The Complete Concert 1964: My Funny Valentine + Four More (live album) by Miles Davis

From TheDude85 11/24/2020 19:10

This album combines two previously released albums that were compiled and released at separate times in 1965 "My Funny Valentine" and 1966 "Four & More", both were recorded on the same evening at a Miles Davis Benefit Concert for the 1964 Voter Registration Campaigns for voters in Mississippi and Louisiana - and with the onset of the Compact Disc era could be combined into a complete portrayal of that concert in one album. (Both of the previous albums also have individual entries here at BEA).

In the 1992 liner notes, Davis revealed that he had never heard each individual in his band play any better than they performed this night. He attributed much of the focus/precision/emotion to the tension within the group because Davis had made the decision that all of the performers would be donating their services for that concert and that none of them would be paid. Whatever motivated these performances, it is tremendous to hear the quintet perform and improvise with such naturalness and fluidity. Davis himself knows when to lead and when to follow, but at the end of the night you will know you'd listened to "The Miles Davis Quintet!" Perhaps in this complete form this is among The Greatest Live Albums of All Time.