1957 · Album
Walkin'
Recorded April 3 & 29, 1954 · Prestige Records · Produced by Bob Weinstock
Miles Finds His Footing in 1954
This is Davis between two worlds — bop in the rearview, modal jazz still years away.
By 1954, Miles Davis was rebuilding. He'd kicked heroin, he was playing with renewed focus, and these two April sessions caught him at a hinge point in his career. Walkin' (1957) compiles material from those dates into a single 12-inch LP — material that had previously appeared across two 10-inch releases — and the result is one of the more honest documents of what Davis sounded like before the famous quieter reinvention of the late '50s. This is harder-edged Miles, leaning into blues and post-bop with real conviction.
The title track is the centerpiece and the reason to own this record. "Walkin'" itself runs over thirteen minutes, and it earns every one of them. Davis, J.J. Johnson, Lucky Thompson, Horace Silver, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke work through the blues-drenched head and then open it up for solos that feel genuinely relaxed rather than showy. Johnson's trombone is a particular treat — he doesn't get enough credit for how well he holds up alongside Davis in this format. The April 29 session, featuring Dave Schildkraut on alto, has a slightly different texture, a bit cooler and more deliberate, though the rhythm section anchors both dates with the same no-nonsense groove. All sessions were recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's home studio in New Jersey.
This isn't a perfect album in the sense that it's a compilation assembled after the fact, so it doesn't have the arc of something conceived whole. But that's fine — what it gives you is two very good sessions back to back, and a clear picture of Davis at a specific moment: confident, clean, and playing with musicians who could keep up. Worth your time, especially that title track.
Who's playing
Percy Heathdouble bass
Horace Silverpiano
Lucky Thompsontenor saxophone
Davey Schildkrautalto saxophone
Miles Davistrumpet
J.J. Johnsontrombone
Kenny Clarkedrums
Miles Davis Sextetperformer
Where next?
More by Miles Davis
All 59 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
