Now for the first time ever on double LP, In Person, Friday Night at the Blackhawk represents a very short-lived and little-known version of the Miles Davis Quintet, recorded live at San Francisco's famed Blackhawk jazz club on 21 April 1961! After losing John Coltrane to his own soon-to-be legendary quartet, Miles Davis tried out a several other tenors before finally managing to bring on Hank Mobley. Mobley, who initially gained notoriety with the Jazz Messengers, was a less aggressive (though not less in any other way) player than Coltrane, bringing an interesting new dynamic to the Quintet. The flawless rhythm section of Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums, had been backing Miles since the days of Kind of Blue and was, by the time of this recording, a well-oiled and lethal machine. This double LP of Friday Night at the Blackhawk, while not technically complete in the sense that no doubles are included, includes at least one version of every song that was played that night, and is by far the most complete version available on vinyl! Limited edition 2LP on 180 gram vinyl.

• music label: Doxy 2012

reviewed by Doxy