dreadpirateroberts Seeking this album out for its live version of ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’ I was disappointed – not in the performances, but by the fact that I didn’t stumble across the expanded ‘Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall’ first. The two disc version brings the entire concert together in one set, and it’s worth having for the work of Miles’ Quintet in particular. Not to say Evans’ Orchestra is off its game for that matter.

Basically, ‘More Music from the Legendary Carnegie Hall Concert’ is made up of anything left off the original pressing of ‘At Carnegie Hall.’ Of most interest to collectors and to fans of ‘Sketches of Spain’ will be the rare live recording of ‘Concierto...’ and while there’s some imbalance to some of the orchestra’s recorded levels (at times the brass seems too loud to me) this is still great. It’s nice to hear subtle changes Miles makes throughout and though this version doesn’t outstrip the studio take, it’s still impressive.

What’s probably more satisfying however is the roaring take of ‘Walkin’ or ‘Teo,’ along with the lovely ‘I Thought About You’ from the Quintet, and which make me certain that I’m missing more great performances by not owning the two disc set. Cobb, Chambers and Mobley seem especially inspired and Miles too sounds very ‘in the moment.’ As a live recording it’s pretty good, though I do almost lose Kelly in the mix sometimes and Miles’ trumpet is almost brittle. It’s a relatively small flaw for the great performances however, so I’ve no hesitation recommending this album – only, I suspect you’re better off going for the expanded version ‘Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall.’ As I will soon do so myself.