Miles Davis
Blue Moods

Mmm. Yes, I know, I know, but... some things are irresistible. Certain mental stimulations must absolutely be seized.

Miles leaned against a lamppost, or whatever it is, but I imagine him like this, in an Italian-style suite, the trumpet in his right hand clasped as only he knew how. Damn, those hands...
It’s darkness in the darkness, night in the night, waiting to be picked up and taken into the belly of a whale he knows well...

"I hope I won't have to hit Mingus in the mouth"...
They say he spoke like that that night, and why not, it could be... but in the end, it’s also a phrase you’d expect him to say... but those July nights, those nights in New Jersey were nights in the vicinity of Newport, and perhaps, Miles wanted, and could allow himself more than he usually did...
It would take Clint to keep these two heavyweights in the same shot, to endure their crossing stares: they know each other, they know each other, Miles has already played with Mingus, Mingus not yet with Miles, but he, the whale, doesn’t intend to be a sidekick, even if the setup might suggest otherwise, all rhythm, and a vibraphonist... After all, the shack, the Debut on which they record, is his...

Well, Miles on the trumpet, Charles on the bass, Woodman (a companion of the Duke, who always resurfaces when Mingus is mentioned) on the trombone that sounds like it's talking, on the vibraphone Teddy Charles, a guy Mingus had been carrying around since the Workshop days, and Elvin Jones on the drums (ahem, just out of curiosity, go check who was on the drums in the "A Love Supreme" sessions)...
Coolness, friends, coolness: no, it’s not "The Birth of the Cool," nothing so cerebral, "Nature Boy" is a staggering man on a windy night, and the night is that hypnotic vibraphone, a dreamlike carpet (magnificently supported by Jones) for Miles's evolution as a son-of-a-bitch ballader, and for Mingus's amusements, rarely so melodic...

But if the first track raises hopes of a strike, "Alone Together" and "There’s No You" bring you back down to earth, it's honest jazz, very honest, of stellar level, but... yes, even that trombone, which gives that beautiful retro taste, however... and it even leaves a smile on your lips, but... Guys, but... you're Mingus and Davis, you're playing together, why are you playing to amuse yourselves???
Ahh, yes, damn, I let myself be fooled by expectations... Oh well, better to close with "Easy Living", better to relax, this is cool, gentle, subcutaneous, and introspective, sure, let's dream a little more, it was nice while it lasted...

A nice memory, a hidden gem, it could have been a masterpiece of those "different" ones like "Somethin' Else", or maybe, precisely because of the characters involved, it absolutely couldn't be, and instead, a nice record, 26 caressing minutes.
Chapeau, nonetheless and always, even if...
Oh well...
But I'll give it another listen... After all, it's short...