They were known as Miles Davis’ second great quintet featuring Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, Wayne Shorter on sax and Tony Williams on drums, but to some, they were his most important lineup, featuring Miles surrounded by a talented group of musicians who were much younger than he was. The first great quintet featured John Coltrane on sax, Philly Joe Jones on drums, Red Garland on piano and Paul Chambers on bass and were responsible for creating a new modal language of cool Jazz on quintessential classic albums like “Kind Of Blue,” “Round About Midnight” and “Milestones.” The ’60s quintet’s approach to improvisation was far more free-wheeling and the group’s musical language was far more advanced…they were all on the same plane, and that plane was otherworldly. The quintet recorded the albums “E.S.P.” “Miles Smiles,” “Sorcerer,” “Nefertiti,” “Miles In The Sky,” and “Filles de Kilimanjaro” between the years 1965 and 1968, and can be heard live from the concert stage on the 5 CD “Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel” recorded in 1965 and on the 3 CD “Live In Europe 1967.” This version of Shorter’s “Footprints,” originally from the “Miles Smiles” album, was culled from the DVD that came with the “Live In Europe 1967” set release last fall as “The Bootleg Series Volume 1.” Hopefully, Columbia will keep them coming.
