Miles Davis & John Coltrane ( 1)
Saturday 16th May 2026, 17:00 – House of Hard Bop.
One hundred years ago, in 1926, both Davis and Coltrane made their entrance onto the planet. This did not go unnoticed by the Concertzender. Central to this House of Hard Bop series are the recordings of the legendary Miles Davis Sextet (1958-1959), featuring tenor saxophonist Coltrane and alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. You will hear five pieces from the iconic 1958 album Milestones. After that, On Green Dolphin Street and Fran-Dance from the compilation album 1958 Miles.
Bandleader Miles Davis had a keen eye for recruiting personnel. This almost always resulted in top-notch lineups. But sometimes circumstances did not cooperate. In 1955, tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins stood alongside him on stage for a while, until Rollins announced he was going to work full-time on kicking his heroin addiction. What now? Davis’ drummer Philly Joe Jones brought John Coltrane along. Miles was not immediately convinced. He had heard Coltrane before and had not been impressed then. That changed now, after a few rehearsals. But there wasn’t an immediate connection between the two. Davis: “Trane liked to ask all these motherfucking questions back then about what he should or shouldn’t play. Man, fuck that shit. (…) So my silence and evil looks probably turned him off.” Davis was indeed not a talker, and could look at you silently in a way that was not exactly relaxing. Later, Coltrane’s heroin addiction often led to problems. Davis had kicked the habit earlier and had little tolerance for Coltrane’s use.
Ultimately, their collaboration would last five years in the First Great Quintet. In 1958, it became a sextet with the addition of alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. In addition to Davis, Coltrane, and Adderley, the sextet in Milestones consists of pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. The setlist features a wide variety of pieces. The order of solos in the wind trio varies optimally. And notably: bassist Chambers gets more solo space than pianist Garland.
Dr. Jackle (Jackie McLean)
A spirited opener. The wind trio struggles rhythmically with the theme at that high tempo, which comes at the expense of articulation. (On Davis’s 1956 album Quintet/Sextet, the tempo in Dr. Jackle is considerably lower.) In the first solo, Davis alternates high speed with more moderate phrases and musical rests. The extended middle section is for the two saxophonists, who maintain high speeds in their 12-on-12 tempo and draw ever closer to one another. Bowed bass solo. The accompanying pianist Garland also contributes to the dynamic shaping.
Sid’s Ahead (Davis)
Cooling down after Dr. Jackle. Almost unlimited time, 13’13”. In this piece too, with that ample time, there is no piano solo. Garland had stormed out of the studio during the rehearsal. Davis filled in behind the others’ solos—hence the absence of piano behind his own solos. At the piano, he made the best of it, and that is quite little. Long, pizzicato bass solo. Davis’s likeability factor and enjoyment of Paul Chambers were growing during this period.
Two Bass Hit (John Lewis, Dizzy Gillespie)
A complex piece, compared to the other themes on this album. That is what you get with two composers. Drummer Jones swings energetically around in the exposition. He and pianist Garland—apparently back in the studio—get along remarkably well behind the reed solos. Davis does not solo, leaving all the time to Coltrane, Adderley, and drummer Jones.
Milestones (Davis)
Milestones—a fine pun—is Davis’s first ‘modal’ composition. In this piece, form and harmony are not determined by chord progressions, but by scales. In this work, that means: 16 measures of G-Dorian, followed by 16 measures of A-Aeolian, and then 8 measures back to G-Dorian. That is the cycle that is repeated. Within the form, there are therefore two ‘turning points’, and there are no relatively rapid chord changes. The improvisations are based on the scales.
In Milestones, the middle section of the theme receives not only the 2nd scale, but also its own melodic phrase, a variation on the opening melody, in a higher register. Additionally, that middle section is characterized by polyphony—melody in the trumpet, accompanying voices in the other wind instruments—and by its own bass figure. The latter remains characteristic in the improvisation section as well. Pianist Garland, who does not solo here either, consistently accompanies the wind instruments with the polyphonic theme.
Such a modal structure also implies a different approach for the soloists. And you, the attentive listener, will notice the difference as well. But Milestones does not come across as complex, and is constantly pleasantly swinging. It is “more accessible” than the previous Two Bass Hit.
(Miles’ composition So What, released in 1959 on the album Kind of Blue, is also modal.)
Straight, No Chaser (Thelonious Monk)
Monk’s famous blues composition, at over ten minutes and with a moderate tempo, concludes this fascinating series of pieces. In the solo order—Adderley, Davis, Coltrane—it is clearly audible why Davis always wanted a reed player alongside him. One who loves to really let loose. In this case, two such reed players. It is one of his ways of distinguishing himself, with rhythms that are not too fast, more breathing room, and less effort in the high register.
And pianist Red Garland is soloing now too! The ‘blues’ is tailor-made for him. He will soon leave Davis’s quintet to start his own business. (Enter Bill Evans…)
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1958 Miles contains a compilation of recordings made in May and September 1958, released in 1974. Two changes in the quintet: the drummer is now Jimmy Cobb, and Bill Evans is at the piano. This lineup slowly moves further towards the modal. John Coltrane begins to expand his musical vocabulary with his famous sheets of sound.
More about Cobb and Evans in the next News item.
On Green Dolphin Street (Bronislaw Kaper)
The A movement of this standard is characterized by a chromatically descending figure over a single sustained—but rhythmic—bass note. That bass note is maintained during the improvisations. The B movement contrasts: an ascending line, and diatonicism. The new pianist Bill Evans immediately makes his mark. His intro encompasses the complete form! At the end of it, he abandons the free tempo to pave the way for Davis’s theme. Davis plays with his mute, the Harmon mute. With it, he creates his characteristic, intimate, ‘smoky’ timbre—one of his fingerprints. His theme transitions into improvisation. After Coltrane and the ‘jubilant’ Adderley, Evans solos. Almost one hundred percent ‘block chords’, one of his many strengths.
Fran Dance (Davis)
A piece by Davis, named after his wife, the dancer Frances Taylor. (A stunningly beautiful woman. When they walked down the street together, the couple attracted the attention of passersby.)
Cover design The graphic design of the cover is attributed to the Japanese artist Masuo Ikeda. Let’s call the image ‘unusual’.
House of Hard Bop – Eric Ineke
