The Miles Davis Tadd Dameron Quintet in Paris Festival International de Jazz May 1949

May 19, 2020 P.E.

"I haven’t played this in years. In perfect condition. Ecstasy!"...

says my dear friend. I've been swapping stories and adventures with him since he moved across the street from me as we entered our first year at South Junior High School.  We've been on the same wave length since Elvis, Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider, Little Richard,the  Boys Club Friday night dances, the list goes on...

 

Friendship matters. Thick and thin. We're in the thick part. Past, present, future swirl around like the disco ball at the Boys Club dances, casting bright beams, illuminating memories long forgotten but ready to comfort with the power of shared recollection. Where would my psyche be without these connections during isolation? When I listen, cascades of memories from a less complicated time flood in surges, an inchoate tumble of laughter and melancholy roll over well worn milestones. Opportunities taken, opportunities lost are matters of fact. Recalibrating and reimagining are in order. My timeline is limited. Not so my imagination.

 

So here I am with Miles...

 

Listening now, music only, no video but who cares. I can smell the smoke filled room, see the band through the haze as I squeeze into a wrought iron chair at a tiny deuce crammed in with a bunch of people who appreciate what they’re hearing. Bebop must have just been bolting from the gate. Incandescent energy of a live concert…the riffs at the 29 minute mark start with the known then plunge into spontaneous reverie, sort of a stepping stone from tradition to new territory that the French, god bless them, really understood for what it was.

 

Check the credits at the end.

This brought me back, way back.

Later

Swallowed whole into the belly of youtube, I hear Miles Davis - February 1955 at the Hi-Hat Club, Boston, on the corner of Columbus and Mass Ave.

And a treasure trove of Bill Evans

 

Isolating with giants of jazz...

 

Comments

[Dick Dowall]

Hi Paul,
Try this… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjP0rSP6SCA .

Sarah Vaughn and fun.

[Paul A Tamburello, Jr. aka pt at large]

Thanks, Dick... as advertised, had no idea she played piano. And love her scat singing when she blanks on some lyrics then forges on!
BTW embarrassed that I sent as CC, not BCC as usual.

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr. aka pt at large]

Dick, lo and behold, youtube kept rolling - next thing there's 87 year old Ahmad Jamal: Ahmad Jamal - Autumn Leaves - Palais des Congrès Paris 2017 - LIVE HD.

The man has not lost one iota of creativity, musicality, vitality, you name it. How can this Latin tinged arrangement appear to be so spare and say so much? Bass, drums, percussion -they have to pay attention. At the end of any of his riffs, they may get a glance, a gesture with his hands, one finger wagging in the air - they’re on. And so in tune with the vibe. Great videography captures the smile under his grey eyebrows when he knows they've all had their say after nearly 12 minutes purely formed jazz.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnW9wNN_IVg

[Ann Baker]

Thanks pt.

[Gerard McMahon]

Nice.....It must have been a time back then!

[Cathleen Cavanaugh]

HI Paul,

We are a Miles Davis family, and loved this write up. My husband listened to the entire Bill Evans piece and absolutely LOVED it. Sent it to a number of his jazz friends.

Have a relaxing, centered Memorial Day Weekend.

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr aka pt at large]

Cathleen,
Thank you and thank the heavens for our jazz heroes. Like navigation buoys, they point us in the right direction and keep us from running aground on the shifting shoals of uncertainty.
Here's another Bill Evans to pass on to your husband, popped up as suggestion when I was googling Miles. Great insight in the comments section. Listening to it right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6LRUFzS_4o