About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

The tracks on Collector's Items may well be what the title claims, but they aren't exactly rarities, and all have been issued several times, originally portioned out as the Prestige LPs called Collectors' Items (the original featured seven of the dozen sides found in this reissue) and Conception and as Blue Moods, issued on the Debut Records label. The four sessions these LPs covered spanned the years 1951 to 1956 and show a Miles Davis gradually discovering his mature sound and tone. The first four tracks were recorded in 1953 and feature a rare glimpse of Charlie Parker (Davis' first boss) playing tenor saxophone rather than alto in tandem with tenor saxist Sonny Rollins, and with Walter Bishop on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and the steady Philly Joe Jones on drums. The next three cuts are from a 1956 session with Rollins on tenor sax, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Arthur Taylor on drums. Track eight, "Conception," was recorded in 1951 and pairs Rollins' tenor with Jackie McLean's alto sax and features Bishop again on piano, Tommy Potter on bass, and a young Art Blakey on drums. The final four tracks were cut in July of 1955 with Charles Mingus on bass, Britt Woodman on trombone, Teddy Charles on vibes, and another young drummer of note, Elvin Jones. Given the differing personnel and dates, it's fairly remarkable that the resulting CD actually has the arc of coherence to it, and features a strong version of "'Round Midnight," a sturdy, rollicking "Compulsion," just a hint of Davis' muted, mature tone on "Vierd Blues," and a wonderfully atmospheric and hushed "Nature Boy," given balance and feel by Teddy Charles' wonderful work on vibes and Davis knowing exactly what to do with that, turning out marvelously sympathetic trumpet lines, working in that deep, stripped down, and emotionally meditative tone that would come to be his trademark. Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

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