RECORDINGS Miles Davis & John Coltrane The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 Wes Montgomery In Paris: The Definitive ORTF Recording Two releases of fabled, much-bootlegged European jazz concerts are finally given proper treatment with remastered sound and impressive packaging/historical info. The captivating four-CD box set Miles Davis & John Coltrane, The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 captures this classic pairing in March 1960 at a controversial turning point. Visiting Europe following the release of Kind of Blue, Davis brought along sidemen Wynton Kelly (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), JIMMY COBB (drums), and rising-star tenor man John Coltrane. But Trane—intent on leaving the group—joined the tour reluctantly, as he’d already migrated to a new concept. Once he began soloing on Miles’ repertoire tunes, the crowd was jolted. Venturing into his then-avant-garde “sheets of sound” for extended stretches, Coltrane was a force apart—or perhaps ahead. Miles was miffed, as […]

June 2018 Issue