded on the same day - one was the afternoon show, the other the evening!

40

You are exactly right in saying that - makes it even more incredible. Imagine having tickets for both shows!

1 Like
41

Iā€™ve recently really got into In A Silent Way, it may not be his most iconic but the ambient interludes are amazing. And also loving his autobiography at the moment!

2 Likes