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36 of 37 found the following review helpful:
 Debut of one of jazz's greatest groupsMar 03, 2006
By Michael Hardin
I had the misfortune of buying "Miles Smiles," the album recorded after this one, way before my ears were ready for it. As a result, I disliked that album and got turned off of Miles' second great quintet. Since then I've come to understand post-bop ironically through the work of the sidemen on this album (Wayne Shorter in particular) and I recently picked up this album. It blew my mind. I remembered this group and its musical philosophy as uninteresting, as they tended towards dispensing with the chord changes on almost every tune. Thus there was a quality of sameness (to the uneducated or closed ear) to the approach of all the tunes. But that preconception was totally blown out of the water when I listened to this album. Rather than sameness, the compositions are harmonically varied and go in fascinating, unconventional directions. This, to me, is what jazz is about: the search for new ways to express melody, rhythm, and harmony, while retaining beauty and emotion. This album succeeds brilliantly in that quest, particularly Wayne Shorter's compositions. The title cut essentially defines a new set of rules for chord motion, and "Iris" is one of the most beautiful tunes Wayne has ever written while defying any and every cliche of modern harmony. "Eighty-One" looks at the blues as a song form and alters the conventional harmony just enough to retain its integrity and flow while creating new interest. "Mood" returns to Miles' signature brooding, slow minor-key playing without sounding like a copy of anything he had played before in this vein.
As for the playing itself, the level of musicianship on display from Davis, Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams, is at an expected high. A certain telepathy existed between the members of the rhythm section (yes, E.S.P. ha ha ha) making this band one of the most flexible units in jazz history. There may be a couple of rough moments (Hancock in particular doesn't seem quite as comfortable with the new harmonic territory, though he would absolutely master it and pioneer so many options for the piano in the future) but Miles lived for these rough moments because they showed the human element one must bring to jazz. One advisory for those familiar only with Miles' early work: his playing on this record reflects the changing ideas of the jazz scene and isn't conventionally "pretty" like it is on Kind Of Blue. He often uses the upper register and plays jagged lines that sound strange at first. But when you acquire a taste for this new Miles (and if you follow his career, it's necessary to acquire a taste for "new" Miles many times, as he was constantly reinventing himself) you realize this is some of the most musical and advanced playing of his career. So be forewarned that this is magnificent music but it is challenging to the casual listener. There are a couple of ways to get used to it though; try Miles's music from the early 60s leading up to this album, or try Wayne Shorter's masterpiece "Speak No Evil" from about a month earlier with similar personnel. It takes time to appreciate this album's depth but it is well worth it to do so.
20 of 20 found the following review helpful:
A new beginning.Oct 20, 2005
By Michael Stack
By 1965, the world of jazz had changed almost unrecognizably from just five years ago, and Miles Davis was in danger of being left behind. After the triumphs of his first few years with Columbia, it seems Davis had had enough. His past few records and his live performances found him falling back on old habits, exploring standards and hard bop pieces that he'd been playing for the past several years. Meanwhile, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor and Albert Ayler shook the foundations of jazz and John Coltrane in December of 1964 had just aligned himself with them by recording his masterpiece "A Love Supreme". All this time, Davis had been standing still, but he'd assembled a new quintet, completed by plucking his crown jewel and tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter from Art Blakey's band to add to his working band of pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drum prodigee Tony Williams. And while his band dutifully played the hard bop he was paying them for, they wanted to stretch out, to build on the innovations of Coleman, Taylor, Ayler and Coltrane, and remarkably, they inspired Davis to do so as well. In January of 1965, they went into the studio to record their first album together-- "E.S.P", and it was clear that, to steal an Ayler song title, change has come.
Now granted, the music here isn't quite free jazz, but it's certainly a lot more adventerous than anything Davis had done since "Sketches of Spain". It was his first album to feature only originals since "Kind of Blue" (Shorter penned two, Carter and Davis together wrote two and separately one, and Hancock one), and the band plays like they've been doing it for decades-- Williams is unnervingly agile and flexible, managing an inside-out statement, Carter and Hancock are both supportive and energetic, and in Shorter, Davis had a tenor who could stand next to him with no trouble.
But it's Davis who seems most revitalized-- his performances are stunning-- exploring the upper register and playing with a passion that had been missing from his records through the previous couple years. Look no further than opener "E.S.P"-- after its slithery theme and a brief solo by shorte,r it slides into a frantic and exploratory solo by Davis that's among the best he'd laid down on record. As the album progresses, its seven tracks cover dozens of moods and feature seemingly endless standout performances-- personal favorites include Hancock's mellow groove, "Little One" and Williams drum feature "Agitation" (his solo intro is nothing short of astounding), but really, its all quite good.
In the end, this is powerful stuff. Remarkably, i feel this quintet would outdo this on more than one occasion, but I can't bring myself to give this one less than five stars. Highly recommended.
17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
One of the most intense, awesome Miles albums.Nov 05, 2003
By JetTone12
Miles was at his best on this recording. He had been re-energized once again by Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, and it is displayed here. Miles solos with phenomenal upper register control and great ideas, and Wayne Shorter and Herbie also play great solo work. Ron and Tony are the fuel of this group and keep the energy flowing at all times. The album jumps right at you with the title track, a wonderful tune written by Wayne and Miles, where it continiously builds up in intensity, and it seems as if Wayne is simply building the intensity for Miles to take it into a whole different, more insane place, and then Herbie takes it from there and gradually cools it down again. Then there's the great radio feel of "Eighty-One", which is a very catchy little tune, and everyone in the band plays great. Herbie and Miles sound really hip on this one. "Little One" is a beautiful ballad written by Herbie, and is one of my personal favorites. Herbie also recorded this tune outside of Miles's group with Freddie Hubbard, Wayne, Ron and Tony, but I personally prefer the version with Miles (although they're both great). "RJ" is another faster hard bop tune, this one written by Ron Carter, and is a bit brief but makes a point as a transitional part of the album. "Agitation" is a composition by Tony Williams, and the title could not describe the piece better. The whole song gives a feeling of agitation. Tony Williams opens the song with a drum solo for two minutes, running through all sorts of complex rhythms. Miles comes in on harmon mute over this freeform rhythm and sounds great. This is one of the album's most interesting songs. "Iris" is a beautiful piece once again written by Shorter and Miles, taking it back to the slower mood. Miles sounds great jumping from lyrical stepping stones, and Wayne really gets into some good ideas here. The following final track is also a ballad, Ron Carter's "Mood". Here, Miles picks up the harmon mute again and solos in the upper register very well and appropriately uses his breathy, muted lower register. Wayne and Herbie also come up with wonderful improvisational work here. This album is the epitome of great combo work. Everyone contributes, every member did some writing on this album, and everything sounds great. Recommended to anyone.
11 of 11 found the following review helpful:
Another Miles Davis Album. Another Excellent Record.Dec 05, 2002
By The Groove
A breezy exercise in post-bop brillance featuring the famous quintet, Miles Davis'"ESP" seems to get lost in the shuffle in the midst of more popular releases like "Kind of Blue." But this 1965 effort deserves far more recognition than it gets, and in this, the remastered version, we witness the dynamic interplay between the trumpeter with Shorter, Hancock, Carter, and Williams. The opening title track soars with effortless class, featuring Davis and Shorter complimenting each other in this upbeat jam. Tony Williams lets it rip on drums for nearly two minutes before Miles takes center stage on "Agitation," which Davis wrote himself. "Iris" exudes a relaxing vibe with Shorter holding his own on sax. "ESP" is too good an album to pass up for anyone looking to build a collection on Miles. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this as a beginner's first purchase (I'd instead steer them to "Round About Midnight" and "Kind of Blue"), it's still an important release that shows Davis and his crew in stellar form.
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Doin it againDec 19, 1999
By Frank Bock
Miles does it again. A new quintet. And this is some great material on E.S.P. The whole deal was really locked in when Miles settled on Wayne Shorter (who is my favorite saxophone player of all time). Wayne, who had previously recorded for bluenote and was the musical director for Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (and resident sax player) brings another type of fire that the band really needed. Tony Williams was without a doubt the explosive force behind the group, but Wayne brought in a new and fresh voice. I never felt like he copied Coltrane or anything. He just sounds like Wayne. And with that, Miles also brought a very prolific composer into the band, besides Herbie Hancock, who had also recorded some outstanding originals for Bluenote as well. This album is a defining moment for them. The first song, E.S.P. a Shorter original, really drives home the point right away. Tony Williams gets this one movin' right away, and Wayne is first out soloing. And he smokes with a real loud, tearing solo. Next song is a pretty Ron Carter original (with some modifications by Miles). Mid tempo, real nice. Carter, whatever album he plays on is almost always fantastic. You can't go wrong with him. He's got great time, is reliable, and plays some really interesting lines. It's a shame that he didn't solo too much while with Miles. Little One, a Herbie Hancock original which also is on his album (with nearly the same personal!) called Maiden Voyage. I actually like this version better. It's soft and slow... Another nice Ron Carter original, R.J., and Miles's only contribution, Agitation follow. But it's the last two that make the album for me. Both Iris (Shorter) and Mood (Carter - Davis) are among some of the slowest, smokiest, most sensous songs in all of jazz. Tony Williams brushes make them! His drumming is so quiet, but it's so colorful and so expressive. Man, was he good. I think that E.S.P is one of Miles's best. Yeah, it'll give Kind of Blue a run for it's money. A little more avante-garde than KOB, but so colorful and so different, but so good. This is a great starting place for the 2nd quintet. It took me a long long time to get used to these guys. I was so bent on Coltrane and Philly Joe and Red and Mr PC that this group just baffled me. But then after a few years I just got the whole thing. But getting used to Wayne and Tony might be tough, but the thing is so rewarding because you gotta work for it a little. The 2nd quintet in my opinion might be better than the 1st. But that's for you to decide. And it's well worth investing in both of these bands because there's some wonderful discoveries to be made here. Be adventurous... turn Kind Of Blue off for a second and get this album.
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