Round About Midnight
In 1955, Miles Davis signed on with jazz powerhouse Columbia Records. With alto and tenor saxophonistsCannonball AdderleyandJohn Coltrane, drummer Philly Joe Jones, bassistPaul Chambers, and pianistRed Garland, Davis released'Round About Midnight, which evinces even more clearly what a phenomenal unit Davis was nurturing. Stylistically,Midnightencompasses standards (or soon-to-be standards) such as "Dear Old Stockholm," "Bye-Bye Blackbird,"Tadd Dameron's "Tadd's Delight," andJackie McLean's forward-thinking composition "Little Melonae." Miles and company reprise "Budo" from the historicBirth of the Coolsessions. The standout track is Davis's Harmon-muted reading of Thelonious Monk's ballad, "'Round Midnight, which is still a Miles standard bearer. Three alternate takes round out the session: "Two Bass Hit" and "Sweet Sue" feature adventuresome solos by Coltrane that preview his masterpiece "Giant Steps." And Garland moves away from hisAhmad Jamalpianisms with his introspective ivory ticklings. If you want to hear the origins of post-bop modern jazz, this is  it.--Eugene Holley Jr.