Session details: Messuhalli (October 6, 1964)

Miles Ahead session details

October 6, 1964 (7 items; TT = 35:37)

Messuhalli, Helsinki (Finland)

Yleisradio (YLE) broadcast (B+)

Miles Davis (tpt); Wayne Shorter (ts); Herbie Hancock (p); Ron Carter (b); Tony Williams (d); Unknown (ann)

1	Introduction	1:57
2	Autumn Leaves (J. Prevert-J. Mercer-J. Kosma)	11:15
3	So What (M. Davis)	8:01
4	Stella by Starlight (N. Washington-V. Young)	8:37
5	Walkin' (inc) (R. Carpenter)	5:08
	Splice at 3:19 after Williams' drum break; ts and beginning of p solo missing
6	The Theme (M. Davis)	0:19
7	Closing announcement	0:20

This performance was re-broadcast in 2019 by the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle. Thanks to Tapani Taka for sharing it with me.

The Davis Quintet embarked on a European tour, the USA Jazz Festival, in late September. In addition to the Davis Quintet, several other groups were involved, though I don't know if they all performed at every stop on the tour. The itinerary (with several gaps) was as follows:

September 25: Philharmonie, Berlin, West Germany
September 26: Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Holland
September 29: Le Théâtre Municipal, Lausanne, Switzerland
September 30: Kongresshaus, Zürich
October 1: Salle Pleyel, Paris, France (two concerts)
October 3: Johanneshov Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden
October 4: KB-Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
October 5: Mässhallen, Gothenburg, Sweden
October 6: Messuhalli, Helsinki, Finland
October 8: Stadthalle, Sindelfingen, Germany (two concerts)
October 10: unknown venue, Marseilles, France (two concerts)
October 11: Teatro dell' Arte, Milan, Italy

The Quintet was booked in other cities as well -- e.g. Vichy, Barcelona, and Frankfurt -- but I have been unable to find dates or confirm that these concerts occurred. Thanks to Flurin Casura for the advertisement for the Zürich concert, and to Frederik Adlers for providing the festival poster and for telling me about the Gothenburg date. Apparently the drummer for Papa Celestine's Original Tuxedo Jazz Band was sick that day and Tony Williams stepped in to take his place. He brought the house down!

Davis' deteriorating hip joint caused him trouble and led him to cancel an engagement at Birdland (ca. October 14-22). The Quintet was booked for four nights at the Casa Loma Club in Montréal (November 4-7); and for two weeks at the Plugged Nickel, Chicago (November 11-22). A week-long engagement at the Penthouse in Cincinnati in early December may have been canceled. The Quintet closed the year with two weeks at the Bohemian Caverns in Washington DC (December 4-17) and a three-week stay at Basin Street West in San Francisco (December 30-January 19).