1953 · Album
The Compositions of Al Cohn
Recorded February 19, 1953 · Prestige · Format: 10" LP
Miles at a Crossroads, Thinking Fast
A snapshot of Davis early in his career, playing someone else's tunes and finding his own voice anyway.
By 1953, Miles Davis was still figuring out what kind bandleader he wanted to be. The Compositions of Al Cohn arrives early in his time with Prestige, before he'd signed with Columbia, before the first great quintet, before he'd become the name that could sell anything. This is not a peak or a turning point — it's a working session, the kind of date a young musician takes to keep moving forward.
What makes it interesting is the material. Al Cohn's compositions gave Davis and his group a different angle than the bebop standards they'd been grinding through. There's room to stretch without having to invent an entirely new harmonic language. For a ten-inch LP recorded in a single afternoon, the energy holds. Davis was already thinking about tone and space in ways his older bebop colleagues weren't, and you can hear it in how he sits into these tunes instead of racing over them.
This isn't essential Davis. If you're new to him, start with Kind of Blue (1959) or the first great quintet records. But if you're working through his Prestige catalog chronologically, The Compositions of Al Cohn shows a player in motion—not yet the artist he'd become, but alert to what that artist might look like.
Who's playing
Leonard Gaskindouble bass
John Lewispiano
Al Cohntenor saxophone
Zoot Simstenor saxophone
Miles Davistrumpet
Sonny Truitttrombone
Kenny Clarkedrums
Where next?
More by Miles Davis
All 59 albums →
The musicians on this record
♫
Fontessa 1956
John Lewis
plays piano here
plays piano here
The Al Cohn Quintet 1956
Al Cohn
plays tenor saxophone here
plays tenor saxophone here
Zoot Sims And The Gershwin Brothers 1975
Zoot Sims
plays tenor saxophone here
plays tenor saxophone here
