Miles in the Sky

Album review

Miles Davis’ second great quintet was one of the most innovative bands in jazz history. Alongside pianist Herbie Hancock, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, double-bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams, the trumpeter recorded seven major albums between 1965 and 1968: E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, Nefertiti, Miles in the Sky, Filles de Kilimanjaro and Water Babies. In his 1989 autobiography, he wrote: “If I was the inspiration and wisdom and the link for this band, Tony was the fire, the creative spark; Wayne was the idea person, the conceptualizer of a whole lot of musical ideas we did; and Ron and Herbie were the anchors. I was just the leader who put us all together. Those were all young guys and although they were learning from me, I was learning from them too, about the new thing, the free thing [..] I was learning something new every night with that group”.

Published on July 22, 1968, Miles in the Sky (a nod to The Beatles’ song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds) captures the last months this legendary quintet were together and the relationship between them that brought their music to life. From the introduction of Stuff, the first of the four tracks on the album, Hancock’s electric piano provides a glimpse into the world of fusion that the musicians would soon delve into in the following months – even Ron Carter swaps his double bass for an electric bass on the opening track! It can hardly be called jazz-rock or jazz-fusion at this point, but the post-bop in Miles in the Sky certainly doesn’t sound like it does in other albums. On Paraphernalia, the quintet actually welcomed George Benson, a young guitarist of just 25 years of age, and at numerous points Tony Williams plays quasi-rock rhythms. In short, this album which has finally been re-released in Hi-Res 24 Bit represents the start of yet another revolution-in-the-making by Miles. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz