Miles Davis: Walkin'
Musicians:
Miles Davis (trumpet), J.J. Johnson (trombone), Lucky Thompson (tenor sax), Horace Silver (piano), Percy Heath (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums).
Composed by Richard Carpenter (no, not the male half of brother & sister 1970s pop duo the Carpenters)
.Recorded: Hackensack, NJ, April 29, 1954
Rating: 94/100 (learn more)
Following his Birth of the Cool obstetric triumph, Miles Davis ceased to be a factor in jazz's development. The sharp-as-a-tack hipster became a sprawled-in-the-gutter junkie who disgusted even his own father. In 1954, having kicked heroin, Miles returned, determined "to take the music forward into a more funky kind of blues." Soundman Rudy Van Gelder's reverb adds to the back-alley ambiance of this leisurely 13½-minute stroll, which had a twofold importance. Funky blues gave East Coasters a visceral alternative to cerebral West Coast jazz, and "Walkin'" heralded the resurrection of a charismatic figurehead. Our hero was back in the game!
Reviewer: Alan Kurtz
Tags: 1950s jazz · blues · trumpet · walkin
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