BLUE HAZE [AKA: MILES DAVIS QUARTET]

The early discography of MILES DAVIS and jazz artists in general has always been and remains a complete mess! It seems the record industry didn't really grasp the proper methodologies of organizing releases until the late 1950s when it seems some kind of standard emerged and everything became easier to track. But before 1956 or so it was the wild west. Take this release by THE MILES DAVIS QUARTET for example. No database can seem to agree when exactly it was released and that comes from the fact that what is now known as BLUE HAZE was originally released as a 10" LP simple titled THE MILES DAVID QUARTET in 1954 and then re-released as BLUE HAZE in 1956. The official DAVIS website also considers it released in 1954 despite the name change.

Some sources call this a compilation while others cite it as a legit album although the tracks were certainly recorded from May 1953 - April 1954. Whatever the case the album covers the early years of MILES DAVIS' legendary career when he was cranking out the typical bop of the era with varying musicians joining in on every track. The lineups of any MILES DAVIS album were legendary and these earliest releases are no exception. This amazing display of mid-50s bop featured some of the biggest names of jazz yet to come with Horace Silver, Charles Mingus, Art Blakey and Max Roach joining in on various tracks along with pianist John Lewis, alto saxist Davey Schildkraut and drummer Kenny Clarke also joining in. Bassist Percy Heath is the only musician to sit in on every track on BLUE HAZE.

Despite the tracks featuring different lineups, all of these cool cats were seasoned pros even at this early stage of their retrospective careers and although the music itself is fairly standard for the era, these guys pretty much animated it like very few could and it has always utterly amazed me how brilliant MILES DAVIS really was even from the very beginning. All one has to do is compare a forgotten jazz musician from the same era and the difference in talent is staggering. The album created a bit of controversy in later years with DAVIS claiming credit for the two compositions "Four" and "Tune Up" however jump blues singer and saxophonist Eddie Vinson claimed that the tunes were indeed his and he did not give DAVIS permission to record them. The dispute was ultimately solved by giving equal credit.

This stage of DAVIS' career showcases the time when he began to emerge as the creative tour de force that would quickly dominate the world of jazz in the late 50s and not let up well into the 1970s. Weening himself off of the Dizzy Gillespie mentored influences that propelled him into the limelight, DAVIS blossomed as a composer with several originally crafted tracks including "Smooch," "Miles Ahead" and the title track. Even at this stage DAVIS was dreaming up the world of cool jazz with a more relaxed take on the oft frenetic approach many hard boppers took. Heath's bass lines are particular laid back and the overall vibe of this collection of tracks is fairly mellow which belies the amazing monstrous performances of some of the members' future recordings.

As far as i'm concerned, every DAVIS album is essential but for those only into the absolute classics or the jazz-fusion era then this one is obviously of less importance as it is a fairly standard affair of the day even if DAVIS was beginning to strut an original streak that would only keep its momentum until his creative prowess reached full potential on albums like 1957's "Round About Midnight" and "Cookin'." This is the type of jazz that makes great dinner music or when you really aren't in the mood for something that's overly complex and bombastic. A brilliantly played album with less than brilliantly composed compositions but what a pleasant stroll down cool bop alley this is. While not his creative peak, it's always fun to dive back into DAVIS's earliest recordings to experience that early innocence before he was the king of this craft.

3.5 rounded down