Session details: Peacock Alley Lounge (February 16, 1957)

Miles Ahead session details

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February 16, 1957 (12 items; TT = 36:26)

Peacock Alley Lounge, St. Louis MO

KSTL-AM radio broadcast (B)

Show chatter

Miles Davis (tpt); John Coltrane (ts); William "Red" Garland (p); Paul Chambers (b); Philly Joe Jones (d); Jesse "Spider" Burks (ann)

1	Introduction (Spider Burks, Miles Davis)	0:10
	Davis: "... called 'Ah-Leu-Cha'." Burks: "Is that a foreign language?" Davis: "Charlie Parker's language." Burks: "Charlie Parker's language. (Laughter.) Called 'Ah-Leu-Cha'..."
2	Ah-Leu-Cha (C. Parker)	5:52
3	Introduction (Spider Burks)	0:07
	"...oh the trio, the rhythm section, huh? All right, 'A Foggy Day'..."
4	A Foggy Day (G. Gershwin-I. Gershwin)	5:45
	Rhythm section only. Incomplete (5:01) on Soulard and Jazz Factory -- 0:34 of drum solo excised
5	Introduction (Spider Burks)	0:13
	"Joe Jones on drums, Paul Chambers on bass, and Red Garland on piano, the rhythm section of Miles Davis' Quintet that's currently appearing here in the room. Here's Miles Davis and the combo with 'All of You'..."
6	All of You (C. Porter)	9:17
	Incomplete (6:27) on Soulard and Jazz Factory -- piano solo excised
7	Introduction (Spider Burks)	0:12
	"Miles Davis with trumpet and quintet, ladies and gentlemen, with 'All of You', right from Peacock Alley. Have you run the book, huh? 'Woodn' You'? 'Woody 'n' You', OK, the Dizzy Gillespie thing..."
8	Woody 'n' You (D. Gillespie)	5:02
9	Introduction (Spider Burks)	0:12
	"Miles Davis and the Quintet, ladies and gentlemen, right from Peacock Alley on a Saturday afternoon, with a good old Dizzy Gillespie favorite called 'Woody and You'... Walkin', by Miles Davis and the Quintet..."
10	Walkin' (R. Carpenter)	7:25
11	Announcement (Spider Burks)	1:27
	"Miles Davis and the combo, ladies and gentlemen, huh? Miles Davis' trumpet and quintet... On tenor sax, Mr. Coltrane blowing tenor, ladies and gentlemen... We have on drums, just behind Mr. Coltrane, Mr. Philadelphia Joe Jones... And way over yonder on bass fiddle, one of the swingin'est bassists in the business, Mr. Paul Chambers, ladies and gentlemen... And NEVER ceasing to swing, and so many inventive ideas on his instrument, playing piano we have Red Garland, ladies and gentlemen... And last but not least, St Louie's own favorite son, the leader of this group, Mr. Miles Davis, ladies and gentlemen... Thank you. Spider Burks thanks you so much for coming to our Saturday afternoon jazz concert, and I hope you'll find it convenient to come down and join us again next Saturday afternoon. Remember that the matinee runs from four till seven, we broadcast four till five over this station. Ladies are admitted free, so you be sure to come down and catch the show. Now even though we're going off the air in a couple of minutes, the matinee goes on until seven, then Miles is back on the stand with the group at nine until one-fifteen. So Spider Burks thanks you so much for listening, hope to see you again next Saturday afternoon, and we'll be one the air Monday through Friday one-fifteen until three over this station. Now have a good weekend, friends, and don't lose your cool. Later, much later..." [undecipherable]
12	The Theme (inc) (M. Davis)	0:44


1 Introduction (Spider Burks, Miles Davis) CD: Soulard VGM-SOU 1997, Jazz Factory JFCD 22879, Rare Live Records RLR 88770
2 Ah-Leu-Cha CD: Soulard VGM-SOU 1997, Jazz Factory JFCD 22879, Rare Live Records RLR 88770
3 Introduction (Spider Burks) CD: Soulard VGM-SOU 1997, Jazz Factory JFCD 22879, Rare Live Records RLR 88770
4 A Foggy Day CD: Soulard VGM-SOU 1997, Jazz Factory JFCD 22879, Rare Live Records RLR 88770
5 Introduction (Spider Burks) CD: Soulard VGM-SOU 1997, Jazz Factory JFCD 22879, Rare Live Records RLR 88770
6 All of You CD: Soulard VGM-SOU 1997, Jazz Factory JFCD 22879, Rare Live Records RLR 88770
7 Introduction (Spider Burks) CD: Soulard VGM-SOU 1997, Jazz Factory JFCD 22879, Rare Live Records RLR 88770
8 Woody 'n' You CD: Soulard VGM-SOU 1997, Jazz Factory JFCD 22879, Rare Live Records RLR 88770
9 Introduction (Spider Burks) CD: Soulard VGM-SOU 1997, Jazz Factory JFCD 22879, Rare Live Records RLR 88770
10 Walkin' CD: Soulard VGM-SOU 1997, Jazz Factory JFCD 22879, Rare Live Records RLR 88770
11 Announcement (Spider Burks) CD: Soulard VGM-SOU 1997, Jazz Factory JFCD 22879, Rare Live Records RLR 88770
12 The Theme (inc) CD: Soulard VGM-SOU 1997, Jazz Factory JFCD 22879, Rare Live Records RLR 88770

The Soulard CD lists the date for this performance as July 14, 1956, but this seems to be wrong. Spider Burks was fired by KXLW-AM on July 11, 1956, two days before the Davis Quintet opened a nine-day stop at Peacock Alley (July 13-21, Friday-Saturday). He was hired by KSTL-AM in August 1956 and quickly began live Saturday matinée broadcasts from Peacock Alley. The Davis Quintet returned to Peacock Alley in February 1957 for another nine-day engagement (Friday, February 15 through Saturday, February 23). In all likelihood, then, the Soulard material comes from broadcasts on February 16 and 23, and the correct station is KSTL-AM. Thanks to Chris DeVito for careful research here.

In the first few months of 1957 the Davis Quintet spent very little time in New York: Jazz City, Hollywood (January 4-17); Blackhawk Supper Club, San Francisco (January 22-February 10); Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh (Wednesday, February 13, two shows); Peacock Alley, St. Louis (February 15-23); Preview's Modern Jazz Room, Chicago (February 27-March 10); Comedy Club, Baltimore (March 26-31); Café Bohemia, New York (April 5-28, last 2+ wks canceled). The Quintet was disbanded during the Café Bohemia engagement -- Davis fired Coltrane and Philly Joe Jones for increasingly erratic behavior. Curtis Fuller may have participated in some of the performances at the Bohemia.

For some reason most of the concluding announcement (0:42), and the concluding fragment of "The Theme" (0:37), appear at the end of the Soulard CD, after the February 23 material. But they clearly belong here.