A month after I moved into my dorm along the Fenway in Boston in September 1974, I took the "T" to Harvard Square in Cambridge. The weather had already begun to turn blustery, as was the case in Boston back then. Fall slid toward winter's doorstep rather quickly. I'm not sure if that still happens now due to global warming. I remember, because I had my pea coat on with the collar up.
Emerging at Harvard Square, I headed over to the "Coop," a co-operative book store affiliated with Harvard and MIT that in the early '70s featured a record department with one of the best jazz sections in town. The Coop is housed in a brick Federalist building that dates back to 1882.
Down in the record department, I discovered Miles Davis and Gil Evans's Miles Davis: Miles Ahead +19. It happened to be playing on the speaker system and Davis's romantic horn backed by Evans's breathless arrangements captured my imagination instantly. I grabbed the album along with four others and headed back to Boston. [Photo above of Gil Evans and Miles Davis]
Ever since, Miles Ahead + 19 has been my autumn album. We all have one—music purchased in the fall that you always associate with the colorful, chilly season. For me, this one is it and always will be.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Miles Ahead + 19 (Columbia) here.
JazzWax clips: Here's the first song on the album; then all the other tracks follow. You just have to click on the embed at the end for the next track. Or click the link I provided and go to YouTube...
For longtime fans of the album, here's an "alternate" album that someone built out of alternate takes. To me, these sound like the rundown, when musicians, soloist and conductor simply feel their way along for the first time without concern for precision or perfection...
