Miles was looking gorgeous, and he showed it on the cover of this album, displaying the leathery sheen of his skin, more than ever associated with the resonance of his trumpet, which he no longer tried to hide behind the mute. In June and July, he returned to the studio with his quintet six times, continually fascinated by Wayne Shorter’s themes, which followed one another like a cortege of lofty divinities leaving their temple for a nocturnal procession. With his saxophonist, he tirelessly played and replayed the melody of “Nefertiti,” and then “Fall,” while the rhythm section became a veritable soloist. After each solo, they repeated the theme from “Pinocchio.” Tony Williams took the initiative on the brass, and the cosmic ringing of “Hand Jive” was carried by a fierce combination of momentum and rhythmic disorder. Herbie Hancock contributed “Madness” (a ballad that Miles had entirely reworked) and “Riot.” This piece accentuated the virtuoso ensemble-playing of the five musicians, which generated explosive effects on stage.
Original issue: Columbia LP CS 9594 on January 15, 1968
Producers: Teo Macero (tracks 1, 3, 4, 7-9) and Howard Roberts (tracks 2, 5, 6, 10)
Engineers: Fred Plaut (tracks 1, 3, 4, 7-9) and Stan Tonkel (tracks 2, 5, 6, 10)
June 7, 1967 (a)
June 22, 1967 (b)
June 23, 1967 (c)
July 19, 1967 (d)
Miles Davis (tpt); Wayne Shorter (ts); Herbie Hancock (p); Ron Carter (b); Tony Williams (d)
Columbia 30th Street Studio, NYC
- Nefertiti [a]
- Fall [d]
- Hand Jive [b]
- Madness [c]
- Riot [d]
- Pinocchio [d]
- Hand Jive* (Alternate Take) [b]
- Hand Jive* (Second Alternate Take) [b]
- Madness* (Alternate Take) [c]
- Pinocchio* (Alternate Take) [d
* Not on original LP
