''First Miles'' is a compilation album by American jazz musician

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

, released on July 12, 1990 by Savoy Records. The album includes tracks from Davis's first recording session, backing singer

Rubberlegs Williams Henry "Rubberlegs" Williams (14 July 1907 in Atlanta - 17 October 1962 in New York City) was an American blues and jazz singer, dancer and occasional female impersonator. A star of Vaudeville, he is probably best remembered for his singing work wi ...

on April 24, 1945, and the first session produced under his name, leading the members of

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

's band on August 14, 1947. Davis plays no solos in the session with Rubberlegs Williams, only being heard as part of an ensemble. He says in his autobiography he was so nervous on his first ever recording he could hardly play, and he forgot most of the details as he put the experience out of his mind. Davis had already recorded several sessions by 1947 as a member of Parker's band for the Savoy and Dial labels, but whereas Parker usually recorded with no rehearsals, Davis had the group rehearse the material twice before recording. Davis wrote and arranged all four tracks, which were released as 78rpm singles under the name "Miles Davis All-Stars". The four tracks have also been compiled on numerous Charlie Parker Savoy compilations, including ''Bird: The Savoy Recordings (Master Takes)'' (SJL 2201). Davis' next recording session as leader would be the first of the ''

Birth of the Cool ''Birth of the Cool'' is a compilation album by American jazz trumpeter and bandleader Miles Davis, released in February 1957 by Capitol Records. It compiles eleven tracks recorded by Davis's nonet for the label over the course of three sessio ...

'' sessions in 1949, after having left Parker's band.

Track listing

*Subsequent reissues often combined false start takes and reordered the Davis tracks first. A 2003 reissue CD contained bonus track "Now's The Time"

Original 78rpm Singles

The master takes of the tracks on this album were originally issued on the following 78rpm singles:Savoy Bop 900 series
at the Jazz Discography Project, accessed July 2, 2014 * Savoy 564: Rubberlegs Williams – That's the Stuff You Gotta Watch / Pointless Mama Blues * Savoy 5516: Rubberlegs Williams – Deep Sea Blues / Bring It On Home * Savoy 934: Miles Davis All-Stars – Milestones / Sippin' at Bells * Savoy 951:

Fats Navarro Theodore "Fats" Navarro (September 24, 1923 – July 6, 1950) was an American jazz trumpet player. He was a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s. He had a strong stylistic influence on many other players, including Cl ...

Leo Parker Leo Parker (April 18, 1925 – February 11, 1962) was an American jazz musician, who primarily played baritone saxophone. Early life Born in Washington, D.C., Parker studied alto saxophone in high school and played this instrument on a record ...

– Goin' to Minton's / Miles Davis & Charlie Parker – Half Nelson * Savoy 977: Charlie Parker – Chasin' the Bird / Miles Davis All-Stars – Little Willie Leaps

Personnel

Milestones / Little Willie Leaps / Half Nelson / Sippin' at Bells

Miles Davis All-Stars, August 14, 1947, Harry Smith Studios, NYC *

–

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

–

tenor sax The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the Alto saxophone, alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key ...

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

Nelson Boyd Nelson Boyd (February 6, 1928, Camden, New Jersey – October 1985Social security register of deaths.) was an American bebop jazz bassist. Biography He was born in Camden, New Jersey, and played in local orchestras in Philadelphia around 1945, an ...

– bass *

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He work ...

– drums

That's the Stuff You Gotta Watch / Pointless Mama Blues / Deep Sea Blues / Bring It On Home

Herbie Fields Band with Rubberlegs Williams, April 24, 1945, WOR Studios, NYC *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

*Miles Davis – trumpet *

Herbie Fields Herbie Fields (Herbert Bernfeld, May 24, 1919 – September 17, 1958) was an American jazz musician. He attended New York's famed Juilliard School of Music (1936–38) and served in the U.S. Army from 1941 to 1943. Career Membership in the Raym ...

– tenor sax, clarinet * Teddy Brannon – piano *

Leonard Gaskin Leonard Gaskin (August 25, 1920 – January 24, 2009) was an American jazz bassist born in New York City. Gaskin played on the early bebop scene at Minton's and Monroe's in New York in the early 1940s. In 1944 he took over Oscar Pettiford's ...

– bass *Ed Nicholson – drums

Production

* Teddy Reig – original producer *

Phil Schaap Philip van Noorden Schaap (April 8, 1951September 7, 2021) was an American radio host, who specialized in jazz as a broadcaster, historian, archivist, and producer. He began presenting jazz shows on Columbia University's WKCR in 1970, and hoste ...

– compilation producer, remastering assistant,

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

* Jack Towers and Joe Brescio – remastering *Dick Smith – art director * William Gottlieb – cover photograph

References

{{Miles Davis 1988 compilation albums Albums produced by Phil Schaap Miles Davis compilation albums Savoy Records compilation albums Albums produced by Teddy Reig