Porgy and Bess
Gil Evans's instrumental arrangements of Gershwin's opera, built on scales rather than chords.
Miles Davis, 1959
- Released
- March 1959
- Recorded
- 22 and 29 July, 4 and 18 August 1958
- Studio
- Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York
- Label
- Columbia
- Producer
- Cal Lampley
Davis and Gil Evans arranged music from George Gershwin's 1935 opera over four sessions in the summer of 1958. Davis said the idea came from Frances Taylor, then dancing in the City Center production of Porgy and Bess. He told Nat Hentoff that for I Loves You, Porgy Evans wrote him only a scale and no chords, which gave him more freedom and space. The album followed the success of Miles Ahead and gave him more room to try the modal approach and third stream playing.
It was well received by the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. Biographer Jack Chambers called it a new score with its own integrity, order and action, and JazzTimes in 1997 called it possibly the best of the Davis and Evans collaborations. Jimmy Cobb replaced Philly Joe Jones on drums for some tracks.
Personnel
- Miles Davis trumpet, flugelhorn
- Gil Evans arranger, conductor
- Cannonball Adderley alto saxophone
- Paul Chambers bass
- Philly Joe Jones, Jimmy Cobb drums
- Cal Lampley producer
- Frank Laico recording engineer
- Roy DeCarava cover photography
More from Miles Davis
Birth of the Cool (1957), Miles Ahead (1957), Milestones (1958), Kind of Blue (1959), Sketches of Spain (1960), Miles Smiles (1967), In a Silent Way (1969), Bitches Brew (1970), Jack Johnson (1971), On the Corner (1972), Tutu (1986)
Sources
- Porgy and Bess (Miles Davis album), Wikipedia