What a fantastic album Miles Ahead is, probably considered the lesser of the trio of Davis/Evans collaborations.True Davis aficionados sort of consider all three close to being equal, with Porgy & Bess or Sketches of Spain just being above Miles Ahead.
Possibly those albums just perfected the style started on Miles Ahead? I have always thought of Miles Ahead as Kind of Blue with an orchestra... or at least the vibe is somewhat familiar.
Arranger Evans sure has a knack for painting a picture with the way he uses strange instrument pairings, and switches roles with what the traditional time keeping instruments do.
"Blues for Pablo" foreshadows Sketches of Spain. A lot has been made about Miles and his use of the fluglehorn instead of the trumpet on Miles Ahead. Many have commented that his signature sound is muffled some what, "that rough around the edges, fractured tone is missing"?
Some critics consider this to be a positive, in that Davis was able to work around some of his own technical deficiencies by using the more forgiving fluglehorn. I can't tell that much difference. Yes, his tone is a little softer, but certainly he doesn't sound like a different player or anything.
Original LP Cover for Miles Ahead
One interesting side note about the pictured Miles Ahead cover: Miles reportedly was not happy about the cover asking why was that white woman on the cover. Miles complained so much, that eventually Columbia Records producer George Avakian decided to change it.
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