The recorded debut, and sole studio recording, of the Miles Davis Dream Team -- with alto
saxophonist
Cannonball Adderley added to the in-place quintet of John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones -- done a year
before KIND OF BLUE. The set is balanced between the up- and medium-tempo tautness of "Dr. Jekyll," "Two Bass Hit," "Straight, No
Chaser," and "Milestones" -- the three horn players riding Jones's rhythmic
pulse like bronco busters -- and the one leisurely ballad ("Sid's
Ahead," which stretches to a full 13 minutes) that foreshadows the long, slow modal explorations just down the road. Throughout, Davis plays some
of his greatest trumpet solos, slices of perfection nestled between the earthy Adderley and the already ethereal Coltrane. This album is a model
of its times -- a happy marriage between the gritty soulfulness of hard bop and the romantic lilt of cool jazz. Only a rhythm section prance through "Billy Boy" breaks the mood.
