Colossus In Excelsis

Sonny Rollins - Alfie's Theme

Nobody likes writing these things, and neither does Nowbodhi I can most definitely assure you.

They're gonna be inevitable as long as this brief spasm of activity we call a lifetime doesn't end in the eternal sleep of mortality, anyway.

That may be true, but this one sure stings. Not because the departed didn't live a long, standard-setting life of human innovation and impressive longevity, but because anytime the Greatest Living Anything passes, it's gonna leave a void.

So, especially being the Greatest Living Tenor Saxophonist, the ancestral ascendance of our latest late Maestro is gonna ripple through the culture like the implacable rock touching the tranquility of the pond.

He had the hilarity of ironic taste to go on Miles' 100th birthday, so I'll reiterate what I said in that post a few days ago.

Which is that when I put these concerts and compilations together, I really make an effort to do it in a way that's representative enough of the artist's attributes as a whole that it functions as a gateway drug into their entire output and cultural weight, for some youngster out there who wouldn't know Miles Davis from Miles Standish.

I try to make it so all the unprecedented, almost extraterrestrial melodic skill set is on full display at all times.

Because the toppermost Jazz players and improvisers -- the ones who can play one phrase and you're twisting it around in your head for days or decades afterwards -- have this way of transmuting the harmonic information present in a melody and weaving it around itself like living strands of musical DNA, and are able to do so on the fly in almost any group or solo context.

The Dexter Gordons, the Coleman Hawkins, the John Coltranes and others that occupy the upper strata of instrumentalists all have this in abundance, and any shred of harmonic data in their hands can be turned into a hypnotic power that can separate the mundane from the extraordinary as it unfolds in real time.

That said, no one who has lived, currently lives, or will ever live will have the prodigious, easily otherworldly talent of this kind of magical, spontaneous melodic and harmonic development than Sonny Rollins did. Period, end of story, I'm not sorry, and how about those Mets?

The two times I was lucky enough to see/hear him in a concert setting -- once in the idyllic confines of SF's Palace of Fine Arts! -- he did stuff with melody and the recalibration of a melody's near-infinite permutational possibilities that had you sitting there wondering if there was something, somewhere about playing music this guy hadn't mastered.

There were moments in those performances when you had to wonder if he'd ever stop the carnival, or if the melodic inventions might outlast him in endless battle.

Here's one, with a bonus track from a little later on, from 1979 where Sonny demonstrates just this kind of fight to the Finnish.

Sonny Rollins Quartet

Pori Jazz Festival

Riihiketo School

Pori, Finland

7.13.1979

01 Don't Ask/band introductions

02 Little Lu

03 Strode Rode

04 Tai-Chi

05 Disco Monk

06 Keep Hold of Yourself

07 Don't Stop the Carnival

08 Alfie's Theme

09 Harlem Boys

10 Isn't She Lovely

Total time: 1:41:18

disc break goes after Track 05

Track 10 is a bonus track from an indeterminately-sourced off-air FM capture of Sala Kongresowa, Warsaw PL 10.28.1980

Sonny Rollins - tenor saxophone & Lyricon

Mark Soskin - keyboards

Jerome Harris - bass

Al Foster - drums

pre-FM reels of indeterminate origin, with Track 05 inserted from the 2016 CD "Holding The Stage (Road Shows Vol. 4)" on the fabulous Okeh label

edited, repaired and remastered for unity by EN, May 2026
693 MB FLAC/direct link

I stripped in the released track -- how is the official one from an FM tape, and the rest of it that remains unreleased from the pre-broadcast source? Will the Athletics ever play in Las Vegas before John Fisher's fingertips get fed to the wolverines? Where do babies come from, anyway? -- because who gives a fuck anymore? The bonus track is from about 15 months later and who doesn't wanna hear Sonny play Stevie? That's like Songs In the Key of Right if you ask me.

So that concludes May... ain't the death of irreplaceable icons from a bygone age of musical sophistication that may never happen again grand? I'll be back to tune June with some Brigadoon in a few daze, but you better spend the rest of this weekend, the month and your life on the Sonny side of the street if you know what's good for you.--J.

9.7.1930 - 5.25.2026

Dewey Decimal: Miles Davis 100

Miles Davis - Tutu

I'm sitting here stunned that Sonny Rollins chose the centennial of Miles Davis to pass away, but I can't sit for long if I wanna get this megabeast of a folder happening for you all.

This is a long time coming and took a lot of effort to put into share shape, so you better get ready to get up with it today.

What is there to say? When I started assembling this a month ago I didn't really know where it would go, and now that it's all in the can I'm kind of comfortably numb from keeping track of it all.

There's a whole lot of centenaries in 2026 -- John Coltrane in September, of course, is one -- but there might not even have been a John Coltrane as we know him had it not been for The Chief recognizing talent.

That's probably what made Miles so far above and ahead of everyone else's curve, right? The ability to put a band together with young musicians no one may have heard of as of yet, but whose artistry he could feel and see the potential in from a galaxy away.

From this, we got everybody from Wayne Shorter -- considered by many to be the greatest of all Jazz composers -- to percussion paragon Airto Moreira, to guitarists like John Scofield and Mike Stern. And uncountable more.

They all have their stories of The Chief, a figure of living myth. Like, everyone knows this one, where 'Trane comes to his boss and asks what to do because once he gets going on ideas in a solo, he can't find a way to stop.

So Miles tells him to just take the horn out of his mouth.

There's probably a million tales like that, from a zillion different people who crossed paths with -- or if they were lucky and good enough, worked for -- Miles Davis.

Miles Dewey Davis III. Born this day in 1926. Who is likely one of the five most important figures in all American music, if not #1 all time.

Like I was saying, I've been at this folder I'm sharing for a month, with the impetus being to make something that a kid just discovering this music would spend the next decade at least using as an introduction -- OK, a gateway drug and guidepost -- into its heart.

The heart not of darkness, but of The Prince of Darkness.

Miles Davis

100

1.

Falkoner Centret

Copenhagen, Denmark

10.28.1985

01 One Phone Call/Street Scenes/Speak/That's What Happened

02 Star People (aka New Blues)

03 Maze 

04 Human Nature

05 MD 1/Something's On Your Mind/MD 2

06 Time After Time

07 Ms. Morrisine

08 Code M.D.

09 Pacific Express

10 Burn

11 Stronger Than Before

12 Hopscotch

13 Rubberband 

14 Jean-Pierre/Then There Were None

15 Decoy

16 Broken Wings

Total time: 2:38:14

disc break goes after Tracks 05 & 11

Track 16 is a bonus track from Hallenstadion, Zürich CH 11.02.1985

Miles Davis - trumpet & keyboards

Bob Berg - tenor & soprano saxophone

Mike Stern - guitar

Robert Irving III - keyboards

Adam Holzman - keyboards

Angus Thomas - bass 

Vincent Wilburn, Jr. - drums

Steve Thornton - percussion

Marilyn Mazur - percussion

Tracks 01-15 are sourced from the 1993 bootleg silver CD "Unissued '85: Live in Copenhagen" on the On Stage Records label, 

and seem like a straight, master soundboard capture of the entire concert

Track 16 is purported to be sourced from a pitch-corrected 2nd gen cassette from the soundboard, 

but the spectral analysis tops out at the 15 kHz lossless FM cutoff, so it is likely from an off-air FM capture

retracked, denoised, edited & remastered for unity by EN, with speed/pitch adjustments throughout by Prof. Goody, May 2026
1.04 GB FLAC/link to main folder is below

2.

Fabrik

Hamburg, Germany

10.27.1986

01 walk-on & applause

02 One Phone Call/Street Scenes/Speak

03 Star People

04 Perfect Way

05 Human Nature

06 Wrinkle

07 Tutu

08 Splatch

09 Time After Time

10 Full Nelson

11 Carnival Time

12 Tomaas

13 Burn

14 Maze

15 Portia

Total time: 1:53:35

disc break goes after Track 08

Miles Davis - trumpet & keyboards

Garth Webber - guitar

Bob Berg - soprano & tenor saxophones

Robert Irving III - keyboards

Adam Holzman - keyboards

Darryl Jones - bass

Vincent Wilburn, Jr. - drums

Steve Thornton - percussion

master HiFi VHS off-air capture of the original, two-part NDR2 FM broadcast of the complete concert

edited, retracked, repaired & remastered by EN, May 2026

832 MB FLAC/link to main folder is below

3.

Estival Jazz Lugano

Padiglione Arte Casa

Centro delle Esposizioni

Lugano, Switzerland

7.1.1987

01 One Phone Call/Street Scenes/Speak

02 Star People

03 Perfect Way

04 The Senate/Me & U

05 Human Nature

06 Wrinkle

07 Tutu

08 Movie Star

09 Splatch

10 Time After Time

11 Full Nelson

12 Don't Stop Me Now

13 Carnival Time

14 Tomaas/band introductions

15 Burn

16 Portia

Total time: 2:10:16

disc break goes after Track 07

Miles Davis - trumpet 

Kenny Garrett - alto saxophone & flute

Robert Irving III - keyboards 

Adam Holzman - keyboards

Joseph "Foley" McCreary - high-register bass guitar

Darryl Jones - bass 

Ricky Wellman - drums

Mino Cinelu - percussion

master soundboard VHS capture of the house monitor feed

edited by plaz in April 2013 and slightly retracked/remastered by EN, May 2026
889 MB FLAC/link to main folder is below

Miles Davis

Inamorata

Electric Directions, 1969-1975

CD1

01 Inamorata & Sanctuary (narration: Conrad Roberts) (Live Evil 1970)

02 Inamorata (Cellar Door 1970)

03 Ali (Jack Johnson outtake 1970)

04 Moja (part II) (Dark Magus 1974)

05 The Ghetto Walk (In a Silent Way outtake 1969)

06 Lonely Fire (Bitches Brew outtake/Big Fun 1970)

07 What I Say? (Newport 1971)

CD2

08 Prelude (Agharta 1975)

09 Red China Blues (Get Up with It 1972)

10 Maiysha (Agharta 1975)

11 Ife (Montreux 1973)

12 Sanctuary/Spanish Key/The Theme (Isle of Wight 1970)

13 Billy Preston (Get Up with It 1972)

CD3

14 Sivad/Honky Tonk (Live Evil/Get Up with It 1970)

15 Duran (Jack Johnson outtake/Directions 1970)

16 Zimbabwe (Pangaea 1975)

17 Willie Nelson (Black Beauty/Fillmore West 1970)

18 Mr. Foster (On the Corner outtake 1972)

19 Bitches Brew (Newport 1969)

20 It's About That Time (Fillmore East 1970)

21 Black Satin (In Concert/NY Philharmonic 1972)

22 Miles Runs the Voodoo Down (Tanglewood 1970)

Total time: 3:31:40

compendium of Miles Davis electric period '70s jams

assembled, edited and remastered for unity by EN, May 2026
1.4 GB FLAC/link to main folder is below

Miles Davis

Street Scenes

Electric Directions, 1981-1991

CD1

01 Theme from Jack Johnson (Right Off) (Decoy outtake 1984)

02 MD 1/Something's On Your Mind/MD 2 (Montreux 1984)

03 Back Seat Betty (We Want Miles 1981)

04 Code 3 (Montreal 1983)

05 Katia (You're Under Arrest 1985)

06 Time After Time (Montreux 1985)

07 Fat Time (The Man with the Horn 1981)

08 What It Is (Montreux 1984)

09 Code M.D. (Munich 1988)

CD2

10 Speak (Poland 1983)

11 Star People (Montreux 1984)

12 Decoy (Decoy 1984)

13 Ms. Morrisine (North Sea Jazz 1985)

14 Human Nature (Montreux 1985)

15 Maze (Rubberband 1985)

16 Penetration (Paris 1991)

17 Electric Red (Aura 1985)

18 The Senate/Me and U (Montreux 1990)

19 Wrinkle (Montreux 1986)

CD3

20 What’s Love Got to Do With It? (outtake 1984)

21 Come Get It (Star People 1982)

22 Big Time (Amandla 1989)

23 Splatch (Nice 1986)

24 Intruder (NYC 1988)

25 The Jam Session (w. Michel Legrand 1990)

26 Tutu (Tutu 1986)

27 Theme from Jack Johnson/One Phone Call/Street Scenes/That's What Happened (Montreux 1985)

28 Jean-Pierre (Japan 1981)

Total time: 3:58:42

compendium of Miles Davis electric period '80s jams

assembled, edited and remastered for unity by EN, May 2026
1.59 GB FLAC/link to main folder is below

Various Artists

"Wall to Wall Miles Davis" 

Symphony Space

New York City, New York USA

3.24.2001

CD1

Bitches Brew

01 Bobby Previte's Voodoo Down Orchestra - Bitches Brew/Spanish Key

Bobby Previte - drums/Ray Anderson - trombone/Peter Epstein - soprano saxophone/Adam Kolker - bass clarinet/Pete McCann - guitar/Russ Lossing - Fender Rhodes/Jon Dryden - Fender Rhodes/Peter Herbert - bass/Jim Pugliese - percussion

Relaxin’ with Miles

02 The Terrell Stafford Quartet - Milestones

03 The Terrell Stafford Quartet - It Could Happen to You

Terrell Stafford - trumpet/George Colligan - piano/Ed Howard - bass/Victor Lewis - drums

The Hot Spot

04 Olu Dara Ensemble - Excerpts from Doo-Bop

05 Olu Dara Ensemble - Excerpts from The Hot Spot

Olu Dara - cornet, guitar & vocals/Kwatei Jones Quartey - guitar/Alonzo Gardner - bass/Larry Johnson - drums/Coster Massamba - percussion

+unidentified narration

Miles Smiles

06 Bobby Watson & Horizon feat. Victor Lewis - Freedom Jazz Dance

07 Bobby Watson & Horizon feat. Victor Lewis - Gingerbread Boy/FM announcement

Bobby Watson - alto saxophone/Terrell Stafford - trumpet/Edward Simon - piano/Curtis Lundy - bass/Victor Lewis - drums

CD2

Mileselektronika

01 WBGO-FM - FM announcement

02 Hagans/Belden Animation feat. DJ Kingsize - Mother Dearest Mother/Paraphernalia

Tim Hagans - trumpet/Bob Belden - soprano saxophone/Scott Kinsey - keyboards/David Dyson - bass/Zach Danzinger - drums/DJ Kingsize - turntables

Live/Evil

03 Sex Mob w. Bill Frisell & DJ Logic - Selim

Steven Bernstein - slide trumpet/Briggan Krauss - saxophones/Bill Frisell - guitar/Tony Scherr - bass/Kenny Wollesen - drums/

DJ Logic - turntables & electronics

Song and Surprise

04 Jane Ira Bloom - How Deep Is the Ocean/Solar

Jane Ira Bloom - soprano saxophone & electronics/Vincent Bourgeyx - piano/Cameron Brown - bass/Bobby Previte - drums

Someday My Prince Will Come

05 The Campbell Brothers - Someday My Prince Will Come

06 The Campbell Brothers - Summertime

07 The Campbell Brothers - All Blues/FM announcement

Phil Campbell - guitar/Charles “Chuck” Campbell - pedal steel guitar/Darick Campbell - lap steel guitar/Malcolm Kirby - bass/Carlton Campbell - drums

The Miles Experience

08 Nora York - So What/I Don't Live Today

09 WBGO-FM - FM announcement

Nora York - vocals/Claire Daly - baritone saxophone/Dave Hofstra - bass/Ronnie Williams - drums

CD3

Urban Tap – Aura

01 WBGO-FM - FM announcement

02 Tamango & Fabio Morgera - Music inspired by Aura pt.1

03 Tamango & Fabio Morgera - Music inspired by Aura pt.2

Tamango - didgeridoo & tap dancing/Fabio Morgera - trumpet & electronics

Gemini Double Image

04 Burnt Sugar/The Arkestra Chamber - Mtume/Directions/Little Church

Gregory "Ironman" Tate - conductor/Lewis "Flip" Barnes - trumpet/Simi - electric violin/Julia Kent - cello/Rene Akhan - guitar/Morgan Michael Craft - guitar/Kirk Douglass - guitar/Vijay Iyer - piano/Bruce Mack - Korg M1 synthesizer/Jason Tobias DiMatteo - bass/Jared Michael Nickerson - bass/Honeychild - dulcimer/Tia Nicole Leak - percussion/Swiss Chris - drums/Qasim Naqvi - drums & tabia/Lisala Beatty - vocals/Justice X - vocals

Directions in Music

05 Dave Douglas New Quintet - Boplicity/Sanctuary/Kix

Dave Douglas - trumpet/Antonio Hart - alto saxophone/Uri Caine - Fender Rhodes/James Genus - bass/Clarence Penn - drums

Loose Change from The Plugged Nickel

06 Ingrid Jensen Group - I Fall In Love Too Easily

07 Ingrid Jensen Group - If I Were a Bell/Walkin'

Ingrid Jensen - trumpet/Gary Thomas - tenor saxophone & flute/Orrin Evans - piano & Fender Rhodes/Ed Howard - bass/Jeff “Tain” Watts - drums

CD4

Pop Songs

01 The Russell Gunn Group - Love for Sale

02 The Russell Gunn Group - Time After Time/FM announcement

Russell Gunn - trumpet/Carl Burnett - guitar/Marc Cary - piano/Taurus Mateen - bass/Terreon Gully - drums

He Loved Him Madly

03 Frank London & Invocations - He Loved Him Madly

Frank London - trumpet/Anthony Coleman - harmonium/Ken Filiano - bass/Kenny Wollesen - drums

When Miles Split!

04 Ntozake Shange - When Miles Split!

poem read by Amiri Baraka at Miles' memorial service in 1991

Ntozake Shange - voice

The Birth of the Cool

05 Graham Haynes Nonet - Jeru

06 Graham Haynes Nonet - Moon Dreams

07 Graham Haynes Nonet - Venus de Milo

08 Graham Haynes Nonet - Deception

09 Graham Haynes Nonet - Rouge

Graham Haynes - trumpet/Gary Valente - trombone/Vincent Chancey - French horn/Bob Stewart - tuba/Avram Fefer - alto saxophone/Alex Harding - baritone saxophone/Uri Caine - piano/Clarence Penn - drums

Sketches of Sketches

10 Nat Hentoff - The making of Sketches of Spain

documentary of an unheard session with Miles Davis & Gil Evans (1960) incl. Nat Hentoff interview

Behind Miles Ahead

11 George Avakian - Reminiscences of Miles Ahead and more

interview with George Avakian (producer of Miles Ahead, 1957)

CD5

Sketches of Miles

01 Melba Joyce - 'Round Midnight

02 Melba Joyce - All Blues

03 Melba Joyce - Blue In Green

Melba Joyce - vocals/Tanya Darby - trumpet/Kalyn Dean - trumpet/Anat Cohen - tenor saxophone/Dwight Dickerson - piano/Calvin Hill - bass/Wally "Gator" Watson - drums

Airegin

04 Joe Lovano Quintet - Airegin

05 Joe Lovano Quintet - Bags' Groove

06 Joe Lovano Quintet - Oleo

Joe Lovano - tenor saxophone/Tom Harrell - trumpet/Mulgrew Miller - piano/Cameron Brown - bass/Idris Muhammad - drums

The World of Miles

07 Mamadou Diabaté & The Ben Allison Trio - Seven Steps to Heaven

08 Mamadou Diabaté & The Ben Allison Trio - Milestones

Mamadou Diabaté - kora/Famoro Diabaté - balafon/Michael Blake - saxophones/Mike Sarin - drums/Ben Allison - bass

Prince of Darkness

09 David Sanchez & The Melaza Sextet - Prince of Darkness

David Sanchez - saxophone/Miguel Zenon - alto saxophone/Edsel Gomez - piano/Hans Glawischneg - bass/Antonio Sanchez - drums

CD6

Dark Magus

01 Melvin Gibbs' Liberation Theology w. Pete Cosey & Joe Lovano - Calypso Frelimo/Ife

Melvin Gibbs - bass/Graham Haynes - cornet/Joe Lovano - saxophones/Pete Cosey - guitar, sitar & thumb piano/James Hurt - keyboards/Terreon Gully - drums/Felix Sanabria - percussion/Nancy Assis - percussion/DJ Logic - turntables

In a Silent Way

02 Don Byron's Music for 6 Musicians - In a Silent Way

03 Don Byron's Music for 6 Musicians - Shhh/Peaceful / It's About That Time

Don Byron - clarinet & bass clairnet/James Zollar - trumpet/Edsel Gomez - piano/Leo Traversa -bass/Milton Cardona - congas/Ben Wittman - drums

Miles ‘58/’66

04 Eddie Henderson w. Jimmy Cobb - On Green Dolphin Street

05 Eddie Henderson w. Jimmy Cobb - Footprints

Eddie Henderson - trumpet/Kevin Hays - piano/Ed Howard - bass/Joe Locke - vibraphone/Jimmy Cobb - drums

Silent Ways & Means

06 interview: Lenny White, Dave Holland & Joe Zawinul

Kind of Blue Period

07 Ashley Kahn - The Making of Kind of Blue with Ashley Kahn

CD7

Sketches of Spain

01 Wallace Roney, Miles Evans & Ensemble - Concerto de Aranjuez

02 Wallace Roney, Miles Evans & Ensemble - Will O’The Wisp

03 Wallace Roney, Miles Evans & Ensemble - The Pan Piper

04 Wallace Roney, Miles Evans & Ensemble - Saeta

05 Wallace Roney, Miles Evans & Ensemble - Solea

06 Wallace Roney, Miles Evans & Ensemble - Song of Our Country

Maria Schneider - conductor/Wallace Roney - trumpet/Miles Evans - trumpet/Bud Burridge - trumpet/Laurie Fink - trumpet/Alexander Sipiagin - trumpet/Lew Soloff - trumpet/Dennis Wilson - trombone/Douglas Purviance - bass trombone/Theresa McDonnell - French horn/Jeffrey Scott – French horn/Tom Varner - French horn/Bob Stewart - tuba/Dennis Anderson - reeds/Charles Pillow - reeds/Mark Thrasher - reeds/Lou Marini - reeds/Rob Scheps - Reeds/Badrena -percussion/Terry Silverlight -drums

The Street

07 Jon Faddis, Jimmy Owens, Paquito D’Rivera, James Williams, John Patitucci & Tony Reedus - Donna Lee/Half Nelson

Jon Faddis - trumpet/Jimmy Owens - trumpet/Paquito D’Rivera - alto saxophone/James Williams - piano/John Patitucci - bass/Tony Reedus - drums

CD8

All Blues

01 WBGO-FM - FM announcement

02 Vernon Reid & Masque - Right Off

03 Vernon Reid & Masque - Freddie Freeloader

Vernon Reid - guitar/Miles Evans - trumpet/Micah Gaugh - tenor saxophone/Marion Browden - drums/Hank Schroy - bass/Leon Gruenbaum - keyboards/DJ Logic - turntables

Code M.D.

04 Adam Holzman & Brave New World - opening medley

05 Adam Holzman & Brave New World - Tomaas

06 Adam Holzman & Brave New World - Maze

Adam Holzman - keyboards/Freddy Cash, Jr. - bass/Aaron Heick - tenor saxophone

Homage

07 Wallace Roney Group - Lament/Filles de Kilimanjaro/A Love Supreme

08 Wallace Roney Group - 'Round Midnight

09 Wallace Roney Group - Frelon Brun/Portia

10 WBGO-FM - FM outro

Wallace Roney - trumpet/Adam Holzman - piano/Buster Williams - bass/Lenny White - drums/Antoine Roney - drums

Total time: 9:14:55

off-air FM capture of indeterminate origin -- possibly a HiFi VHS dub -- of highlights of an all-day event broadcast by WBGO-FM in NYC in 2001

edited, repaired, denoised, retracked & remastered by EN, May 2026
4.16 GB FLAC/direct link to entire folder

So yeah. There's Miles -- a lot of him in that 1985-87 comeback peak playing-wise -- who'd have turned 100 years old today as Sonny Rollins leaves the building at 95. Soon, there'll be only Recollections of greats of this world-altering caliber left.

Click that link if the main thing ain't enough, OK? It'll help ease you down. And all of this is why we need folders like these, that contain 24 hours of music to mark the day Miles Davis was born 100 years ago, and to try to help ensure in some kind of blue way that he'll still be in people's minds and ears long after all of us have split to that Jazz Paradise up yonder.--J.

5.26.1926 - 9.28.1991
WHO IS THIS MUSIC?