Miles Davis - Miles Davis Vol. 2 [Mono]

1.    Take Off
2.    Weirdo
3.    Would’n You
4.    I Waited For You
5.    Ray’s Idea (Alternate Master)
6.    Donna
7.    Well You Needn’t
8.    The Leap
9.    Lazy Susan
10.    Tempus Fugit (Alternate Master)
11.    It Never Entered My Mind

The legendary trumpeter Miles Davis was still at the beginning of his brilliant career when he entered the studio to record pieces that would be released by Blue Note between 1952 and 1953. These pieces, first issued on three 10-inch LPs titled Young Man With A Horn, Vol. 2 and Vol. 3, display all the essential characteristics of Miles Davis’ early style – from driving bebop influences to intense, melancholic ballads. When Blue Note began producing 12-inch LPs in 1955, Lion compiled these pieces into just two “Volumes”, marking the beginning of the 1500 series. Volume 2 contains a selection of pieces recorded between 1952 and 1954 and presents Miles’ sextet in two truly stellar line-ups, including trombonist J.J. Johnson, saxophonists Jackie McLean and Jimmy Heath, pianists Gil Coggins and Horace Silver, bassists Oscar Pettiford and Percy Heath, and drummers Kenny Clarke and Art Blakey.

By the late 1940s, Miles was a member of both the Charlie Parker Quintet and Dizzy Gillespie’s big band. Despite these prestigious and demanding commitments, he also found time to record as a bandleader, including the groundbreaking Birth Of The Cool session released by Capitol Records. When he came into contact with Alfred Lion and Blue Note, Miles was still far from being regarded as a jazz legend, but he was clearly on his way to becoming one of the greatest jazz bandleaders of all time.

The exclusive and limited edition of Miles Davis Vol. 2 from Universal Music Japan is being released for the first time in Hybrid-SACD format. The remastering was carried out by Kevin Gray, who previously contributed to the Tone Poetseries. The cutting and remastering were done from the original master tapes, and the highly praised natural, warm sound conveys the experience of listening directly to analogue tape. To mark the 100th anniversary of Miles Davis’ birth in 2026, the Centennial Miles Davis SACD Selection presents three titles as Hybrid-SACD editions, each featuring newly remastered recordings and appearing on SACD for the first time.

Musicians

Miles Davis: trumpet
J.J. Johnson: trombone
Jimmy Heath: tenor saxophone
Gil Coggins, Horace Silver: piano
Jackie McLean: alto saxophone
Percy Heath, Oscar Pettiford: bass
Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke: drums

Recorded on April 20, 1953 and May 9, 1952 in New York, and on March 6, 1954 in New Jersey, USA.