Description
The complete album + 2 bonus tracks - pressed on 180g blue vinyl, contains new liner notes by Penguin Guide to Jazz's writer Brian Morton. The 1956 album Relaxin' with The Miles Davis Quintet - recorded by Rudy Van Gelder for Bob Weinstock's Prestige Records label - is widely acknowledged as Miles Davis' first classic quintet. Formed in 1955 and featuring John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones, it is one of the greatest combos in jazz history.
Relaxin' was the second in a series of four albums featuring the group recorded between May and October of 1956. It contains Miles' first version of "If I Were a Bell" from the play Guys and Dolls, a tune he would include in his concert repertoire until 1965.
Includes the bonus tracks 'How Am I To Know?" and "Stablemates".
"The results are consistently superior both in terms of song selection as well as performance. The solid nature of the unit as a singular musical force is immediately apparent. Relaxin' offers something for every degree of jazz enthusiast. Likewise, the quintet's recordings provide a tremendous introduction for the curious jazz consumer." - ***** Lindsay Planer, AllMusic
