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Customer Reviews of Milestones

One of the better early Miles Davis Recordings
I'm rather shocked that only a few reviews have been written for
this classic gem. I was expecting to see at least 50-100 avid Davis fans singing praise over one of the tightest and most talented lineups in Davis's recording history. If one of Davis's first Prestige recordings represented "Birth of the Cool", then this recording represents "Cool" in its prime. Tunes like "Straight No Chaser" (which I prefer much more than Monk's original version), "Two Base Hit", and "Sid's Ahead" feature great muscianship and playfullness that will make this recording "Cool" for a long time to come. Davis and Coltrane are simply brilliant at their respective instruments, and Philly Joe, Paul Chambers, and Tommy Flanagan (?) keep the rhythm tight and bouncy. Anyone who is interested in developing a Davis collection which represents his various musical eras, *must* include "Milestones" in the collection. In fact, it seems hard to omit any Davis recording without losing an interesting piece of his history. "Milestones" may not carry the same weight of "Kind of Blue" (but what can???), but nonetheless a classic in its own right.

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Many Miles
"Milestones" is very much a marker for Miles' music. It was recorded in February and March 1958 as Miles' third recording for Columbia. The quintet from "'Round About Midnight"--Miles on trumpet, John Coltrane, tenor; Red Garland piano; Paul Chambers, bass; and Philly Joe Jones on drums has been augmented by Julian "Cannonball" Adderly, whose lyrical, blues inflected alto works as an effective foil to Coltrane. This is the sextet that was--among the best of Miles congregations. The rhythm section was as tight and crisp as they come, and the songs recorded here have become jazz standards. The record starts with the hard bop "Dr. Jekyll" with Miles' thoughtful solo followed by Adderly and Coltrane trading breaks at insane speeds. Chambers' long arco solo is a bonus. "Sids Ahead," a composition reminiscent of "Walkin'," foreshadows "Kind of Blue" as a foray into modal forms. Coltrane's solo is followed by an Adderly's swinging lines, where he plays blues with occasional citations from familiar folk songs. "Two Bass Hit" is hard bop at tempo featuring tight ensemble work and a blazing Adderly solo. The title song, "Milestones" begins with a statement from Adderly followed by Miles' now classic solo containing the modal lines that he eventually explored at length. Adderly's solo is lighter, bluesy, but it fits well with Coltrane's improvisation which is perhaps more consistent with Miles' evocation. "Billy Boy" delivers the cherry pie a la mode. This tune features the rhythm section, Philly Joe, Red Garland and Paul Chambers. Garland's piano swings hard in this tight trio, and Chambers delivers another bowed solo. The record concludes with an exemplary version of Monk's "Straight, No Chaser." Don't need a chaser with this one.

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Half a Great Album
If Milestones is one of Miles's great albums, meriting a 5-star rating, I think it's mainly on the strength of its three best tracks: "Milestones", "Straight No Chaser" and "Sid's Ahead". For me, the three weaker tracks are the ones at the fastest tempos. "Billy Boy" is a feature for the rhythm section as a piano trio, therefore mainly for pianist Red Garland. Unfortunately, although a technically accomplished player and possibly highly regarded by many listeners, he always seemed to me a lightweight, superficial soloist; and since the piece is a corny arrangement of a very trite tune it's no surprise if it fails to improve with repeated listening, despite the brilliance of Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones which gives the piece its vitality. "Two Bass Hit" may have been an entertaining novelty number in the heyday of be-bop but it's hardly one of John Lewis's best compositions. Miles doesn't solo on this one, so it's mainly a feature for Coltrane's and Adderley's fast playing. If you like that sort of thing, there's more of it on "Dr Jackle", another rather uninteresting boppish theme. Coltrane and Adderley demonstrate their skill at playing lots of notes per minute. Miles shows how fewer notes can be used to greater effect ("less is more"), giving the impression that he is playing on top of the tempo rather than racing to keep up with it.

"Milestones" (a.k.a. "Miles") is better. Like most of the material on Miles's 'Kind of Blue' album it's a simply constructed but interesting modal theme which challenges the soloists and inspires them to some carefully thought out solos. Even better in my opinion is the group's version of Thelonius Monk's up-tempo blues, "Straight No Chaser". Like "Milestones" (though it's a different kind of piece) it's an interesting composition in its own right, ingeniously constructed out of a simple motif. With its strong harmonic foundation and bouncing swing it brings out the best in Coltrane and Adderley, as in Miles himself who plays with elegance as well as 'bite'. "Sid's Ahead" is another 12-bar blues, this one at a moderate 'walking' pace - a type of piece and a tempo which suited Miles and inspired some of his best improvising (try "Walkin' " and "Bags' Groove" from 1954 and "All Blues" and "Freddie Freeloader" on 'Kind of Blue').

If you like Coltrane's and Adderley's playing of this vintage (before Trane went 'avant garde' and Cannonball went commercial) you will probably want this album if you don't already have it. If you like Garland's piano playing you will enjoy "Billy Boy" more than I do. I respect his technical skill, but I never hear any kind of 'depth' in anything he played. I've known people to feel the same about 'Cannonball' Adderley. Miles in his solos never plays less than well and there is some of his best work on what I've identified as the three best tracks. Paul Chambers is superb as usual. Philly Joe Jones is magnificent and, for aficionados of the better modern jazz drumming, he may well be the real star of the session.