Miles Davis
Jazz At The Plaza

Except for the very fact that "everything is relative," everything is indeed relative. Among the many relative things, there's also the rating I gave to this live album by the great (immense) Miles Davis. What sense does a 2/5 make for Miles Davis? None, absolutely none, considering the caliber of the musicians involved (the classic sextet, besides the leader: John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones). So you read these names and think: "damn, you can't give these guys a two". And indeed you can't... or shouldn't.

In "Jazz At The Plaza," as in all, absolutely all, of the Master's records, there's at least one spark, something that draws attention. In this case, it could be, for example, the work of Cannonball, who in certain moments (on Sonny Rollins' "Oleo", for example) reaches truly high peaks. The others don't particularly stand out. Some because they're buried by the poor audio quality of the recording (Paul Chambers), others because they're so brilliant that you always expect more, and this time that more doesn't come (Coltrane and Miles). Not even the great Philly Joe seems to be having a stellar day; he does his job, and he does it well, to be sure, but it seems like just a job, for once. As for Bill Evans, it's noteworthy only the more aggressive style than usual that his piano has in these tracks.

Having five jazz stars is not enough to create magic. Sometimes the magic doesn't happen. You try hard, you fight, but nothing. It's not the right evening. I must repeat that, of course, there are some interesting passages, but it's very little considering who we’re talking about. I never thought I would use this adjective for a Miles record, but I can honestly say that this is an album for completists.

But damn, it's Miles Davis, give it a listen!