Workin'

Trumpeter Miles Davis led several sessions for Prestige Records between November 1955 and October 1956 with his legendary "first" quintet, featuring tenor saxophonist John Coltrane, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. The sessions represent an incomparable musical legacy. Impeccably engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, the music was released on five albums that provide a unique glimpse at how five brilliant instrumentalists coalesced into one of the most extraordinary ensembles in modern jazz. Workin' presents an easygoing program that balances ballads with the blues and includes quintet performances of originals by Davis ("Four," "Half Nelson"), Coltrane ("Trane's Blues"), and Dave Brubeck ("In Your Own Sweet Way"); an interpretation of the standard "It Never Entered My Mind" without saxophone; and a piano-trio version of Ahmad Jamal's "Ahmad's Blues." Coltrane's melancholy solo on Brubeck's tune and Garland's spry excursion on Coltrane's are two of this classic's many highlights. --Mitchell Feldman