Miles Davis – ‘Round About Midnight

Description

Miles Davis’ first album for Columbia, ‘Round About Midnight, represents both the beginning of a three-plus-decade relationship with the famed label as well as the start of an extended collaboration with the then relatively unknown saxophonist John Coltrane. One of the era’s only complete full-length LPs and Davis’ introduction into the mainstream, the 1957 set stands as a hard-bop benchmark — a summation of the styles that came before its creation, an immersion into the period’s cutting-edge strains, and a hint of the modalism that would soon follow.

Part of Mobile Fidelity’s Miles Davis reissue series, ‘Round About Midnight resonates with newfound palpability and emotionalism on the label’s 180g 33RPM SuperVinyl LP. Sourced from the original master tapes and housed in a Stoughton jacket, this numbered-edition collectible traces the individual paths each musician takes in contributing to the whole — from pianist Red Garland’s left hand weaving counter-melodic chords to Coltrane infusing a tune with forward, harmony-defying patterns to the extent that iconic pianist Cecil Taylor declared “Coltrane’s what you hear on that record” the first time he heard the album.

Recorded at three extended sessions that took place over an 11-month span and chosen from a multitude of takes, the music sounds cohesive, immediate, and involving. Ballads are warm, lush, gentle, illuminated; upbeat pieces bounce, snap, and energize. The high ceilings at Columbia’s 30th Street Studio doubtlessly add to the sonic awe. Playing with the lowest-possible noise floor as well as sublime transparency, dead-quiet surfaces, and superb groove definition, Mobile Fidelity’s SuperVinyl profile conveys those highly desired traits and captures the true character of the quintet.

Few jazz records claim the significance attached to ‘Round About Midnight. The album’s creation — and the assembly of Davis’ quintet, which includes bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones — stems from the headliner’s rousing rendition of the title-inspired track, “’Round Midnight,” a Thelonious Monk standard, at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival. Stunning the audience with an interpretation that witnessed him personalize the composition with a brooding tone made possible via his soon-to-be-trademark Harmon mute, Davis redefined perspective and possibility. He took ownership of the ballad as his own, and further improved upon its reach in the studio. It wasn’t the composer’s only surprise.

‘Round About Midnight thrives with diversity and consistency, a combination epitomized by the group’s astonishing performances of pensive ballads, bebop classics, and pop standards. Witness the quintet’s teetering lines during “Ah-Leu-Cha” and its Dixieland shades. Soak up the progressive drama and swinging tempos on “All of You.” Delight in the latticed textures throughout “Bye Bye Blackbird,” here presented in gorgeous fidelity that zeroes in on Davis’  plush, rich, close-up timbres. Playing his instrument right near the microphone, he infuses arrangements with the sort of daring intimacy embraced by risque lovers.

Tension, suggestiveness, calm, mystery, nostalgia: All here. Gather now, ‘Round About Midnight. Slip on a pair of shades, draw the curtains, slouch into a chair, and sip a refreshing beverage. This is Miles and Co. at their finest. And hipness personified.

MoFi SuperVinyl

Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analog lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world’s quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label’s engineers hear in the mastering lab.
Track List

‘Round Midnight
Ah-Leu-Cha
All of You
Bye Bye Blackbird
Tadd’s Delight
Dear Old Stockholm