FunkFreak75 After a couple of years of touring, testing out new lineups and new formats while trying to form a new quintet (and releasing several live albums in the interim), Miles has his new dream lineup--what will be remembered as his "Second Great Quintet"--as superstar Wayne Shorter has finally come aboard to join Miles and Ron Carter with wunderkinder Tony Williams and Herbie Hancock. The first studio album to feature the full lineup of the Second Great Quintet is recorded at Columbia Studios in Los Angeles on January 20-22, 1965. Producer Teo Macero has by now been exposed to the amazingly new and expanding possibilities of sound engineering (he's had lots of fun practicing with a couple of live albums released between this and 1963's Seven Steps to Heaven as well as the long process of finishing the classic Gil Evans big band collaboration, Quiet Nights, which had been recorded in 1962 and early 1963 but not released until December of 1963), thus the six months between recording sessions and the final Columbia Records release.

A1. "E.S.P." (5:29) there is a sense of comfort and ease from the very onset of this song: this band "clicks." Wayne Shorter leads on his tenor sax from the opening note with Ron Carter and Tony Williams running like mice beneath and Herbie accenting the mid-range on piano. When Miles takes over the lead in the second minute it feels like everybody kicks into hyper-focus: "Got to impress the boss" they're thinking. Herbie gets the next solo starting at 4:05. His melodies are impressive for how quickly things are moving along. At the advent of the sixth minute Ron slows down as Wayne and Miles recapitulate the main melody together, bringing the song to a close. Impressive jazz. (9.125/10)

A2. "Eighty-One" (6:14) Herbie leads on this one while Miles and Wayne inject a few interesting blasts before the reins are handed over to the bandleader. There is a definite fresh, innovative feeling to this song: I'm not sure if it's the odd structure or mix of changing motifs from partial elements of the group while the soloists play, but there is something very interesting here. It's like the band members are each allowed to change things up--to shift gears or styles-- whenever the mood or whim excites them. Tony, Herbie, and Ron all do it and a few times the whole band follows suit but sometimes they don't! I'm not sure what you call that which I'm listening to here but it's very different from the jazz I'm used to hearing. When Miles and Wayne join forces to play in tandem over Herbie's solo in the final minute, it is so cool! It's as if they're playing a game: trying to read each other's minds while not taking too much away from Herbie. A very cool jazz song that feels as if it's pushing boundaries. (10/10)

A3. "Little One" (7:21) soft, slow, and spacious piano-led (and Herbie-composed) jazz music over which Miles and Wayne each take turns soloing with pensive intent. Ron and Tony are there in the background, trying to feed off the leader's energy (Tony trying to hold back his penchant for more dynamic play) and Wayne's "thought trains" a little more active-preoccupied than Miles' reflective ones. Even Herbie in the background feels as if he's ready to exude more enthusiasm than his leaders have laid down, yet his turn in the spotlight is perhaps the most beautiful in its contemplative expression of all of them. (It's between he and Miles.) The support from the rhythm section backs way down in the seventh minute, giving the song a much more "finished" feeling to its end. Nice exercise in mental discipline. The boys did well! (14/15)

A4. "R.J." (3:56) back to a quicker pace with Tony keeping time while Ron runs through a two-measure sprint over and over with a brief piano-filled break in between each race. Wayne takes the first solo but I find myself so distracted by the intriguing little dance that Herbie and Ron are doing that I find it hard to pay attention to the soloists. Fascinating! (9.3333/10)

B1. "Agitation" (7:45) Tony, sticks on the skins, for the first two minutes of this before Miles' muted trumpet squeaks into the soundscape with Ron and Herbie tip-toeing beneath. Eventually, Ron, Tony, and Herbie fall into sync with one another creating what feels like a motif that is intended to mesmerize the listener; they're sneakily trying to brainwash us! Miles distracts us from "behind" with his muted trumpet while the other three go through their Marth Graham-like angular motions with the consistency of time pieces. Wayne steps in to give a gentle solo that continues to lull us while the scientists do their work underneath. Again: fascinating! Miles and his collaborators are definitely exploring the structural rules of jazz--testing the confining boundaries with these mathematical exercises. I find myself really enjoying this (and the process)! A Miles composition, I imagine he was quite exacting of his demands on the rhythmatists here. (14/15)

B2. "Iris" (8:31) opening like a late-night piece from Kind of Blue we are informed very early on by Herbie that this is in no way anything like anything from Bill Evans or Wynton Kelly. Ron and Tony stay pretty firm in their commitment to standard jazz support, but Miles and Wayne are definitely stretching the familiar routes of melody and dynamics on this Wayne Shorter composition. While I truly enjoy all of the solos, it is Herbie's humane piano solo in the seventh minute that I love the most. (It is actually quite a lot like something Bill Evans or Vince Guaraldi might do. Lovely!) Wayne, too has manifests some pretty awesome ideas here. One of the few songs on which it is the soloists/melody- makers that impress me the most! This might actually be my favorite song on the album! (19.25/20)

B3. "Mood" (8:49) once again we've got a set up in which Tony is keeping time while Ron and Herbie play off of one another to help create a kind of see-saw rhythm track. Then Miles, playing another muted trumpet, and Wayne, here playing a breathy (slightly muted?) sax, play off each other in a way that is similar to Ron and Herbie. In both duo's cases one of the members is being more steady (Ron and Wayne) while the other is spicing things up a bit (Herbie and Miles). But then, in the fourth minute, Wayne is given the spotlight while Miles sits back and watch/listens. Nice solo here, Wayne! For the sixth minute, Herbie gets the next solo. Again, I am so impressed by his discipline and presence: the way he takes time to let the next chord or phrase emerge out of him without ever seeming to press or rush. Amazing! Miles and Wayne return to their original binary star dance for the final minute. Interesting, lovely, though a bit soporific. (17.875/20)

Total Time: 48:23

I am rather surprised at the way the music on this album somehow manages to keep the band's usually-hyperactive drummer in a rather sedate state. The dynamic rock inputs of the previous album are totally absent. (Perhaps Tony is spent or distracted from the energy he is putting into his solo projects at the time. Or perhaps Miles put some heroin into Tony's chamomile tea.)

A/five stars; a masterpiece of jazz music that I hold up as one of the finest demonstrations of boundary-pushing jazz I've ever heard. Though there is little to no influence of rock music here, the mentality of mathematical experimentation with structure that is supremely present here is something that I find very essential to the "progressive" part of both high arts of Progressive Rock and Jazz-Rock Fusion. HIGHLY recommended--even essential to any music lover's album collection.

vmagistr How many rock bands can claim that after their active phase ended, all members went on to successful solo careers, during which they continued to shape the face of "their" genre? The only ones that come to mind are The Beatles (if we cut Ringo some slack) and Cream (where all three protagonists had already been through a lot by the time the band was formed). Even in jazz, such a concentration of talent is not usual (there is always someone more or less in charge, and someone, who has no compositional ambitions or simply doesn't feel like a driving force), but one of the exceptions is undoubtedly the second quintet of trumpeter Miles Davis, whose members became major figures in jazz, jazz rock and fusion in the 1970s and 1980s.

This quintet is indeed a sovereign ensemble and not just a backing band for the clear-cut boss Davis. There is nothing easier than look at the tracklist of E.S.P. - the first studio recording on which the quintet came together as a complete line-up. Miles Davis is credited on only three of the seven recordings (two of which he co-wrote), the rest are credited to the other members of the group - bassist Carter in particular was a prolific writer during this period.

I would divide the material on the album into several categories. The listener less addicted to jazz will probably be more interested in the up-tempo pieces, in which the rhythm section creates a breeding ground on which the solo instruments can frolic ad lib. Such are the compositions Eighty-One, Iris or the title track E.S.P. More melancholy and more spare arrangements, in which every note and beat stands out, are brought by the band in pieces like Little One, Mood or Agitation. Probably the most avant-garde track for me is R.J., where I perceive a fusion of both approaches. I probably prefer the denser pieces myself - when listening to Davis and Shorter's output, I often think that one of the inspirations for hard rock guitar soloists could be right here.

Of course, in the case of this recording, we're in the realm of strictly acoustic jazz; there's no trace of electric guitar and rock in general. Still, I think that for listeners of more sophisticated rock forms, this group's records might not be a misstep - especially if you're into even a little bit of that melancholy. Because jazz (like blues) can interpret that to perfection.

darkshade My first Miles pre-fusion album.

I had heard So What long before I even got into Miles’ music, but when I got the urge to check out his pre-fusion albums, I went with this one first. I bought it mostly because of the lineup. Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Ron Carter are a who’s who of jazz-fusion (well except maybe Carter) but I knew it wasn’t jazz-fusion. I did, however, want to hear what they were doing with the great Miles Davis before the fusion scene exploded.

I fell in love with this CD. At the time I thought this was one of his best, and perhaps one of the best jazz records of all time. As my jazz collection has grown over the years, I can tell you this is a great record, one of Miles’ best, but not the best of all time. It is like a slightly avant-garde post-bop record, mostly due to Wayne Shorter having probably the most contribution to the music on this record.

What’s funny is that if you’re listening closely, you can hear all the sidemen’s nuances that they would later capitalize on later on in the 70s. Hancock with his neo-classical style mixed with R&B flavored chords, Williams being the usual monster on the set, and Shorter displaying his great talent for melody which would become classic in Weather Report.

Then there is Miles himself. The thing about this lineup is he seemed to take a backseat to the other members, and there is a lot of time where he is not playing. This is not unusual for him, but it is even more so here. However, I think this era of his music was his peak technically and playing-wise. Miles’ playing is just hot fire, and his solos are fast a lot of times, but of course never forgetting to be melodic. I think working with younger musicians at this stage in his life kept his chops up and made his playing fiercer (and not the kind of fierce heard on albums like Bitches Brew). His playing is very bright. Of course, there is still the cool Miles Davis, as heard on Little One, where I personally get this mid-60s vibe, very relaxed playing.

This lineup would evolve throughout the 60s and make even more interesting music. If you’re looking for great Miles jazz, this is a good place to start. I got this one and went chronologically into Miles’ fusion period. Good addition to any jazz collection.