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17/02/2004 Miles Davis and Cassandra Wilson - new releases, for hardcore fans
Miles Davis albums are thick on the ground: coming to terms with Davis's vast output is a major investment of time and money. And because Davis's career was so wide-ranging - he dominated at least five major jazz styles in his 45 year career - not everyone likes all the Davis recordings (to put it mildly). The discographical challenge is compounded by the number of labels to which Davis was signed - most of the major work was issued by Columbia/Sony, but you can't ignore the Capitol, Blue Note, and, especially, the Prestige and Warner sides. So every new Miles Davis release needs to be assessed carefully: where does it fit in? What period is it from? Is the material already available? Birdland 1951, the new Blue Note release, captures three radio broadcasts, with Davis playing with some stellar musicians, including Charles Mingus and Sonny Rollins. Some of the material has long been available as bootlegs. Recorded by Davis just after he had given birth to the "cool", Birdland 1951 see him in altogether warmer "bebop" terrain. It predates the first great quintet (with Coltrane) by several years. The new release is an obligatory purchase for Miles nuts, but wouldn't make my top fifty recommendations for novice Davis fans. Like Miles Davis, Cassandra Wilson - a contemporary jazz vocalist now seemingly overshadowed by a host of much lesser talents - has released albums which have gradually become stronger. She really only found her signature style in the early/mid-'90s. So the early (JTP) material is not recommended as highly as more recent classic Blue Note albums, such as New Moon Daughter or Belly of the Sun. The new release, Cassandra Wilson Live, recorded in 1991, will be added to my collection, but I wouldn't expect any but real Wilson fans to get too excited about it. Gerry Smith
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