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Miles Davis - Ascenseur Pour l'Échafaud Audio CD

A fair review of the Miles Davis "Ascenseur Pour l'Échafaud" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Miles Davis reviews here, or go back to the Miles Davis tabs.

Miles Davis Band: Miles Davis
Title: Ascenseur Pour l'Échafaud
Rating:
Release Date: 2007-09-18
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Generique 2: Assassinat de Carala 3: Sur l'Autoroute 4: Julien dans l'Ascenseur 5: Florence Sur Les Champs-Elysees 6: Diner au Motel 7: Evasion de Julien 8: Visite du Vigile 9: Bar du Petit Bac 10: Chez le Photographe du Motel 11: Nuit Sur Les Champs-Elysees [Take 1] 12: Nuit Sur Les Champs-Elysees [Take 2] 13: Nuit Sur Les Champs-Elysees [Generique] 14: Nuit Sur Les Champs-Elysees [Florence Sur Les Champs-Elysees] 15: Assassinat [Take 1] 16: Assassinat [Julien dans L`Ascenseur] 17: Assassinat [L`Assassinat de Carala] 18: Motel (Diner au Motel) 19: Final [Take 1] 20: Final [Take 2] 21: Final [Chez le Photographe du Motel] 22: Ascenseur [Evasion de Julien] 23: Ascenseur [Evasion de Julien] 24: Petit Bal [Au Bar du Petit Bac] 25: Sequence Voiture [Take 1] 26: Sequence Voiture [Sur l'Autoroute]

Sensational
The music is haunting and very sensual. This is my favorite Miles CD. I play it often, especially when creating, and I recommend it highly to all Miles fans, especially those who like the introspective tunes that are more melodic, less progressive.


Hidden Treasure from Miles
Nighttime interior. Scene: Poste Parisien recording studio, 1957. The actress Jeanne Moreau sips from a glass and chats with director Louis Malle. Lights dim. A noisy film projector rattles, and a screen across the room shows images in noir et blanc, rough cuts from a film in the making. Looking through the glass of an adjacent sound booth is Miles Davis. He licks his lips and nods to the four other musicians in the session, who will join him in improvising the cinematic soundtrack while they watch the movie scenes.

In the flicker of the projector's light, the band breathes to life, slower than a heartbeat. Miles, staring at the screen, erupts into a lonely, haunting melody that soars above the film imagery, then swoops down to intermingle with the characters' tangled emotions. Kenny Clarke puts his brushes to work, scraping quietly across drumheads, and Pierre Michelot joins in on upright bass, the strings echoing in the darkness of its hollow wooden cavity.

Later in the session, a more frenetic piece unfolds. Miles has been having a problem with his lip. A piece of skin breaks loose and sticks to the mouthpiece of his trumpet. The airflow is altered slightly, creating a slight rasp in Miles' tone. It works, and the cut is used in the soundtrack of "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" (Elevator to the Gallows). The film and soundtrack are released in 1958. The sound recording, while not well-known, often becomes a favorite of Miles fans who later discover it and are seduced by its moody tenor. And for good reason. It's kinda bleu, with some bop interludes. It works. It'll make you want more.


Perfect.
For all the haters who quibble about the 16 (supposedly missing) tracks here's a thought; some of us like works the way the artist originally concieved them not the excessive, remastered editions with superflous material added to simply fill out the running time on a CD. I kept this baby on 'repeat' all last night and it was the perfect companion. This is simply gorgeous music that embraces the spirit of brevity while living and breathing totally in the moment. An unjustly forgotten and underrated classic. Essential.


An undiscovered gem
That is unfortunate, because this is one of his finest moments. When you read about Miles's best works, you never hear mention of this gem. Miles Davis is so innovative, even when he is not trying to be, that when he recorded this record in two days time he unintentionally set the tone for all film noir soundtracks to this day. It is no coincidence that every noir soundtrack that would follow (from Taxi Driver to Mulholland Drive) would pay tribute to every element this work is made of--slow minor key bass lines, sparse piano, and heavily echoed and piercing trumpet.

Why not five stars? It is a soundtrack afterall and there a couple of throwaways like Sul L'Autoroute. But everything else is dark and beautiful. Undoubtedly, the finest track on the record is the opener Generique. But the rest of this record still holds its own in its hauntingly unique way. To me, this may very well be my favorite Miles record.

If you are a Miles fan do yourself a favor and buy this record. There is remastered cd that followed this which is made up of alternate takes of these songs. If you must have those alternate takes then buy all means purchase that version. But believe me, buy owning just these ten tracks you will be missing nothing!.


Horrible blunder.
I thought that when they got around to re-mastering this CD, they'd do a good job. Verve has really been talking about their sole Miles Davis release lately, especially because the film (under the title Elevator to the Gallows) was released on DVD by no less than Criterion. Instead, they reissued the original 10-track LP, stripping the CD of 16 bonus tracks. This is an abomination; Miles and Louis Malle deserve more.


You can see a complete list of all Miles Davis discography, or go back to the Miles Davis tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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