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I'm not a P&B kind of guy but Davis's contribution to the overly-covered material still swings hard enough to stand out in earlier, less adventurous phases.
Miles did a series of recordings with Gil Evans back in the 50's. This is one of the classics. Evans' big band arrangements make for the perfect foil for Miles' soulful interpretation of the unmistakable work. This is a clear winner.
If your more of a pop lisnter than a jazz one you'll also find many interesting things about this album. For one thing Miles had the good asthetic sense to realize how well his style would work with this classic Gershwin opera,himself a composer inspired heavily by jazz. I've been hearing a lot about it lately and decided this would be the ideal time to give it a try. There is in fact so much power created by the horn charts as well as other rhythms,both fast and slow that Miles often bleeds right into the Gil Evans Orchestra as if he always was there.
Even so this particular album is definately something special. Over the years I've looked at this album and for one reason or another never picked it up. It's hard not to see that Miles' take on "It Ain't Necessarily So" was a very obvious on the title song of Van Morrison's Moondance. Both are individual personalities who never fight eachother but come together to create this musical harmony that's a joy to hear,much as I am sure it was the day it came out. In every possible sense it was coming around to a sort of full circle.
A lot of that quality emmerges from that unmistakable way Miles plays the blues as well as the almost too strong to take rhythms that he's playing with. Here as on any Miles album his playing is like painting with oil pastels:the colors are soft and vibrant but also thick and the textures bleed into eachother for a long time before settling into what they become. Having already had much familiarity with Miles Ahead and Sketches of Spain I was very well aware of the musical magic that Gil Evans and Miles created together from the late 50's into the early 60's. No doubt there is much sublime beauty and strong soul to be heard in "Summertime" and "I Love You,Porgy" all at once yet again,it's the flow and flavors of the entire presentation that is the truly illuminating musical element. This album has many incredible highlites but in much the same way as another Miles/Gil Evans collaboration on Aura decades later would show the whole of this recording is far deeper than the sum of it's parts.
It functions as a suite of songs where Miles and the orchestra come together in perfect harmony to create rich,inventive and colorful interpretations of these melodies. There's the orchestra and there's Miles. This is something music lovers for hopefully centuries to come will likely look upon as a potent musical work of art.
While the melodies are lovely, and the music is well played, there is something missing from this recording. It doesn't quite reach the level of Gershwin's dramatic musicianship. Nice to listen to, but it would not be my first choice for this opera.
So I bought this album in somewhat good faith, got it home and realized the longest track was only six minutes long. Yes the song is way over done, but with a version this good who cares. but what sold me was that it was a Miles collaboration with Gil Evans, the same person he teamed up with on Sketches Of Spain, which to me is one of the most amazing albums ever made, maybe even better than Kind Of Blue, probably not though. Miles Davis-Porgy And Bess *****Right upfront I have to say I am not a big fan of big bands. I seem to get lost in this album every time I hear it, much like I do with his Kind Of Blue album. 'It Ain't Necessarily So' is stunning, while this version of 'Summertime' is the most stellar version ever cut.
But Miles put a twist on them all with the help of Gil.
Miles is an artist that needs time to express himself fully, and emotionally, he can't be expected to cram that into a mere six minutes, or so I thought.
The emotion I thought Miles wouldn't be able to convey during these short pieces is here and maybe more so than on any other recording.
I'd rather have a small tight ensemble any day, there for I was a little bit skeptical when I first bought Porgy And Bess.
'Buzzard Song' is utterly brilliant.
Porgy And Bess destroyed everything I ever thought about it.
This has since become one of my all time favorite Miles albums, and one that still amazes me upon every listen.The melodies are ones that anyone who knows anything about American music would recognise, for the most part any way.
Because while it maybe be listed as 13 different pieces, really the album plays as one long incendiary piece.Upon every listen to Porgy And Bess I find myself falling more and more in love with Miles' great music.
Those are the only two albums I can honestly say encapsulate me with joy to the point of almost becoming comatose, so with that being said there is nothing more to say because now I am going to listen to this, as should you.
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