All the music that trumpeter
Miles Davis and his second classic quintet (with tenor saxophonist
Wayne Shorter, pianist
Herbie Hancock, bassist
Ron Carter, and drummer
Tony Williams) played at
the Plugged Nickel in Chicago on two nights in 1965 has been released on this eight-CD box. The packaging is a bit confusing because
Davis' group actually performed seven full sets but, since the second set on December 22nd ran over, it has been issued on two CDs but placed inside the same package. In any case, the music during these two nights, primarily explorative versions of
standards (as opposed to
Miles' all-original studio albums of the period), is continually fascinating. A few titles are repeated, but the interpretations differ greatly from each other. The trumpeter's chops are actually not quite in peak form (although his creativity is), but
Wayne Shorter (who often takes solo honors) is consistently brilliant and the rhythm section (propelled by
Tony Williams) was one of the best of the period. Although some of this music had been issued earlier on three LPs, most of it had been previously available only in Japan. This was a very significant group (even if it was somewhat overshadowed by
the John Coltrane Quartet at the time), and its advanced versions of such
Davis standards as
"Walkin'," "My Funny Valentine," "I Fall in Love Too Easily," "If I Were a Bell," "Stella By Starlight," and
"So What" are among the many highlights. One of the top releases of 1995. ~ Scott Yanow
