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Contractual obligations never sounded so good. When Miles Davis signed his first contract with Prestige Records in 1951, he was a heroin-addicted pariah of the New York jazz scene, barely able to get enough work to fund his habits. That first deal produced a couple of sessions with only one album,The New Sound, which was Davis' debut as a leader, released during that time. The next few years found Davis scrounging for pickup work on the road and in his hometown of St. Louis as his addiction worsened. While he would record for Prestige here and there during this time, the output was inconsistent in both quality and quantity. However, when he returned to New York in 1954 he was sober and his next stint with Prestige would produce a number of incredible records. The final four of those albums—Workin', Steamin', Relaxin', and Cookin'—were recorded over two breakneck sessions in May and October 1956 in order for Davis to fulfill his obligation to the label and move on to Columbia Records, which had signed him after his triumphant comeback performance at the 1955 Newport Jazz festival. To be sure, Davis was wholly unconcerned with the quality of these sessions, and had directed his group to basically just improvise their way through them as quickly as possible, as if they were playing live. But here's the thing: This group was Davis' first classic quintet, with John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones, and while he was in triumphant comeback mode, the other four players were absolutely hungry and on fire. Combine that with new LP technology that allowed the group's riffing to expand and contract naturally, without the three-minute time constraints of a 78 side, and, well, you accidentally end up with some classic albums. And, even though it was released four years after it was recorded, Workin' may have been the most consequential, standing alongside the contemporaneous work of Art Blakey and Clifford Brown as one of the foundational documents of the hard bop sound that defined mainstream jazz from the mid-'50s through the mid-'60s. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz
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John Coltrane, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Richard Rodgers, ComposerLyricist - Lorenz Hart, ComposerLyricist - Miles Davis, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Chambers, Upright Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Philly Joe Jones, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Red Garland, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Weinstock, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - The Miles Davis Quintet, MainArtist - Kevin Gray, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2023 Craft Recordings.
John Coltrane, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Miles Davis, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Chambers, Upright Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Philly Joe Jones, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Red Garland, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Weinstock, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - The Miles Davis Quintet, MainArtist - Kevin Gray, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2023 Craft Recordings.
John Coltrane, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Miles Davis, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Chambers, Upright Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Philly Joe Jones, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Dave Brubeck, ComposerLyricist - Red Garland, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Weinstock, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - The Miles Davis Quintet, MainArtist - Iola Brubeck, ComposerLyricist - Kevin Gray, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2023 Craft Recordings.
John Coltrane, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Miles Davis, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Chambers, Upright Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Philly Joe Jones, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Red Garland, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Weinstock, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - The Miles Davis Quintet, MainArtist - Kevin Gray, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2023 Craft Recordings.
John Coltrane, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Miles Davis, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Chambers, Upright Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Philly Joe Jones, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Red Garland, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Weinstock, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - The Miles Davis Quintet, MainArtist - Kevin Gray, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2023 Craft Recordings.
John Coltrane, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Miles Davis, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Chambers, Upright Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Philly Joe Jones, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Ahmad Jamal, ComposerLyricist - Red Garland, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Weinstock, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - The Miles Davis Quintet, MainArtist - Kevin Gray, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2023 Craft Recordings.
John Coltrane, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Miles Davis, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Chambers, Upright Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Philly Joe Jones, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Red Garland, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Weinstock, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - The Miles Davis Quintet, MainArtist - Kevin Gray, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2023 Craft Recordings.
John Coltrane, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Miles Davis, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Chambers, Upright Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Philly Joe Jones, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Red Garland, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Weinstock, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - The Miles Davis Quintet, MainArtist - Kevin Gray, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2023 Craft Recordings.
Album review
Contractual obligations never sounded so good. When Miles Davis signed his first contract with Prestige Records in 1951, he was a heroin-addicted pariah of the New York jazz scene, barely able to get enough work to fund his habits. That first deal produced a couple of sessions with only one album,The New Sound, which was Davis' debut as a leader, released during that time. The next few years found Davis scrounging for pickup work on the road and in his hometown of St. Louis as his addiction worsened. While he would record for Prestige here and there during this time, the output was inconsistent in both quality and quantity. However, when he returned to New York in 1954 he was sober and his next stint with Prestige would produce a number of incredible records. The final four of those albums—Workin', Steamin', Relaxin', and Cookin'—were recorded over two breakneck sessions in May and October 1956 in order for Davis to fulfill his obligation to the label and move on to Columbia Records, which had signed him after his triumphant comeback performance at the 1955 Newport Jazz festival. To be sure, Davis was wholly unconcerned with the quality of these sessions, and had directed his group to basically just improvise their way through them as quickly as possible, as if they were playing live. But here's the thing: This group was Davis' first classic quintet, with John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones, and while he was in triumphant comeback mode, the other four players were absolutely hungry and on fire. Combine that with new LP technology that allowed the group's riffing to expand and contract naturally, without the three-minute time constraints of a 78 side, and, well, you accidentally end up with some classic albums. And, even though it was released four years after it was recorded, Workin' may have been the most consequential, standing alongside the contemporaneous work of Art Blakey and Clifford Brown as one of the foundational documents of the hard bop sound that defined mainstream jazz from the mid-'50s through the mid-'60s. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 8 track(s)
- Total length: 00:42:26
- Main artists: Miles Davis Quintet
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Craft Recordings
- Genre: Jazz
© 2023 Craft Recordings. ℗ 2023 Craft Recordings.
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