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Kind Of Blue

 

The Sessions:

 

Monday, March 02, 1959

Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City, USA

Artists:

  • Miles Davis - trumpet

  • Julian "Cannonball" Adderley - alto saxophone (not on "Blue In Green")

  • John Coltrane - tenor saxophone

  • Wynton Kelly - acoustic piano (only on "Freddie Freeloader")

  • Bill Evans - acoustic piano

  • Paul Chambers - acoustic bass

  • Jimmy Cobb - drums 

Recording test tones

Studio chatter

00:14

Townsend: "Here we go. Co 62290, no title, take one"

Davis: "Hey Wynton, after Cannonball, you play again and then we'll come in and end it."

Freddie Freeloader (M. Davis) (take 1 - false start)

00:07

Studio chatter

00:34

Davis: "It was too fast."

Townsend: "Miles, where are you gonna work now?"

Davis: "Right here."

Townsend: "Okay, 'cause if you move back we don't get you. You were right when you played before."

Davis: "When I play it I'm gonna raise my horn a little bit. Can I move this down a little bit?"

Townsend: "It's against company policy to move a microphone...ha ha ha. Here we go. Ready? Number two."

Freddie Freeloader (M. Davis) (take 2 - incomplete)

00:53

Studio chatter (Davis and Coltrane rehearsing)

00:07

Townsend: "take three"

Freddie Freeloader (M. Davis) (take 3 - incomplete)

01:19

Studio chatter

00:04

Davis: "Hey look, Wynton, don't play no chord goin' in to A-flat."

Freddie Freeloader (M. Davis) (take 4 - false start)

00:04

Freddie Freeloader (M. Davis) (take 4)

09:41

Studio chatter

00:06

Townsend: "Yeah... You wanna hear it, Miles?"

Studio chatter

Townsend: "Here we go, this is insert one, take one."

Chambers: "Last four bars."

Freddie Freeloader (M. Davis) (piano solo insert - false start)

00:02

Studio chatter

00:03

Davis: "No, no, wait a minute, it's the last twelve bars."

Freddie Freeloader (M. Davis) (piano solo insert)

01:10

Studio chatter

00:10

Davis: "All right?"

Townsend: "Yeah."

Davis: "Let's hear a little bit of it."

Townsend: "Right"

Studio chatter

00:48

Townsend: "Here we go."

Davis: "Wait a minute!"

Townsend: "Co 62291, take one."

Davis: "Wait one minute."

Adderley: "One short minute."

Evans and Chambers tune up; Chambers sings the bass line.  

Townsend: "Number two, take one."

So What (M. Davis-G. Evans) (take 1 - false start)

00:04

Studio chatter

00:04

Townsend: "Start again, please"

So What (M. Davis-G. Evans) (take 1 - incomplete)

00:49

Townsend interrupts: "hold it"

Studio chatter

00:33

Townsend: "Sorry. Listen, we gotta watch it because it, the, ah, there's noises all the way through this. This is so quiet to begin with, and every click... Watch the snare too, we're pickin' up some of the vibrations on it."

Davis: "Well that goes with it. All that goes with it."

Townsend: "All right. Not, not, not all the other noises, though. Take two."

So What (M. Davis-G. Evans) (take 2 - false start)

00:20

So What (M. Davis-G. Evans) (take 2 - incomplete)

01:09

Studio chatter

00:11

Davis: "Start again."

Adderley: "When the horns..."

Phone ringing in the booth...  

Townsend: "Here we go, Miles. Take three"

So What (M. Davis-G. Evans) (take 3 - false start)

00:19

So What (M. Davis-G. Evans) (take 3 - false start)

00:09

So What (M. Davis-G. Evans) (take 3 - false start)

00:14

Studio chatter

00:06

Davis: "Take it again"

So What (M. Davis-G. Evans) (take 3)

09:28

Studio chatter

00:05

Adderley sings "with a song in my heart" and Chambers sings the closing bar of the bass line.

Davis: "How's that, Irving?"

Studio chatter

00:26

Townsend: "Just you four guys on this, right Miles?"

Davis: "Five..." Chambers tuning. "No, why don't you play?"

Townsend: "CO 62292, number three, take one"

Blue in Green (M. Davis-B. Evans) (take 1 - incomplete)

00:23

Studio chatter

00:15

Evans: "We better do that again. "

Chambers: "Can we start on the last four bars?  
Evans: "That`s what I thought..."  

Davis: "Last four bars, but then you repeat it."

Evans: "Oh, do it twice?"

Davis: "So it's eight"

Evans: All right..."  

Townsend: "Take two"

Blue in Green (M. Davis-B. Evans) (take 2 - incomplete)

00:43

Studio chatter

00:15

Davis: "Use both hands, Jimmy."

Cobb: "Huh?"  
Davis: "Just use both hands and play it the best way you can, you know. It'll be all right."  

Townsend: "Okay? Number three"

Blue in Green (M. Davis-B. Evans) (take 3 - false start)

00:23

Studio chatter

00:04

Davis: "Try it again, Billy. One, two, three, four."

Evans: "We just do that four?"

Blue in Green (M. Davis-B. Evans) (take 3 - incomplete)

02:44

Studio chatter

00:14

Davis: "That's the idea, Irving."

Evans: "...he stays the same as you."

Townsend: "Take four"

Blue in Green (M. Davis-B. Evans) (take 4 - false start)

00:07

Townsend: Chambers' bass wobbles and Townsend interrupts with "Sorry, Paul."

Studio chatter

00:25

Townsend: "It's our fault"

Davis: "No it isn't. No, I don't believe that."

Townsend: "What'd you say?"

Davis: "I don't believe that."

Townsend: "It was a little static up here. Go ahead."

Blue in Green (M. Davis-B. Evans) (take 5)

05:32

Studio chatter

00:05

Townsend: "Beautiful, beautiful."

Davis: "Wake up, Paul."
 

Wednesday, April 22, 1959

Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City, USA

Artists:

  • Miles Davis - trumpet

  • Julian "Cannonball" Adderley - alto saxophone

  • John Coltrane - tenor saxophone

  • Bill Evans - acoustic piano

  • Paul Chambers - acoustic bass

  • Jimmy Cobb - drums 

Studio chatter

00:11

Townsend: "Okay, Miles. Co 62293 take one"

Flamenco Sketches (M. Davis-B. Evans) (take 1)

09:33

Studio chatter

01:08

Davis: "Play that, Irving"

Townsend: "Nice, Miles."

Chambers practicing; Davis noodling.  

Townsend: "Take two"

Davis: "Wait a minute, Irving, Wait." (to Adderley): "When you raise up off the stool, man, you get... Oh, yeah."

Davis: (to Townsend) "You know your floor squeaks, y'know? Know what I mean? Can you hear me?"

Townsend: "Yeah!"

Davis: "Let's go"

Adderley: "Surface Noise... that's part of the tune, man"

Evans: "Surf-ass noise"

Townsend: "Here we go, take two"

Flamenco Sketches (M. Davis-B. Evans) (take 2 - incomplete)

00:41

Studio chatter

00:13

Davis: "Start over again."

Chambers: "I'm sorry"

Townsend: "Ready? Three"

Davis: "Here you go, Paul"

Flamenco Sketches (M. Davis-B. Evans) (take 3 - incompelte)

00:27

Studio chatter

00:09

Davis: "Can we start, keep on, Irving?"

Townsend: "Let's do one more."

Davis: "Okay. Ready?"

Townsend: "Yeah, take four"

Flamenco Sketches (M. Davis-B. Evans) (take 4 -incomplete)

01:26

Studio chatter

00:18

Davis: "We'll try it again, Irving."

Townsend: "Ready? Take five, Miles."

Flamenco Sketches (M. Davis-B. Evans) (take 5 - incomplete)

00:38

Studio chatter

00:08

Davis: "You're not watching, Bill."

Evans: "I know, sorry"

Davis: "Try it again, Irving."

Townsend: "Right. Six"

Flamenco Sketches (M. Davis-B. Evans) (take 6)

09:26

Studio chatter

00:06

Davis: "That's terrible, Irving"

Townsend: "Don't worry about it."

Studio chatter

00:07

Townsend: "CO 62294, number two, take one"

Davis counts off.  

All Blues (M. Davis) (take 1 - false start)

00:03

Studio chatter

00:12

Chambers: "Let's start over again, sorry"

Davis: "Bill will start it off, you just come in. Ready? One two three, one two three..."

All Blues (M. Davis) (take 1)

11:51

Studio chatter

00:05

Adderley: "Whew!"

Chambers: (panting) "Damn, that's a hard mother"

Evans: "Boy, if I didn`t have coffee..."  
Townsend: "What?"  

Transcriptions of the Tunes