Audio CD review:
Miles Davis - Cookin'

Miles Davis - Cookin'

Band: Miles Davis Title: Cookin' Rating: Release Date: 06 February, 2007 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: My Funny Valentine 2: Blues By Five 3: Airegin 4: Tune-Up/When Lights Are Low

Customer Review Down Payment Even though I would put the Columbia recordings of the same quintet ahead of the hastily assembled and recorded four Prestige dates, this is still timeless and essential music. It's difficult to rate this one by itself, since it's merely one chapter in a 4-part novel. The RVG remaster captures Miles' vocal asides more clearly than ever, the bass is boosted but not overly much, the horns sparkle with clarity and presence--definitely one of the more impressive RVG remasters I've heard, one of the few, even, that might justify purchase of the new edition. At the same time, the depth and spaciousness, the natural piano sound, the attention to ambiance and room acoustics are simply not to be heard on Van Gelder's flat aural canvas. The sound is intimate and up-close (insuring that this version of "My Valentine," even more than Chet Baker's, made the tune as popular among instrumentalists as vocalists), but the session still falls short of the sheer magic and magnitude, the poignancy and inexhaustible depth and poetry of the Columbia dates, beginning with "'Round Midnight. " Why is "Cookin'" better known than the other three? Beats me. Coltrane's playing is at times even a bit restrained compared to the other sessions. If you're going to go with just one and don't feel obligated to own the original Miles' "Funny Valentine," "Steamin'" is probably the one that has the edge on all counts--programming, solos, ensemble cohesion. . You can see a complete list of all Miles Davis discography, or go back to the Miles Davis tabs