Live at the Olympia Paris 1960 Review

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(More customer reviews)In the fall of 1960 Gerry Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band, with guest
Zoot Sims, toured Europe for the first and only time. For his "On
Tour" LP (1962), Mulligan chose just four tracks from the Berlin and
Milan concerts. His liner notes include the comment that "a small but
very noisy group of youngsters" had made the Olympia concert "a dismal
evening for everybody," but this isn't remotely apparent on the 2 CD
set of the Nov 19 Paris performance. A blurb on back, "The Must Have
companion piece to the Mosaic box set" isn't hype. These CDs are a very
happy surprise: the CJB plays superbly and the sound is nearly always
excellent. (It's certainly up there with the Village Vanguard and Santa
Monica tracks included in the Mosaic package.) Even at 110 minutes, there
are no superfluous tracks or lulls in the high energy level. The test
case is a 21 and a half minute version of Mulligan's "Spring is Sprung"
which, depending on one's mood never quite manages to wear you out with
any of its solos. As a sort of extended encore, there's the bonus of an
additional 45 minutes from a performance of the Mulligan Quartet at the
Olympia in 1962, recorded shortly before the CJB went into a New York studio
one last time. This is a great pair of CDs from Gambit Records. (The liner
notes are not especially informative, but that is its only fault.) The Swiss
Radio Days release of the similar CJB Zurich concert is half as long and not
nearly as exciting or as well recorded; CJB fans will probably want to own both,
but "Live at the Olympia Paris" is the indispensable one.

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Two CD set featuring rare live performances from Paris! Gerry Mulligan’s first trip to Paris took place in 1954, when he presented his legendary piano-less quartet. His success there led him to return many times, with a sextet in 1955 and 1957, with his Concert Jazz Band (composed of fourteen musicians) in 1960, and again with his quartet in 1962, when he alternated sets with the Horace Silver group featuring Blue Mitchell. The two latter performances are included on this release, which presents the Olympia concerts from November 19, 1960 and October 6, 1962. Featuring Zoot Sims, Bob Brookmeyer, Conte Candoli, Nick Travis, Don Ferrara, Gene Quill, Buddy Clark and Mel Lewis. 21 tracks. Gambit. 2006.

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At the Village Vanguard (Spec Packaging) Review

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(More customer reviews)This was a terrific record when it was issued and it is just as good today. The up-tempo pieces feature tight arrangements and great solos and the band's enthusiasm is infectious. The balads are lovely as well. The sound on the CD is excellent. I would recommend the CD to any jazz lover.

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European Tour '56 (With the Modern Jazz Quartet & Review

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(More customer reviews)This CD offers Miles Davis in 4 different live settings, from his 1955 appearance at Newport with an all star pick-up group to a date at Birdland in October 1957 with tenor saxophonist Bobby Jaspar. In between are 2 broadcasts from Germany and Switzerland in November 1956 where Miles appeared with the MJQ and an aging and not very healthy Lester Young.
The Newport sides, despite their historical significance for Miles's career and his generally excellent playing, are rather raggedy, mainly because the musicians (Miles, Zoot Sims, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan) seem not to be that compatible and that rehearsal time together probably amounted to no more than a minute or two just before performing if any occurred at all. (Miles appeared unannounced, a walk-on.) Miles's playing wowed the critics, however, and sparked a renewed interest in him by record producers. In my opinion, though, much better are the 2 tunes from the Birdland session; Jaspar had an affinity for Miles's playing and they work well together.
The European dates are generally very good, despite the sadness produced by Lester's diminished tenor playing which definitely shows a decline in inventiveness and execution. Miles is in good form, though the highlight of the performances is the unidentified baritone sax solo on LESTER LEAPS IN (either Helmut Brandt or Johnny Freigl, members of the accompanying Kurt Edelhagen big band). The live sound is excellent, considering the time period. These live dates capture Miles at the beginning of his first rise to fame and set the table for his modal approach and a guy named Coltrane.


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This fascinating release comprises live recordings made at the end of 1956, when Miles accepted an offer to tour Europe with a formation called the "Birdland All Stars", which also included Lester Young and the Modern Jazz Quartet, along with European musicians such as pianist Rene Urtreger, bassist Pierre Michelot and drummer Christian Garros. We have here the one and only existing evidence of Miles playing with Lester Young and with the MJQ. It also presents a rare occasion to find Miles playing as the sole horn in a quartet format. As a complement, we offer the complete 1955 Newport Jazz Festival performance, in which Miles played a famous version of "Around Midnight" backed by Thelonious Monk and Gerry Mulligan. The two bonus tracks come from a rare Birdland broadcast featuring Miles with tenor saxophonist Bobby Jaspar. Tunes include jazz standards and Miles Davis' compositions: How High the Moon, Lester Leaps In, Tune Up, What's New, Indiana, Four, Walkin', Lady Be Good, Hackensack, Around Midnight, Now's the Time, All of You and a second version of Four. And then George Wein had an All-Star band that had Zoot Sims, Gerry Mulligan, Monk, Percy Heath, Connie Kay; he later added me. They played a couple of tunes without me and then I joined them on Now's the Time, which was a tribute to Bird's memo. And then we played Round Midnight, Monk s tune. I played it with a mute and everybody went crazy. It was something. I got a standing ovation. When I got off the bandstand, everybody was looking at me, offering me record deals. All the musicians there were treating me like I was a God, and all for a solo that I had trouble learning a long time ago. It was something else, man, looking up and applauding for what I had done." Miles Davis (From the liner notes). Discon.2006

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