Seven Steps to Heaven

by Miles Davis

Overview

Seven Steps to Heaven finds Miles Davis standing yet again on the fault line between stylistic epochs. In early 1963, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb left to form their own trio, and Davis was forced to form a new band, which included Memphis tenor player George Coleman and bassist Ron Carter. When Davis next entered the studio in Hollywood, he added local drummer Frank Butler and British studio ace Victor Feldman, who ultimately decided not to go on the road with Davis. It's easy to see why Davis liked Feldman, who contributed the dancing title tune and "Joshua" to the session. On three mellifluous standards -- particularly a cerebral "Basin Street Blues" and a broken-hearted "I Fall in Love Too Easily" -- the pianist plays with an elegant, refined touch, and the kind of rarefied voicings that suggest Ahmad Jamal. Davis responds with some of his most introspective, romantic ballad playing. When Davis returned to New York he finally succeeded in spiriting away a brilliantly gifted 17-year-old drummer from Jackie McLean: Tony Williams. On the title tune you can already hear the difference, as his crisp, driving cymbal beat and jittery, aggressive syncopations propel Davis into the upper reaches of his horn. On "So Near, So Far" the drummer combines with Carter and new pianist Herbie Hancock to expand on a light Afro-Cuban beat with a series of telepathic changes in tempo, texture, and dynamics. Meanwhile, Feldman's "Joshua" (with its overtones of "So What" and "All Blues") portends the kind of expressive variations on the basic 4/4 pulse that would become the band's trademark, as Davis and Coleman ascend into bebop heaven.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/03/2023
Label:	Mobile Fidelity
UPC:	0196588233722

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Miles Davis   Primary Artist,Trumpet
Miles Davis Quintet   Primary Artist
Ron Carter   Guest Artist,Bass
Tony Williams   Guest Artist,Drums
Herbie Hancock   Guest Artist,Piano
Victor Feldman   Guest Artist,Piano
George Coleman   Guest Artist,Sax (Tenor)
Frank Butler   Drums

Technical Credits

Spencer Williams   Composer,Lyricist
Seth Foster   Mastering Engineer
Tony Crombie   Composer,Lyricist
Teo Macero   Producer
Bill Milkowski   Liner Notes
Bennie Green   Composer
Fred Plaut   Engineer
Charles Warfield   Composer,Lyricist
Jule Styne   Composer,Lyricist
Miles Davis   Composer,Lyricist
Harold Chapman   Engineer
John Snyder   Producer
Darren Salmieri   A&R
Al Dubin   Composer
Clarence Williams   Composer,Lyricist
Benny Green   Composer,Lyricist
Gary Pacheco   Project Director
Vic Anesini   Engineer
Paul M. Martin   Art Coordinator
Patti Matheny   A&R
Seth Rothstein   Producer
Sammy Cahn   Lyricist,Composer
Victor Feldman   Lyricist,Composer
Harry Warren   Composer