Miles smiles at the latest Bootleg Series Vol 5: Freedom Jazz Dance
Thursday, August 18, 2016
The latest volume of the Columbia/Legacy’s Grammy award winning Miles Davis Bootleg Series, Miles Davis Quintet Freedom Jazz Dance: The Bootleg Series Vol 5, has just been announced for release on 21 October, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the October 1966 recording of Miles Smiles.
The three CD box set puts the second classic Miles Davis Quintet’s studio work from 1966 to 68 under the microscope, covering the albums Miles Smiles released in 1967, Nefertiti (1968) and Water Babies (recorded in in 1967, but not released until 1976) where Miles and the band, featuring Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, were stretching out into new directions with adventurous compositions and an uncanny empathy developed over the previous two years. This set examines at length the creative process including the master takes of all the complete album tracks, including such classics as ‘Footprints’, ‘Freedom Jazz Dance’, ‘Orbits’ and ‘Nefertiti’, plus two hours of previously unreleased recordings, including alternate takes, session reels, rehearsals, a home recording of Davis playing a new piece on piano for Wayne Shorter (‘Blues in F (My Ding)’ and a track of Miles speaking. The box set, which is produced by Steve Berkowitz, Michael Cuscuna and Richard Siedel, will also include a booklet about the sessions by Ashley Kahn, including new interviews with Wayne Shorter and Ron Carter.
– Jon Newey