Miles Davis
Bags' Groove

1954 was the year of Davis's comeback, marked by two excellent studio recordings: "Walkin'" and "Bags' Groove." The label was Bob Weinstock's Prestige, which Miles remained with until '61, alternating with Columbia, with which he worked until the mid-'80s when he signed with Warner Bros. "Bags' Groove" is the result of two sessions in the studio of a former optometrist: Rudy Van Gelder, who began his sound engineering career just a few years earlier, in 1952, always in the New Jersey studio where he recorded this album. The two sessions are dated June 29 and December 24, 1954, and feature All Stars like Thelonious Monk, Milt Jackson, and Sonny Rollins, along with a very young and highly regarded by Miles: Horace Silver. The rhythm section includes Kenny Clarke and Percy Heath. The first two tracks, which give the album its name, feature Monk and Jackson, excluding Rollins.

The "curious" fact surrounding the two takes of "Bags' Groove" is that when Miles, dissatisfied with the way Monk accompanied him, told him not to play during his solos, the pianist took it poorly and they nearly came to blows. This was later denied by the trumpeter himself in his autobiography. "Bags' Groove" is written by Milt Jackson, which quickly became a standard, as did much of the era's pieces arranged and played by Miles Davis. An introduction to "walkin'" is followed by the classic solos of the leading musicians, with Davis starting the theme, followed by Milt's vibraphone and Monk's great groovy and syncopated piano. The rhythm section, particularly Percy Heath's double bass, holds everything together without ever losing the created atmosphere: cheerful but not euphoric, with a touch of lightheartedness. The third track, like the fourth and sixth, is by Sonny Rollins, who, given his passion for Africa, named it "Airegin," which is Nigeria spelled backward. A hard piece, with a great frantic pace from the very first beat, that sweeps everything away with sax, trumpet, bass, and drums starting at the same time, then making room for solos of both horns, only to find themselves together again at the end to play the "Airegin" theme. Lots of groove also in "Oleo," which, like the previous piece and the subsequent ones, sees the entrance of Horace Silver, which I find fitting, "with his funky style" just as Davis liked it.

In my opinion, the best tracks are the two takes of "But Not for Me" by George and Ira Gershwin. The second take, melancholic and less carefree compared to the other, features Davis's best solo, or rather, the most enveloping and warm one. Here too, Silver accompanies the solos perfectly, providing energy with a bouncing yet sweet rhythm. "Doxy" with its introduction and solos is the calmest and most relaxing track, with a very elegant and cordial atmosphere. In short, hard bop as it was called by critics, is the rightful follow-up to "Walkin'" in a course that now seems clear, with a confident Davis inspired by Ahmad Jamal and a pianist like Silver who could give him that sound. One of the best works.