DAVIS MILES MILES SMILES

DAVIS MILES MILES SMILES

Average Customer Review: ( 58 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

Miles Smiles should not your first purchase if you are new to jazz or new to the music of Miles. Kind of Blue would be a better album to ease into. However, once you have found yourself mesmerized by the fluidity and pure beauty of that album, it is time to go a little deeper. The music on Miles Smiles is a little more abstract and complex. Miles was exploring free jazz more with this second quintet, and this album along with E.S.P and Sorcerer transitioned into Miles' new phase prior to the freer and more electric period. Free jazz in my opinion got a little too "out there." This never seems that way. The band is right on target, playing with a unity that is mind-blowing.

Herbie Hancock's beautiful flourishes on "Circle" still give me chills, Tony Williams crisp, rhythmic drum fills are flawless from beginning to end. Many people have said bassist Ron Carter is overrated - listen to this album and you will have to disagree. Wayne is as precise and as melodic as usual - truly a master of his instrument. And Miles? What more can be said? He's the man.

If you have a couple Miles CD's and are really digging them, then you will LOVE Miles Smiles. Recorded in one take, it is nothing less than spontaneous, beautiful music.

17 of 17 found the following review helpful:

Greatest Acoustic Miles?Mar 08, 2006
By Christopher Calabrese
Some may wonder with Miles Davis's vast catalogue, could there possibly be a recording that eclipses the infamous KIND OF BLUE? Well as a avid Miles fan, I can tell you there are several releases which eclipse it, most notably MILES SMILES. In my opinion, this could be the greatest acoustic Miles record ever released.

This is definitely my favorite record by his second great quintet, which featured personnel upgrades in Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass), and Tony Williams (drums), who was just 17 years old when Miles first hired him. Wayne Shorter, (tenor sax) replaces John Coltrane, who, at this time, was exploring new territory at the time with such avant-garde releases as ASCENSION and INTERSTELLAR SPACE. Trane and Miles were growing too far apart from each other for it to make sense to have them playing together. Coltrane needed to be a leader at this time.

Just 21 months earlier, this quintet released their debut, E.S.P., to much critical acclaim. On MILES SMILES, this group spaces out even more, making the most of Williams' polyrhythms, and the inter-twining modal soloing of Shorter and Davis. There is so much going on at all times - as a listener, you can choose to focus on just one instrument of your choice the entire time and rarely lose interest.

This disc opens up with the Wayne Shorter original, 'Orbits', and we are immediately presented with the type of abstract playing the two solists are exploring. Hancock acts more as a soloist on this recording as well, but at the same time focus on the drums and bass, especially Carter's ability to hold the group together with his walking patterns. Two other Shorter originals are feautured here - 'Footprints' and 'Dolores'. 'Footprints' opens with a tantalizing trumpet and sax harmony, but Tony Williams shines again once more. Elements as simple as the light triplets being played on the edge of the cymbals are all that is needed to secure a solid basis for the rest of the group to play over. 'Dolores' has a bit more energy and features another catchy harmony from the beginning. If we listen closely to the bass here, we start to notice some of Carter's slide work which would be a staple of Herbie Hancock's solo record SPEAK LIKE A CHILD from the same era. Miles also plays a bit more 'stiff' on this tune, closer in line to his playing from his earlier days with Sonny Rollins and other mid-50's prestige-era recordings.

The only Miles original here is the cool jazz ballad, 'Circle'. . . probably the most somber track on the disc. Rounding out the recording are 'Freedom Jazz Dance' by Eddie Harris, and 'Gingerbread Boy' by Percy Heath. These two are by far my favorite tracks. 'Freedom Jazz Dance' is played at an accelerated tempo, and Miles's playing is utterly impressive. His use of modes against both Hancock's comping, and the incredible Tony Williams will put you in shock! 'Gingerbread Boy' sounds closer to Ornette Coleman (ala SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME) more than any other Miles recording I can think of. Miles is all over the place, and the rhythm section of Hancock, Carter, and Williams is unbeatable.

Anyone who appreciates KIND OF BLUE must give MILES SMILES a serious listen. It is definitely not as accesible both in its abstractness and structure. However, those new to this paradigm must realize that jazz is an artform that is always evolving and changing. I suppose a certain level of open-mindedness is necessary in deciding between those who keep listening and those who walk away.

12 of 13 found the following review helpful:

Deconstructing jazzOct 02, 2001
By G B
Miles Smiles is the second album by the second Great Quintet. The consensus is also that it's the best of that quintet's 6 studio albums; I can't disagree. It starts where its predecessor, E.S.P., left off but delves even further into abstraction and exploration. Fans of the trumpeter's 50s recordings may find this album's abstraction forbidding even if it doesn't feature the outright dissonance of 60s free jazz. Though none of the tunes ever abandon a central pulse, the actual meter and rhythm are always ambiguous; and Herbie Hancock's sparse or nonexistent comping during Davis and Shorter's solos frees up the harmony and lets the soloists play whatever they want. The relative absence of the piano also contributes to the dry, skeletal sound of the album. Shorter thrives in this setting, whereas Miles provides some of the most exciting, virtuosic playing of his career. And the 19 year old Tony Williams is a monster on the drums; you may never hear better drumming elsewhere. The performances are all classics. "Orbits" links a memorable tune to unfettered improvisation. "Circle" is an abstraction of the classic Miles ballad sound and features one of the greatest piano solos of all time -- anybody who's heard this album with agree. "Footprints" is an unforgettable, mysterious Wayne Shorter composition with a probing, masterful solo by Miles and some spiky, Taylor-esque chording by Hancock. Williams is fully on charge on that one, with Ron Carter's elastic bass playing holding the band together. "Dolores" is another catchy Shorter composition, and the album closes with two masterful deconstructions of jazz standards. These definitive takes of Eddie Harris's "Freedom Jazz Dance" and Jimmy Heath's "Gingerbread Boy" completely reinvent the tunes. Miles Smiles is easily in a 60s jazz top ten; its cerebral beauty is *that* compelling.

16 of 20 found the following review helpful:

The high point between Kind Of Blue and In A Silent WayNov 09, 1999

While the "New Thing" was in full swing by the mid-sixties, Miles made relatively conservative records that were largely derivative of his landmark "Kind of Blue". But by the time he went into the studio in October '66 with Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock, and Ron Carter, he knew he had a band that could help him propel his music forward and define "progressive jazz" on his own terms. "Miles Smiles" is the stunning result.

The lead-off tune "Orbits" establishes the pattern in Miles' songs that would be prevelant to the end of the decade: brief, horn-led statements of the theme at the beginning and end of the tune, with almost-free improvision in between. I say "almost", because with Hancock providing minimal chords and Williams often ignoring time, bassist Ron Carter is often the only player holding the whole melody together, a job he does masterfully. The Shorter classic "Footprints" follows this pattern to great effect, resulting in the best interpretation of that song ever. Other covers "Freedom Jazz Dance" and "Ginger Bread Boy" are incredible Williams showcases. But truthfully, everyone is playing well, there are no slackers in this lineup.

I wouldn't go as far as to say a jazz neophyte can get into this record. But if you're ready to take the next step up in enjoying the interesting complexities that jazz has to offer, this is an absolute essential buy.

Miles proudly stated in his autobiography that he and his band "really stretched out" on this record. Believe it.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

My favorite Miles....so farJan 17, 2006
By Stalwart Kreinblaster "SK2008"
'Kind of Blue', as great as it is, like so many classics just gets overplayed. I mean you can't go to 'Starbucks' or 'Caribou' without hearing the classic Coltrane, Adderley, Davis, et all collaboration. Thankfully there are several other Miles albums to enjoy after you have heard 'So What' one too many times. My personal favorite, so far, is 'Miles Smiles'. This album features a quintet that is equally talented and interesting - and even innovative. Miles seems to have become, more or less, open to experimentation at this time in his career - and with the driving ambition of his young cohorts - they go off and explore new territories - sometimes less placid than the sounds you would associate with the Miles of the 50's.

As other reviewers have mentioned Tony Williams is the best thing since sliced bread - with his drums going all over the place. Wayne Shorter's compositions are always interesting - I especially like 'Footprints' which plays with time in a way that inspires the quintet to its most interesting moments on the disc. This is just such a fresh sounding group (still fresh in 2006!). Give this a listen..

See all 58 customer reviews on Amazon.com