Miles Davis
Nefertiti

"Nefertiti" is probably the finest product of the second quintet period of the prince of darkness, recorded in '67 and released the following year. It represents Davis's last acoustic work before the electric shift that began with the subsequent "Miles In The Sky" and "Filles De Kilimanjaro" and was completed with works of the caliber of "In A Silent Way" and the epochal "Bitches Brew".

This work is thus situated in the middle, serving almost as a watershed between the old and new order in the history of modern jazz. The second quintet era was prolific and creative for Davis, to say the least, a supergroup that between '65 and '68 produced masterpiece after masterpiece, a formation indifferent to both the free trends of the time and the form devoted to the improvisation of hard bop. This wonderful group, consisting of Tony Williams (drums), Ron Carter (bass), Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Herbie Hancock (piano), and of course Miles Davis on trumpet, boasted a compact and imaginative style, focusing on timing and rhythm, with harmonic parts developed modally. The rhythm section advanced and moved with great freedom, establishing much of the coordinates of the pieces and often changing the course of the compositions. The brass followed its changes, creating melodies that were sometimes tense and urgent, other times soft and suggestive. The eponymous track that opens the album is one of the best things ever created by this magical quintet. Williams's nervous and unpredictable drumming mixes with the geometric progression of the bass, Hancock creates dreamlike suggestions with a few notes, and the two soloists create a luminous and fascinating melody, extended indefinitely, a never-ending embrace between the sound of the tenor sax and Davis's dazzling, grandiloquent trumpet, which with his trumpet creates a series of sequences of old and wonderful black-and-white photos, smoky and semi-dark New York nightclubs, well-dressed people laughing and drinking whiskey with beautiful girls smoking at the tables.

"Fall" is more subdued and seductive, Davis's soloism dominates everything, the rhythmic progress slows down and stretches, the melodies and the atmosphere of the composition exude melancholy and great nocturnal pathos, autumnal as the title suggests, wonderfully balancing sadness and vitality. In "Hand Jive", all the musicians' explosive creativity comes out mischievous and "free," unbound by any stylistic constraints. The sound is enveloping, and the solos are spontaneous and abstract, while the work of young prodigy Williams on drums becomes tighter and more tense. Both "Madness" and the shorter "Riot" proceed towards the direction of the just-heard impetuousness, the first characterized by extraordinary timing changes, unsettling atmospheres, and classic, chilling Davisian magic. The second is supported by a fast semi-tribal rhythm and an almost free wind section. The last composition, "Pinocchio", in a sense, closes the circle opened by the initial title track. The elegant, nocturnal atmospheres, seductive and resonant solos mixed with the incessant and hammering rhythmic progress create the enveloping sound framework that throughout the work bewitched and captivated the magnificent atmosphere of this authentic masterpiece of a Miles Davis once again in a state of grace.