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The Miles Davis Quintet of 1955-’57 was a phenomenon that made the jaws of many drop. Their magic and fluid playing in the fast lane was best experienced live on stage. One who witnessed the group’s rise was the usually sober music journalist Ralph Gleason, who later wrote:
“I heard this band many nights at the Blackhawk in San Francisco, for which I am grateful…they howled. And they didn’t need to warm up…the sheer intensity was exhilarating. Fast or slow, they made every beat sound like it was born in an atom-splitting burst of energy.”
The quintet was a phenomenon. In their exuberant full-throttle phase, the group just had so much to offer: Coltrane’s raw, angular – at times endless – tenor improvisations. Garland’s fiery left-hand chord work. Philly Joe’s exciting cymbal work and driving rimshots. Miles’ restrained, muted trumpet. Chambers’ deft and soulful solos with the bow. For years after the quintet’s debut, jazz journalists were still amazed by their interactivity. “The complexity of the connection between the minds of these musicians has not, in my opinion, been equaled by any other group,” wrote Gleason. Prestige president Bob Weinstock praised them as “the Louis Armstrong Hot Five of the modern era.”
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