01	Springsville						03:27
	02	The Maids of Cadiz						03:53
	03	The Duke						03:34
	04	My Ship						04:27
	05	Miles Ahead						03:29
	06	Blues for Pablo						05:18
	07	New Rhumba						04:36
	08	The Meaning of the Blues						02:48
	09	Lament						02:14
	10	I Don't Wanna Be Kissed (by anyone but you)						03:11
	11	Concierto De Aranjuez						16:23
	12	Will o' the Wisp						03:49
	13	The Pan Piper						03:54
	14	Saeta						05:08
	15	Solea						12:20

Miles Ahead
Date of Release May 6, 1957 - May 27, 1957 (recording)
Styles Cool

This album is perhaps most significant for the process it set in motion - the collaboration between Gil Evans and Miles Davis that would produce Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain, two of Davis' best albums. That said, this album is a miracle in itself, the result of a big gamble on the part of Columbia records, who put together Evans and Davis, who hadn't worked together since recording the critically admired but commercially unsuccessful sides that would later be issued as The Birth of the Cool. Columbia also allowed Evans to assemble a 19-piece band for the recordings, at a time when big bands were far out of fashion and also at a time when the resulting recordings could not be released until two years in the future (because of Davis' contractual obligations with Prestige). Davis was also expected to carry the album as its only soloist, and manage not to get lost amongst a cast of supporting musicians that included a huge horn section. To a large extent, he succeeds. Evans' arrangements in particular are well-suited to the format, and he and Davis formed a deep and close partnership where ideas were swapped back and forth, nurtured, and developed long before they were expressed in the studio. Davis gets off to a great start, with the hyper-kinetic "Springsville," which seems to almost perfectly embody Evans' and Davis' partnership with its light, flexible exchanges between soloist and orchestra. He is strongest on the ballads, though, where his subdued and wistful tone rises high above the hushed accompaniment, especially on "Miles Ahead" and "Blues for Pablo" (which foreshadows the bluesy, Latin-tinged sound of Sketches of Spain). The upbeat "I Don't Want to Be Kissed (By Anyone but You)" is another strong song, but shows the weakness of the format as Davis intersperses a charming, bright, technically challenging solo with a blasting horn section that occasionally buries him. It is a fine end, however, to an album that gave a hint of the greatness that would come as Evans and Davis fine-tuned their partnership over the course of the next several years. - Stacia Proefrock

1. Springsville (Carisi) - 3:27
2. The Maids of Cadiz (Delibes) - 3:53
3. The Duke (Brubeck) - 3:35
4. My Ship (Gershwin/Weill) - 4:28
5. Miles Ahead (Davis/Evans) - 3:29
6. Blues for Pablo (Evans) - 5:18
7. New Rhumba (Jamal) - 4:37
8. The Meaning of the Blues (Troup/Worth) - 4:63
9. Lament - 2:14
10. I Don't Wanna Be Kissed (By Anyone But... (Elliott/Spina) - 3:05

11. Springsville [*] (Carisi) - 3:14
12. Blues for Pablo [*] (Evans) - 3:28
13. Meaning of the Blues/Lament [*] (Johnson/Troup/Worth) - 5:08
14. I Don't Wanna Be Kissed (By Anyone But... [*] (Elliott/Spina) - 3:12

Walter Bishop, Jr. - Piano
Jimmy Cleveland - Trombone
Miles Davis - Trumpet, Flageolet, Flugelhorn
Philly Joe Jones - Drums
Wynton Kelly - Piano
Lee Konitz - Sax (Alto)
John Lewis - Piano
Charles Mingus - Piano
Max Roach - Drums
Sonny Rollins - Sax (Tenor)
Horace Silver - Piano
Art Taylor - Drums
Andre Hodeir - Liner Notes
Taft Jordan - Trumpet
Frank Rehak - Trombone
Ernie Royal - Trumpet
Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones - Trombone
Percy Heath - Bass
Willie Ruff - Horn, French Horn
George Avakian - Producer, Liner Notes, Reissue Producer, Digital Remixing Producer
Danny Bank - Clarinet (Bass)
Billy Barber - Tuba
Art Blakey - Drums
James Buffington - Horn, French Horn
Eddie Caine - Clarinet, Flute
Johnny Carisi - Trumpet
Paul Chambers - Bass
Sid Cooper - Bass, Clarinet, Flute
Gil Evans - Arranger, Conductor, Director
Bernie Glow - Trumpet
Amy Herot - Series Coordinator
James Jordan - Trumpet
Cal Lampley - Producer, Associate Producer, Assistant Producer
Tony Miranda - Horn, French Horn
Thomas Mitchell - Trombone, Trombone (Bass)
Ray Moore - Digital Remixing
Louis Mucci - Trumpet
Charlie Parker - Sax (Tenor)
Romeo Penque - Bass, Clarinet, Flute, Oboe
Fred Plaut - Engineer
Phil Schaap - Producer, Liner Notes, Editing
Mark Wilder - Editing, Mastering
Gary Pacheco - Series Coordinator
Allen Weinberg - Art Direction
Penny Armstrong - Product Manager
Tom "Curly" Ruff - Engineer
Don Hunstein - Photography
Seth Rothstein - Remastering
Howard Fritzson - Art Direction
Paul M. Martin - Art Direction
Pete Cenedella - Package Coordinator
Harold Chapman - Engineer
Randall Martin - Design
Tom Mitchell - Bass, Trombone, Trombone (Bass)
Michael Brooks - Series Coordinator
Rene Arsenault - Associate Producer
Andrй Hodier - Liner Notes
David Noakes - Translation

1997 CD Columbia/Legacy 65121
1997 CD Columbia 65339
1993 CS Columbia 53225
1993 CD Columbia 53225
1991 CS Columbia CJT-40784
1991 CD Columbia CK-40784
1990 CD Columbia 40784
1962 LP Columbia 8633
1957 Columbia C-1041





Sketches of Spain
Date of Release Nov 15, 1959 - Mar 10, 1960 (release)
Styles Cool

Along with Kind of Blue, In a Silent Way, and Round About Midnight, Sketches of Spain is one of Miles Davis' most enduring and innovative achievements. Recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 - after Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley had left the band - Miles teamed with British arranger Gil Evans for the third time. Davis brought Evans the album's signature piece, "Concierto de Aranjuez," after hearing a classical version of it at bassist Joe Mondragon's house. Evans was as taken with it as Miles and set about to create an entire album of material around it. The result is a masterpiece of modern art. On the "Concierto," Evans' arrangement provided an orchestra and jazz band - Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, and Elvin Jones - the opportunity to record a classical work as it was. The piece, with its stunning colors and intricate yet transcendent adagio, played by Davis on a flьgelhorn with a Harmon mute, is one of the most memorable works to come from popular culture in the 20th century. Davis' control over his instrument is singular, and Evans' conducting is flawless. Also notable are "Saeta," with one of the most amazing technical solos of Davis' career, and the album's closer, "Solea," which is conceptually a narrative piece, based on an Andalusian folk song, about a woman who encounters the procession taking Christ to Calvary. She sings the narrative of his passion and the procession - or parade - with full brass accompaniment moves on. Cobb and Jones, with flamenco-flavored percussion, are particularly wonderful here, as they allow the orchestra to indulge in the lushly passionate arrangement Evans provided to accompany Davis, who was clearly at his most challenged here, though he delivers with grace and verve. Sketches of Spain is the most luxuriant and stridently romantic recording Davis ever made. To listen to it in the 21st century is still a spine-tingling experience as one encounters a multitude of timbres, tonalities, and harmonic structures seldom found in the music called jazz. - Thom Jurek

1. Concierto de Aranjuez (Rodrigo) - 16:19
2. Will O' the Wisp (de Falla/DeFalla) - 3:47
3. The Pan Piper (Evans) - 3:52
4. Saeta (Evans) - 5:06
5. Solea (Evans) - 12:15
6. Song of Our Country [*] (Evans) - 3:23
7. Concierto de Aranjuez, Pt. 1 [alternate take/*] (Rodrigo) - 12:04
8. Concierto de Arajuez, Pt. 2 (Ending) [alternate take/*] (Rodrigo) - 3:33

Johnny Coles - Trumpet
Miles Davis - Trumpet, Flageolet, Flugelhorn
Elvin Jones - Percussion
Taft Jordan - Trumpet
Frank Rehak - Trombone
Ernie Royal - Trumpet
Steven Berkowitz - Director
Jimmy Cobb - Drums
Danny Bank - Bass, Clarinet, Clarinet (Bass)
Billy Barber - Tuba
John Barrows - French Horn
Albert Block - Flute
James Buffington - Horn, French Horn, Fender Rhodes
Eddie Caine - Flute, Flugelhorn
Paul Chambers - Bass
Earl Chapin - French Horn
Gil Evans - Arranger, Conductor
Harold Feldman - Clarinet, Flute, Oboe
Bernie Glow - Trumpet
Kevin Gore - Director
Nat Hentoff - Liner Notes
Jack Knitzer - Bassoon
Teo Macero - Producer
Jose Mangual - Percussion
Jimmy McAllister - Tuba
Tony Miranda - French Horn
Louis Mucci - Trumpet
Romeo Penque - Oboe
Fred Plaut - Engineer
Janet Putnam - Harp, Harp
Phil Schaap - Producer, Liner Notes, Reissue Producer, Digital Mastering, Remastering, Research, Restoration
Vernon Smith - Photography
Irving Townsend - Producer
Mark Wilder - Engineer, Digital Mastering
Dick Hixon - Trombone
Joe Singer - French Horn
Tom "Curly" Ruff - Engineer
Seth Rothstein - Director, Project Director
Howard Fritzson - Art Direction, Reissue Art Director
Al Block - Flute, Tuba, Oboe
Randall Martin - Design, Reissue Design
Rene Arsenault - Associate Producer, Production Assistant
Patti Matheny - Artist Coordination
Nicholas Bennett - Packaging Manager

1999 SCD Sony 65142
1997 CS Columbia/Legacy 65142





Editorial Reviews (Amazon.com essential recording)

Miles Davis's impact on jazz is almost incalculable. From his early days as a sideman for Charlie Parker, through his groundbreaking Birth of the Cool sessions, to his stunning small groups of the '50s and '60s, through to his electric renaissance, the trumpeter, bandleader, and composer has left a deep mark on all who came after. He is one of jazz's true giants. Sketches of Spain, though one of Davis's most commercially successful sessions, is also one of his most controversial. Re-teaming with arranger and composer Gil Evans, who played such a pivotal role in Davis's 1949 Birth of the Cool recordings, Davis recorded a series of large group albums beginning in the late '50s, including Porgy and Bess, Miles Ahead, and Quiet Nights. Sketches of Spain, with its emphasis on flamenco, rich orchestrations, and relaxed tempos, is certainly one of Davis's most mellow recordings (he even works out on fluegelhorn), and proved to have broad appeal. To some critics, however, the project was "elevated elevator music." An expanded version of the album, featuring alternative tracks and unreleased material, was issued in 1997 by Columbia Legacy. --Fred Goodman


Spotlight Reviews (What's this?)

One of the Greatest Ever, October 22, 2002
Reviewer: msalvucc05 (see more about me) from San Antonio, TX
Miles' rendition of the Concierto de Aranjuez is one of the most, if not the most gourgeous song(s) I have ever heard. Obviously, it was Miles playing, but it is a new style. Some people, including the composer, J Rodrigo, do not like it, but it is a wonderful fusion of a neo-classical concerto with a more modern jazz feel. In fact, if only to hear this, the album would be worth it. The more defined Will O' The Wisp and Pan Piper create a nice contrast. Saeta is strikingly different. The marchlike style is in sharp contrast to most Miles, in fact. However, it is still very beautiful and the trumpet mechanics are second to none. The Soleta is a very beautiful, soleful piece that melds nicely with the Concierto. Song of Our Country is an interesting work. The rehersal take of the Concierto is strikingly beautiful. Some people consider this a strange, out-there album that is not Miles Davis. I feel that it just shows how unique Miles really was, and his legacy cannot be discussed without talking about Sketches of Spain. Many people love it, or just think it's plain weird. I encourage buying this album because of all the wonderful contrasts.



Certainly unique, June 11, 2000
Reviewer: Funkmeister G (see more about me) from LEICHHARDT, New South Wales Australia
I don't think anyone has ever made an album like this one, the blend of traditional Spanish music w/ classical & jazz tones, all blended superbly into pure musical escapism. It wasn't enough for Miles to just create the immortal Kind Of Blue that year, he had to do something else equally excellent but completely different as well. The opener & highlight Concierto de Aranjuez goes for 16 minutes but couldn't be considered too long except for those w/ short attention spans or the lack of brains & heart to 'get' it. There is a bit 8 & 1/2 minutes into it which that other great musical pioneer Don Van Vliet [Captain Beefheart] liked so much he incorporated it into Sugar & Spikes, 1 of the 28 tracks from his masterpiece Trout Mask Replica. That alone would make this album worth hearing but there is something truly magnificent & otherworldly about Sketches. Incidentally another version of the track [composed by legendary violinist Niccolo Paganini who everyone believed was possessed by the devil because of the ferocity he played w/] appears on the Modern Jazz Quartet's In Memoriam album. Saeta, track 4, is the other highlight, much emotion pouring out of the trumpet, in a still quite restrained manner. This is accessible music but can be very much appreciated by those who like it arty too.


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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:

Jazz Tone Poems, January 26, 2004
Reviewer: weirdears (see more about me) from New York, NY
Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain

Among instrumentalists, the collaborations of Miles Davis and Gil Evans are often controversial. Though people universally acknowledge that Evans was a genius as an arranger, it's not easy for those who want a full out hard-bop blowing session to adjust to the cool colors and laid back aesthetic of these works. For many; the most difficult of the Davis/Evans collaborations is this third one in the series. While Miles Ahead and Porgy and Bess both have obvious roots in big band writing, Sketches of Spain delves into material that was generally not in the mainstream at the time. That it does so with subtlety and style is something that can often be overlooked by those who wish that Miles would blow more.

Sketches of Spain has its genesis in the slow movement of the Rodrigo Concierto di Arguanez, one of the most beloved pieces of classical music out of Spain. Both Miles and Gil Evans were taken with the piece when they were introduced to it and it forms the centerpiece of the album, and the number that seems to register the greatest number of complaints. Purists in the classical world dislike it's fast and loose treatment of the original work, and in fact, Rodrigo was on record as detesting the final product. And jazz musicians felt the work to be pretentious, with not enough room for Miles to solo, and not enough out and out swing. There was also a feeling that the work was just blatantly copied from it's origins and that any brilliance in the work was due to Rodrigo, not to Evans.

A careful hearing, especially a side-by-side comparison with the original Concierto, can dispel much of the criticism of this work. Evans does not merely imitate the piece; he imaginatively rethinks it for wind ensemble. Instead of the spare English Horn and strings with which Rodrigo opens the work, Evans creates a shimmering bed of castanets and harp, over which he layers low flutes and French horns an muted brass, moving in a dense carpet of parallel fourths. While the main points of the original form are followed, with Miles taking mostly the guitar parts, there are many sections that illustrate the genius of Evans, the arranger. Particularly impressive is Evans rethinking of the guitar cadenzas. For the first cadenza Evans contrasts Miles in his dark low register, with beautifully balanced chords in the flutes and low brass, characterized by unusual voicings that include tense dissonances at the top of the chord. Also stunning is the original section that Evans uses to replace the second cadenza. The bass begins an understated vamp. Miles solos over it with his typical cool understatement and the orchestra builds to the climax of the work.

The other cuts on the album are even more understated, but also highly original. Two particularly stand out. Saeta is inspired by a traditional Holy Week procession in which an effigy is paraded through a town, interrupted by a long mournful solo by Davis. The orchestration in this part is stunning. Evans layers martial percussion, a faint bassoon solo and a brass band against Miles' beautiful trumpet. The effect is a jazz tone poem, in the best tradition of the Ellington Orchestra.

The other standout on the album is Solea. This work is a long, beautiful Miles solo over a constantly changing orchestral vamp. Evans shows considerable ingenuity in constantly varying the rather static two-chord vamp, and Miles is given just one scale to improvise on. Though this album came out after Kind of Blue, it was recorded several months earlier, and you can see the influence that Evans had on Miles' revolutionary small group album.

The re-mastering of this album is terrific. The clarity by which you can hear the delicate sounds such as the castanets and the harp is truly lovely. It compares favorably to the old LP version. My one gripe with this reissue, which I have with most of the Columbia reissue series, is that the filler material is basically not worthy to be released. On this one, the filler includes a Brazilian character piece, which belongs in the filler to the Quiet Nights album instead, and two alternative versions of parts of the Concierto. Though last pieces have some documentary value, they are both vastly inferior to the final product and are ultimately annoying to listen to. I would prefer to have the album as it was finally released and save this sort of material for boxed set compilations, even if that means I only get 40 minutes worth of music.

In conclusion, this is a classic album, worthy to join the other Evans/Davis collaborations. It even pushes the art of jazz arranging farther than the other records. And the influence of this work on the history of jazz arranging and composition can't be overestimated. Don Sebesky, Bill Holman and numerous other large group arrangers continually show their debt to the genius of Evans. But, for those who want to hear Miles blow; stick with the quintet and sextet albums from this period. Sketches of Spain does feature Miles, but the real star of the album is the arranging.



So many others to buy before this one, December 30, 2003
Reviewer: xx001a45 (see more about me) from Tampa, FL USA
The reviewers that talk about playing Relaxin or Kind of Blue hundreds of times but this only a dozen really sum up this great album. Yes, great if you are in that category of collector crossing over to aficionado. This is Miles all by his lonesome adjoined by a strange orchestra that has no cohesion with this artist. Very similar to that hokey stuff Creed Taylor did with Wes Montgomery and that Verve orchestra (which all his best offerings are on Riverside by the way). The feel of this album is like some Columbia record exec. saying "hey Miles we're going to put you in a room with an orchestra and it's going to be for your own good because all the other jazz musicians who aren't half as talented as you are doing this same thing.

But this is merely an opinion from a person who really has none other than if you aren't a collector you will be much happier with well rounded classics like Steamin, Talkin, Workin, and best of all Relaxin. Then on to the Columbia Sextet but you can cut yourself on some of that insane wizardry.



A fan letter, November 7, 2003
Reviewer: Gulley Jimson (see more about me) from Washington, DC
When I was in college struggling to build a CD collection that would convince visitors to my room that I was cool, I got two Miles Davis albums that I thought made the best impression: Kind of Blue and Sketches of Spain. Since then, I am thankfully much less concerned with what people think of me, I've listened to Kind of Blue hundreds of times, and Sketches of Spain...I'm not sure...maybe twenty times, and haven't had the urge to pick it off the shelf for the past two years. Why do I never feel like listening to it, even though the music was enjoyable?

I think I figured out the reason when I stumbled across the actual Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez on a CD of classical guitar pieces. It really is a beautiful piece. What surprised me was how similar it was to the version on Sketches of Spain. Miles's version was essentially the same piece arranged for jazz band: nothing particularly exciting was done to the music, and any changes in the harmony that took place with the transposition of instruments were, if anything, to the detriment of the music. There's a reason this piece was, after all, written for guitar.

The rest of the album-with the exception of Solea-gives me the same impression. It's a fan letter to Spain; it recreates their music without creating anything new or vital. I remember reading in the liner notes that the recording of this album was plagued with difficulties, because Miles kept showing up late to sessions without being adequately prepared. Now, I don't know how he acted during the sessions that created Kind of Blue, In a Silent Way, or Miles Smiles-but I have a feeling it wasn't like that. Those records bristle with enthusiasm and energy: everyone in them was fully committed to what was being done.

But I can sort of tell, when I listen to this, why Miles wasn't totally into Sketches of Spain. There's barely any room to breathe inside these arrangements-the improvisatory feel of the jazz that Miles was best at is gone. His freedom is basically limited to a few sections of primary melody, and that within an idiom of music that he isn't totally comfortable with. When you listen to this album, little phrases and melodies don't stick in your head the way they do with Kind of Blue; instead, what you come away with is a vaguely pleasant feeling.

What this is, then, is nice background music. And you can play great music for atmosphere, but if it's actually great, eventually it'll get your attention again and again and distract you from whatever it is you were doing. This one just plays until it's over and then goes back on the shelf, the same as those lame world music albums people get to "relax." Well, it's better than those. But still: only get this if you have the great Miles albums. I mentioned a few.



Amongst 'Miles Davis's' finest releases....., October 29, 2003
Reviewer: fetish_2000
Although unarguably one of the finest Jazz musicians of his generation, Having now gone back and listened to "Sketches of Spain" from a new perspective, it's now not hard to see why this is a massively influential album...as 'Miles Davis''' trumpet playing, is the shining light in an overall complex & stunningly intricate album. Whether it's the memorable 16 minute luxurious orchestral of "Concierto de Aranjuez", or the more English marching/ regimental-esque stomp of "Saeta", or the laid back reflective signature trumpeting blues of "Solea"...Miles is without a shadow of a doubt a Trumpeter of unquestionable greatness..but let's not take anything away from his backing band, and their subtle arrangements that not only enhance, but allow Miles' compositions to explore all available boundaries and push the envelope of a trumpeters capabilities and harmonic structures, to elevate this to a truly landmark album.