Miles Davis Quintet John Coltrane Miles Davis John Coltrane/Netherlands 1960 Soundboard Edition

This definitive recording of the Miles Davis Quintet's final live performance with John Coltrane, recorded just before the final European tour with Coltrane before his departure, is now available! Recorded with the finest quality soundboard, this performance finally puts an end to this recording! Always struggling with limited budgets and dissatisfaction with all aspects of his work, John Coltrane moved from Prestige to major label Atlantic in 1959. Miles Davis knew Coltrane wanted to go independent, and tried to thwart his desire by instructing his agent to book him work with Coltrane's group when he was available, offering him better treatment. He even gifted Coltrane a soprano saxophone, a instrument he had long desired. However, the increase in work only spurred Coltrane's desire to go independent even more. Then, in August 1959, a white police officer in front of Birdland famously hit Miles with a baton and even revoked his cabaret license. As a result, the group decided to continue their schedule without Miles for the time being. However, even without Miles, the group's reputation remained strong, and Coltrane's confidence grew. Incidentally, during this time, Miles was working on "Sketches of Spain" and enjoying rendezvous with his girlfriend, Frances. After recording "Sketches of Spain" finished in mid-March 1960, Miles' quintet was scheduled to tour Europe immediately, ending on April 10. At this point, Coltrane finally told Miles that he wanted to leave the band. He also said he would introduce newcomer Wayne Shorter to replace him. However, Miles refused, and traveled to Europe with Coltrane. This was Coltrane's final tour with the Miles Davis Quintet, and after returning to the US and completing a few more engagements, Coltrane finally left the Miles Davis Group. Miles's disappointment was intense, and he was spotted near tears at the final performance in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, no recordings of that Philadelphia performance survive, but the European tour performances were broadcast on radio in each country, and the Paris performance in March has been released in the Official Bootleg Series. The Stuttgart performance on April 10th was the last of that European tour, and the one before that was this performance in the Netherlands on April 9th, 1960. This performance was most recently released on LP, and has since been released on various labels, including Stash and Century, but a decent recording has been difficult to find, with muffled sound, sudden cuts, and incorrect track ordering. This release utilizes the master, recently rebroadcast by a local Dutch broadcasting station, and boasts improved sound quality compared to the best luxury edition to date. Furthermore, some of the flaws present on the luxury edition have been perfectly addressed, making this the definitive version of this live performance! John Coltrane has matured into a completely different man since joining the band. With Miles's direction in the group now completely different, Coltrane wanted to part ways with Miles as soon as possible to move on to the next step. However, Miles refused to allow this and took him to Europe. This was Miles' way of making amends, telling him to wait until he had finished the remaining term of his contract before going independent. However, Coltrane's performances on this European tour were reluctant, yet he gave almost his all at every performance. However, when he took on his solos, the seeds of his impulse were already emerging. However, when Coltrane stepped back, the performances with Miles, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb continued in the spirit of "Kind of Blue." So, you might think that this would be a bad performance, completely disjointed and lacking in cohesion, but that actually worked to their advantage, creating a strange sense of tension and resulting in an interesting performance you won't hear anywhere else! Even in this performance, the set list included classics from the band, such as "So What" and "Round About Midnight," which have evolved to an extent that is incomparable to their studio performances, and Coltrane's powerful playing and Miles's phrasing have reached new heights.