Session details: Columbia 30th Street Studio (March 7, 1961)

Miles Ahead session details

March 7, 1961 (12 items; TT = 29:49)

Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York NY

Commercial for Columbia

Show chatter

Miles Davis (tpt); Hank Mobley (ts); Wynton Kelly (p); Paul Chambers (b); Jimmy Cobb (d)

1	Drad-Dog (rehearsal) (M. Davis)	1:24
	"One..." They play (1:14). Davis demonstrates chords on piano
2	Drad-Dog (rehearsal) (M. Davis)	1:41
	Slow run-through (1:16). Davis: "Which chords you playin' here? Hey Gil (?)... You know what you... Hey, uh, hit a G-flat... chord, the F chord: F, G-flat, like this. Just start here. So." Engineer: "You wanna go again?" Macero: (undecipherable)
3	Drad-Dog (take 1) (M. Davis)	3:36
	Macero: "CO 66236 [sic], original, take one..." As the tune winds down Davis says, "That's it, Teo..."
4	Drad-Dog (take 2 (fs)) (M. Davis)	0:13
	"OK, this is CO 66235, take two..."
5	Drad-Dog (take 3 (inc)) (M. Davis)	0:37
	"All right, three..."
6	Drad-Dog (take 4 (inc)) (M. Davis)	1:35
	Macero: "OK, four..." Mobley doesn't enter after Davis' solo, so Davis stops the take. To Mobley: "Hey Hank -- you workin' with us?"
7	Drad-Dog (take 5) (M. Davis)	5:01
	Macero: "Take five..."
8	Drad-Dog (take 6) (M. Davis)	4:51
	"OK, here we go, take six..." At the end Macero says, "Yeah, we'll play that back..." Davis: "Play that..."
9	Pfrancing (take 1 (fs)) [No Blues] (M. Davis)	0:37
	Warmup, then Davis: "Where's Chambers? You start out, Wynton, you start it off, start right on it..." Macero: "Here we go, this is CO 66236, original, take one." False start (0:01). Davis: "No, just da-dadalada-da-da. Just the rhythm section. One, two, three, four..." Breakdown. Davis says, "Try it again. Here we go... One, two, three..."
10	Pfrancing (take 2 (fs)) [No Blues] (M. Davis)	0:27
	Breakdown. Davis: "Look, play it like this. You start it off, we play this, you play again, then I'll play."
11	Pfrancing (take 3 (fs)) [No Blues] (M. Davis)	0:42
	Macero: "Take three..." Breakdown. Davis: "Too slow."
12	Pfrancing (take 4) [No Blues] (M. Davis)	9:05
	Macero: "Four, Miles." False starts (0:02, 0:04, 0:05), then complete take. At the end Davis says, "That's all there is, Teo." Macero: "You wanna hear it?" Kelly practicing


8 Drad-Dog (take 6) 12" LP: Columbia CL 1656 (= CS 8456), Columbia 88765 48607, Mobile Fidelity Sound Laboratory MFSL-1-177, Music on Vinyl MOV LP494, Analogue Productions APJ 8456-45, Nippon Columbia YS-208, Nippon Columbia SL-1084, CBS/Sony SONP 50213, CBS/Sony SOPL 157, CBS/Sony 18AP 2058, CBS/Sony 23AP 2558, CBS/Sony 28AP 2835 CD: Columbia CK 40947, Columbia Legacy CK 65919, Columbia CK 61405, Columbia Legacy 88883 75664, Mobile Fidelity Sound Laboratory UDCD 563, CBS/Sony 35DP 64, CBS/Sony 32DP 525, CBS/Sony CSCS 5143, Sony SRCS 9105, Sony SRCS 9702, Sony SRGS 4544, Sony SICP 818, Sony SICP 1208, Sony SICP 10085, Sony SICP 20077, Sony SICP 30218, Sony SICJ 30052/3, Sony SICP 30521/9, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 13)
12 Pfrancing (take 4) 12" LP: Columbia CL 1656 (= CS 8456), Columbia 88765 48607, Mobile Fidelity Sound Laboratory MFSL-1-177, Music on Vinyl MOV LP494, Analogue Productions APJ 8456-45, Nippon Columbia YS-208, Nippon Columbia SL-1084, CBS/Sony SONP 50213, CBS/Sony SOPL 157, CBS/Sony 18AP 2058, CBS/Sony 23AP 2558, CBS/Sony 28AP 2835 CD: Columbia CK 40947, Columbia Legacy CK 65919, Columbia Legacy 88883 75664, Mobile Fidelity Sound Laboratory UDCD 563, CBS/Sony 35DP 64, CBS/Sony 32DP 525, CBS/Sony CSCS 5143, Sony SRCS 9105, Sony SRCS 9702, Sony SRGS 4544, Sony SICP 818, Sony SICP 1208, Sony SICP 10085, Sony SICP 20077, Sony SICP 30218, Sony SICJ 30052/3, Sony SICP 30521/9, Columbia Legacy 86975 24922 [= Columbia (F) 86975 52492] (CD 13)

"Drad-Dog" is for Goddard Lieberson, president of Columbia records. On the issued take of "Drad-Dog" (take 6), the last eight measures of Mobley's solo are edited out on all Columbia issues prior to CK 65919, where the solo is intact. "Pfrancing," named for Davis' wife Frances, also known as "No Blues," was performed live beginning with the fall 1960 European tour with Sonny Stitt. Davis continued to perform it live until 1969.

After returning from the European tour in September-October 1960, the Davis Quintet (with Jimmy Heath replacing Sonny Stitt) was booked for a week at the Regal Theatre in Chicago (October 21-27); Stitt rejoined the Quintet for two weeks at the Village Vanguard (November 15-27) and a week at the Howard Theatre in Washington (December 2-8), at which point he left for good. Davis quickly hired Hank Mobley, and the Quintet resumed touring: Cloister Club, Chicago (December 26-January 8); Bradford Hotel Storyville Room, Boston (January 23-28); a live jazz program for Chicago's WMBI-FM (February 6); Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo (February 25); Village Vanguard, New York (February 28-March 12); Renaissance Club, Los Angeles (March 28-April 2); Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles (March 31); Blackhawk Supper Club, San Francisco (April 4-30); Foster's House of Jazz, Detroit (May 25-28).