''Round About Midnight'' is a studio album by the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trumpeter and composer

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

with his quintet. It was released through

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in March 1957, and is Davis's first record on the label. The recording took place at Columbia's New York studio in three sessions between October 1955 and September 1956.

Background

At the Newport Jazz Festival in 1955, Davis performed the song " 'Round Midnight" as part of an all-star jam session, with the song's composer Thelonious Monk, along with Connie Kay and Percy Heath of the Modern Jazz Quartet, Zoot Sims, and Gerry Mulligan. Davis's solo received a positive reception from many jazz fans and critics. His response to this performance was typically laconic: "What are they talking about? I just played the way I always play." George Avakian of Columbia Records was in the audience, and his brother Aram persuaded him that he ought to sign Davis to the label. Davis signed with Columbia and formed his " first great quintet" with

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

on saxophone. ''Round About Midnight'' was his first album for the label. He was still under contract to Prestige, but he had an agreement that he could record material for Columbia to release after the expiration of his Prestige contract. Recording took place at Columbia studios; the first session was on October 26, 1955 at Studio D, during which the track "Ah-Leu-Cha" was recorded with three numbers that did not appear on the album. This is the first studio recording of the quintet. The remainder of the album was recorded during sessions on June 5, 1956 ("Dear Old Stockholm", "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "Tadd's Delight") and September 10, 1956 ("All of You" and the titular "'Round Midnight") at Columbia's 30th Street Studio. During the same period, the Miles Davis Quintet was also recording sessions to fulfill its contract with Prestige.

Reissues

On April 17, 2001,

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

reissued the album on compact disc for its Columbia/Legacy label with 24-bit audio remastering and four previously released bonus tracks from the initial sessions. "Budo" had been released as part of the 1957 anthology album on Columbia, ''Jazz Omnibus'', and " Sweet Sue, Just You" had appeared on the 1956 album by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

explaining jazz to the classical audience, ''What Is Jazz''. A two-disc reissue of June 14, 2005, included the 2001 reissue with a second disc containing Davis' 1955 Newport Jazz Festival performance of "'Round Midnight", along with a recording of the quintet's set from the 1956 Pacific Jazz Festival. The Newport track had been released for the first time the previous year on the Legacy compilation ''Happy Birthday Newport: 50 Swinging Years!''

Reception

In his five-star review in the May 16, 1957 issue of ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' magazine, Ralph J. Gleason called the album "modern jazz conceived and executed in the very best style." Ralph Berton of ''The Record Changer'' called the album "orthodox, middle-of-the-road conservative progressive jazz." '' The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' said it "sounds like a footnote" to the Prestige contractual obligation sessions ('' Miles'', '' Relaxin''', '' Workin''', '' Steamin''', and '' Cookin''') and that "the material is fine but somehow fails to cast quite the consistent spell which the Prestige recordings do." Bob Rusch of '' Cadence'' wrote, "everything about this date, from the black-and-white cover photo, washed in red, of Miles Davis, removed in thought behind dark glasses, to the performances, is classic. Not surprisingly, careful packaging and exquisite artistry have created a legend and, in this case, one of the essential recordings in the history of recorded music."

Track listing

Original release

2001 bonus tracks

2005 anniversary edition bonus disc

* All tracks were recorded live at the Pacific Jazz Festival, Pasadena Civic Auditorium, February 18, 1956, except where indicated.

Personnel

The Miles Davis Quintet

* Miles Davis – trumpet *

– tenor saxophone *

Red Garland William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...

– piano *

Paul Chambers Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr. (April 22, 1935 – January 4, 1969) was an American jazz double bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, he has become one of the most widely-known jazz bassists of the hard bop er ...

– double bass *

Philly Joe Jones Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American Jazz drumming, jazz drummer. Biography Early career As a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap dancer on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio stat ...

– drums Newport personnel bonus disc track one * Miles Davis – trumpet * Zoot Sims – tenor saxophone * Gerry Mulligan – baritone saxophone * Thelonious Monk – piano * Percy Heath – double bass * Connie Kay – drums

Production personnel

* George Avakian – producer,

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 cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

* Frank Laico –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

* Teo Macero – mastering * Aram Avakian, Don Hunstein, Dennis Stock – photography * Seth Rothstein – reissue project director * Bob Belden, Michael Cuscuna – reissue producers * Ray Moore – reissue engineer * Mark Wilder – reissue engineering and mastering * Randall Martin – reissue design * Howard Fritzson – reissue art director * Bob Blumenthal – reissue liner notes

Notes

References

* Nisenson, E. ''Round About Midnight – A Portrait Of Miles Davis''. Da Capo Press, 2nd ed., 1996. {{DEFAULTSORT:Round About Midnight 1957 albums Miles Davis albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by George Avakian Albums recorded at CBS 30th Street Studio Albums produced by Michael Cuscuna Album covers by S. Neil Fujita 1950s instrumental albums