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Miles Ahead is an album by Miles Davis that was released in 1957 by Columbia Records. It was Davis’ first collaboration with arranger Gil Evans following the Birth of the Cool sessions. Along with their subsequent collaborations Porgy and Bess (1959) and Sketches of Spain (1960), Miles Ahead is one of the most famous recordings of Third Stream, a fusion of jazz, European classical, and world musics. Davis played flugelhorn throughout.

Reception.

The AllMusic review by Stacia Proefrock awarded the album 5 stars and stated:”This album is perhaps most significant for the process it set in motion — the collaboration between Gil Evans and Miles Davis that would produce Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain, two of Davis’ best albums. That said, this album is a miracle in itself, the result of a big gamble on the part of Columbia Records, who put together Evans and Davis, who hadn’t worked together since recording the critically admired but commercially unsuccessful sides that would later be issued as The Birth of the Cool.”
The Penguin Guide to Jazz gave Miles Ahead a four-star rating out of a possible four stars and called the album “a quiet masterpiece … with a guaranteed place in the top flight of Miles albums.”
Track listing:
“Springsville” (John Carisi) – 3:27
“The Maids of Cadiz” (Léo Delibes) – 3:53
“The Duke” (Dave Brubeck) – 3:35
“My Ship” (Kurt Weill) – 4:28
“Miles Ahead” (Davis, Evans) – 3:29
“Blues for Pablo” (Evans) – 5:18
“New Rhumba” (Ahmad Jamal) – 4:37
Medley Pt. 1: “The Meaning of the Blues” (Bobby Troup, Leah Worth) – 2:48
Medley Pt. 2: “Lament” (J. J. Johnson) – 2:14
“I Don’t Wanna Be Kissed (By Anyone but You)” (Jack Elliot/Harold Spina) – 3:05

Personnel:
Miles Davis – Flugelhorn
Bernie Glow – Lead trumpet
Ernie Royal – Trumpet
Louis Mucci – Trumpet
Taft Jordan – Trumpet
John Carisi – Trumpet
Frank Rehak – Trombone
Jimmy Cleveland – Trombone
Joe Bennett – Trombone
Tom Mitchell – Bass trombone
Willie Ruff – French Horn
Tony Miranda – French Horn
Jim Buffington – French horn
Bill Barber – Tuba
Lee Konitz – Alto sax
Danny Bank – Bass clarinet
Romeo Penque – flute and clarinet
Sid Cooper – Flute and clarinet
Paul Chambers – double bass
Art Taylor – Drums
Wynton Kelly – piano
Gil Evans – Arranger and Conductor

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Released: October 21, 1957
Recorded: May 6, 10, 23, 27 & August 22, 1957
Studio Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City
Length: 37:21
Label: Columbia (CL 1041)
Producer: George Avakian, Cal Lampley