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The quintet could not have been more diverse-

Miles, the old school legend who is not old school, who shaped jazz several times already before 1965, knowing he has found THE group..innovative, cool, self-assured, has the jazz world at his feet, but never satisfied to stand around...he has that restless itch again...

Wayne Shorter, the tenor sax player who pushed Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers to new heights of hard bop yet at the same time a sensitive, lyrical player and composer...the cayalyst for change with his writing, the perfect solo foil to Miles..

Herbie Hancock, the young, gifted pianist and composer from Blue Note..already a seasoned session veteran while still in his early 20's..young, gifted, innovative, restless...has played with some of the avant garde and "New Thing" players, sees their merits, pushes for looser structures...loves electronic instruments and will help to re-define jazz with them...

Ron Carter, the intellectual bassist who held the group together with his solid bass structures. Classically as well as jazz trained, Carter in some ways is old school, but is no less lyrical or radical in the way he presents his tool of the trade,,can hold the fort down or can run away with the rest of the group..structured yet unafraid..

Tony Williams- the kid. A veteran and prodigy at a mere 18 years old..flies in the face of convention, throws inhibition to the wind..speeds things up with reckless abandon, flailing his cymbals, upping the ante..destroys and re-defines tempos...is new school, sees the changes in both jazz and pop music and will evolve with it, forming jazz's first fusion band...

The results of the convergence of these 5 men are some of the most startling lps in jazz history..."ESP" introduces the band; "Miles Smiles" showcases the band's power and ferocity; "Sorcerer" and "Nefertiti" show the band's emerging lyricism- Wayne Shorter's songs are deep and lyrical; "Miles In The Sky" and "Filles de Killmanjaro" show the band in transition-the songs are becoming more pop like, electronic keyboards and electric bass introduced..Miles and Shorter's ideas transposed by Hancock and Williams (and later Chick Corea and Dave Holland, George Benson and Joe Beck and Joe Zawinul) into hybird pieces of jazz and pop rock.

The fact that this all happened in 6 lps (7 if you count the hard to find "Water Babies" lp) over the course of a mere 3 years is astounding..the growth of these men is like watching an old film of Babe Ruth galloping at supersonic speed around the bases after a mammoth home run, knowing he will hit another one his next time at bat...

Folks, it goes without saying that these lps and unreleased tracks are beyond pivotal pieces of jazz. To not have this collection in your home is denying yourself a slice of true Americana- 5 men on their own make good and then some. This perfect a confluence of time, space, place, and alignment of the Sun, Earth, and ... will never happen again. And we have these recordings for all times. They can never leave. And we are fortunate for that. Get these recordings at any cost. Your life will be for the better.

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:

Essential MilesMar 11, 2005

Well folks, here it is. This is definately the best box set of Miles Davis. It has one of the best bands in the history of jazz and one of the most famous transition periods of the genre. The set covers the first 5 albums(E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, Nefertiti, Miles in the Sky) of this awesome group plus three songs and an outtake from the beautiful 1968 album, Filles de Kilimanjaro, and three songs from the 1976 archive release, Water Babies. Although all the songs are great, some of the best include: E.S.P, Eighty-One Gingerbread Boy, Footprints, the Sorcerer, Nefertiti, Masquelero, Madness, Filles de Kilimanjaro, Petitis Machins, Tout de Suite, I Have a Dream, and Black Comedy. Probably the best song on the whole set is the final recording of this incredible band which is Filles de Kilimanjaro, recorded on June 21, 1968. Throughout this beautiful song, there is a soft, dreamlike tone and after the theme, Ron Carter plays this beautiful, yet haunting set of notes which are just PERFECT.

One of the great things about this band was that all the members contributed songs and went on to successful careers after this recording(except, unfortunatley bassist Ron Carter). All of the members were at the top of their game. Wayne Shorter was the best saxophonists of all time and if that wasn't enough, he wrote some of the group's most beautiful songs such as Nefertiti, Footprints, and Fall. Herbie Hancock pretty much redefined the jazz piano with his innovative rhythm stylings and impressive solos. The great electric material on the set shows that Hancock was also adventurous(like the rest of the band) and was flexable enough to change. Hancock, too contributed to this awesome song list: Little One, Madness, I Have a Dream, Speak Like a Child, and the Sorcerer. Ron Carter was an innovative, but seasoned professinal and is usually pushed into the corner, unfortunatley, by the success of the other members in their careers after 1968. Ron Carter was a great soloist too, as documented on the awesome Jimmy Heath cover, Gingerbread Boy. Near the end of the song, he plays a very memorable solo. Although Carter is usually forgotton he, along with Miles wrote the coolest song the band ever played: the 60's bungalo, blues song, Eighty-One. I was just blown away by this song and Wayne Shorter's solo near the end was one of the best of his career. Probably my favorite member of the band next to Miles is the late, Great Tony Williams(1945-1997) who played the drums; and MAN did he play! He was one of the most influential drummers of all time and definatley, without question, the Greatest Drummer of ALL TIME. The three songs he contributes to the band's immortal legacy are: Hand Jive, Pee Wee, and Black Comedy. The latter was his best. It has a great, bluesy theme that the brothers improvise on and they smoke it! Then there's the Prince of Darknes himself; the great, incomperable, Miles Davis(1926-1991) Since the band was a great extension of the sideman, Miles was kind of like Duke Ellington in a sense-he just strutted with confidence and let the sideman do most of the song writing because he knew he had the baddest crew on the planet that could play ANYTHING! Miles contributes some of the best songs such as Circle, Filles de Kilimanjaro, Stuff, and others.

The Miles Davis Quintet of 1964-1968 ranks among the greatest small bands in the history of jazz. I'm talking about a crew of cats that are in the league of the John Coltrane Quartet of 1961-'65, the Dave Brubeck Quartet of 1959-'67, Art Blakey's Jazz Messingers from 1958-1964, the Miles Davis Sextet of 1958-'59, the Miles Davis Quintet from 1955-'56, Louis Armstrong's Hot 5 and Hot 7 from 1925-'28, the Charlie Parker Quintet of 1945-1948, the Modern Jazz Quartet in the mid '50's; I could just go on and on about how great this treasure trove of beautiful, soothing sounds is, but I'll end this review by saying that this is music for the ears and soul. Get this even if you are just getting into Miles and you won't regret it. You, like me will treasure this bountiful set for the rest of your life.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

When Ya Get Four World Class Musicians Together....Sep 21, 2000

THis set is blazing. This group was far ahead of their time, and maybe even farther ahead of our time in terms of creativity.

Miles Davis' 2nd Classic Quintet emerges strong with a fine debut, ESP, showcasing the whimsical Hancock jaunt that became a touchtone in this period, and on Hancock's solo efforts. Obscure tracks from "Water Babies" show up,

"Nefertiti" and "Sorcerer" are respectively strong albums, but "Miles Smiles," featuring the great tunes "Orbits" and "Freedom Jazz Dance" is one of this group's better albums.

"Miles In The Sky" from '68 shows a pioneering early fusion leaning, including Ron Carter on electric bass, and the addition of guitar to one track. Hancock is first heard here on the electric Fender Rhodes keyboard.

Furthering the fusion effort, a couple tracks included on the "Filles de Killamanjaro" album appear as well.

The real treat for me is the inclusion of the trancey Indian influenced raga "Circle In The Round." This tune is absolutely captivating. Clocking in at over 20 minutes, this song is a journey into the unknown depths of jazz-what-could-bes.

If only other musicians besides the Marsallis' were heavily influenced by this, there would be a lot better live music floating around these days.

Tons of outstanding, inventive music.

Masterful.

6 of 7 found the following review helpful:

Essential listening for anyone who loves modern music!Oct 28, 1998

As someone raised on rock I gradually became interested in Miles Davis after hearing covers of some of his tunes. So I availed myself of a deal which offered a free sampler of the MD Quintet's boxed set if I purchased another Miles album. I chose "Kind of Blue" which I'd never heard before. Well I don't need to elaborate on that classic! But, to me, the Quintet sampler was even better! The entire boxed set is almost too much to take. The power, inventiveness and range of emotion expressed in the set is beyond anything else I've heard in contemporary music. Telepathy is the only way to describe the communication between the players. There isn't a dud track. Even the alternate takes give you a different perspective on what the group was thinking. The documentation accompanying the discs is marvellous including detailed analyses of each track. Favourites? Well, I love "ESP", "Madness", "Stuff" ... in fact any of the discs on their own would be a must-buy. Forget the cost, you won't buy better than this! Do yourself a favour!

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