Guest
Miles on the verge of stardom February 1955 Hi-Hat, Boston, Massachusetts MILES DAVIS with THE HI-HAT ALL STARS Miles Davis- trumpet Jay Migliori- tenor saxophone Al Walcott- piano (out on *) Bob Freeman- piano * Jimmy Woode- bass Jimmy Zitano- drums A Night in Tunisia [incomplete] (Dizzy Gillespie-Frank Paparelli) * 0:00 Dig (Miles Davis) [aka Donna (Jackie McLean)] ** 7:55 Darn That Dream (Eddie DeLange-Jimmy Van Heusen) 16:05 Jumpin' with Symphony Sid [theme] (Lester Young) 20:37 Ray's Idea (Ray Brown-Gil Fuller) 22:29 Nice Work if You Can Get It (George Gershwin-Ira Gershwin) 29:41 Wee Dot [incomplete] (J.J. Johnson) 35:17 Tune Up (Miles Davis) 41:16 Alone Together (Howard Dietz-Arthur Schwartz) 48:48 Well, You Needn't (Thelonious Monk) 54:16 Jumpin' with Symphony Sid [theme] (Lester Young) 1:04:09 closing titles 1:06:14 ** Dig and Donna are the same tune but registered at ASCAP with different composers. It's almost certainly McLean's tune. Concert recording, audience source This is a show I originally posted in 2015 but that version had a number of issues including cloudy sound and running off speed- more than a semitone sharp. This version has been remastererd and speed corrected. 1954 had been a pivotal year for Miles Davis. Having quit a deblitating heroin addiction at the end of the previous year, '54 saw him revitalised in the studio- he cut a half dozen superb sessions for the Prestige and Blue Note labels, leading some excellent bands and playing better than ever. He was still finding work hard to come by- in the New York clubs he still found the reputation of an unreliable junkie hard to shake. With no regular working band it was often neccessary to go out of town, using pick up groups for engagements. That brings us to this session and the uncertainty of the recording date. Most discographies place it in February 1955 (Pete Losin narrows it down to early that month). However, Jan Lohmann suggests it may come from early 1953, based on the repertoire. I'm not convinced- although some of these bebop themes were showing their age even by 1955 Miles would continue to play most of them well into the late fifties and beyond. Additionally, the inclusion of Tune Up suggests the later date. Miles would not record the piece until May 19, 1953, after Lohman's suggested date, but this arrangement more closely resembles the version recorded October 26, 1956. Jazz historian and Bostonite Richard Vacca has compiled an detailed history of the Hi Hat ( ). Miles was in New York for the first half of 1953 but Vacca's listings seem pretty complete for that period and there's no mention of any Miles engagement. The first listing for Miles runs February 7 to 13, 1955, opposite Chico O'Farrill. He was then held over due to good business for another week from 14 to 20, opposite R&B group The Chords. places these recordings on February 11 (a Friday) but offers no source for this assertion. According to Vacca's timeline, Jay Miglori started leading the Hi-Hat's house band in June 1954 and they make for a more than adequate backing group for Miles. Migliori was an excellent bebop saxophonist, who would go on to be a founding member of the Charlie Parker tribute band Supersax. Drummer Zitano had played for pianist Al Vega, baritone saxist Serge Chaloff and vibes man Lem Winchester and could be relied on for swing and drive. Pianist Walcott is more obscure- these seem to be his only recordings, although he acquits himself well (he's replaced on the opening Night In Tunisia by the also forgotten Freeman). However, the inclusion of Jimmy Woode in the personnel muddies the waters. He had joined Duke Ellington's orchestra in January 1955 for a five year stint and he is present on a broadcast at the Brant Inn in Burlington, Canada on February 17, right in the middle of that second week of the Hi Hat run. Either the date is still incorrect, or Woode played the early part of the band's run and was replaced sometime before February 18, or he is not the bassist here. Is it possible he was listed in advance publicity then replaced after taking the Ellington job? I have continued to list this concert with the generally accepted date of February 1955, with Woode in the personnel, unless/ until evidence to the contrary emerges. If the date is accurate it represents a major transtion in Miles' career: just after this gig Davis was jailed on Rikers Island for non payment of child support. While there he learned of the death of his mentor Charlie Parker on March 12 at the age of just 34. Post war jazz had lost its leading creative genius and figurehead; Miles was ready to assume the mantle. He would end the year no longer the soloist scuffling for gigs with pick up groups, after having made a career reviving Newport appearance, as the bandleader of one of the great groups in jazz, and with a major label record contract.
