In Person: Friday Night at the Blackhawk

by Miles Davis

Overview

The first of two sets recorded during a weekend in 1961 features the Miles Davis Quintet at a period of time when Hank Mobley was on tenor and the rhythm section was comprised of pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb. What is most remarkable is the way Kelly fits into this particular blend of the Miles band. Kelly's interplay with Chambers is especially brilliant, because his sense of blues phrasing inside counterpoint harmony is edgy and large, with left-hand chords in the middle register rather than sharp right-hand runs to accentuate choruses. Davis himself has never played with more intensity and muscularity on record than he does here. He is absolutely fierce, both on the Friday night and Saturday night sets. Kelly plays more like a drummer than a pianist, using gorgeously percussive left-hand comps and fills to add bottom to the front line's solos. Mobley displays his bebop rather than hard bop and groove sides here, and reveals his intricate knowledge of the bop phraseology; he sounds free of the baggage and responsibility that he replaced John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley. His solos on "If I Were a Bell" and "No Blues" are simply revelatory. This is an underappreciated group because of its relatively short life, but as evidenced here, the bandmembers swung fast and hard and never looked back. Hearing a dropped bassline, an out-of-time cymbal flourish, and a shortened series of phrases by Miles because he miscounted -- you guess the track -- adds to the charm of this being recorded as it was, without any cleanup. It is difficult to recommend this set over Saturday Night or vice versa; Miles fans will need both to fully appreciate how special this engagement with this particular band was. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	03/11/2014
Label:	Sony Music
UPC:	4547366210613
Rank:	127683

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Miles Davis   Primary Artist,Trumpet
Miles Davis Quintet   Primary Artist
Jimmy Cobb   Guest Artist,Drums
Paul Chambers   Guest Artist,Bass
Wynton Kelly   Guest Artist,Piano
Hank Mobley   Guest Artist,Sax (Tenor)

Technical Credits

Frank Loesser   Composer
Steven Berkowitz   A&R
Sonny Rollins   Composer
Bob Belden   Reissue Producer
Seth Rothstein   Project Director
Patti Matheny   Artist Coordination
Chuck Stewart   Photography
Howard Fritzson   Reissue Art Director
Kyle Wofford   Artist Coordination
Leigh Wiener   Cover Photo,Photography
Stacey Boyle   Tape Research
Richard Carpenter   Composer
Mark Unterberger   Packaging Manager
Irving Townsend   Producer
Cole Porter   Composer
Mort Dixon   Composer
Eddie Henderson   Liner Notes
Johnny Mercer   Composer
James Van Heusen   Composer
Ned Washington   Composer
Mark Wilder   Remixing,Mastering
Michael Cuscuna   Reissue Producer
Ray Henderson   Composer
Ralph J. Gleason   Liner Notes
Miles Davis   Composer
Reverend C.L. Moore   Composer
Danny Small   Composer
Bronislaw Kaper   Composer
Harold Chapman   Engineer
Darren Salmieri   Artist Coordination