Revisit Miles Davis’s Classic Recordings from 1954

A new collection highlights Miles Davis’s post-bop era to be released November 22, 2024.

Craft Recordings is set to commemorate a significant year in the illustrious career of Miles Davis with the release of Miles ’54: The Prestige Recordings. This comprehensive 20-track compilation brings together genre-defining recordings from 1954, showcasing Davis’s musical evolution and collaborations with iconic jazz musicians.

Featuring classics from albums like Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis Quintet, Miles Davis All Star Sextet, and Miles Davis Quartet, Miles ’54 boasts a stellar lineup of contributors including Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, Milt Jackson, Kenny Clarke, Art Blakey, and Horace Silver. The collection blends Davis’s original compositions with popular ballads and standards performed by his legendary sidemen.

Arriving on November 22, Miles ’54 will be available in various formats, including 180-gram 4-LP, 2-CD, and hi-res digital. The audio has been meticulously remastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Paul Blakemore.

Physical editions of the collection include a new essay by Grammy-winning music historian Ashley Kahn and in-depth session notes by Grammy-winning writer Dan Morgenstern. The complete collection is available for pre-order now, while the track “Oleo” can be streamed immediately.

1954 marked a turning point for Miles Davis. Ten years into his career, the trumpeter, composer, and bandleader was on the cusp of international fame and more focused than ever. Throughout the year, he entered Rudy Van Gelder’s studio for five landmark sessions, honing his sound, maturing as a leader, and collaborating with the era’s brightest rising stars. The resulting recordings propelled Davis’s career to the next level and shaped the post-bop scene of the mid-late 1950s.

The release of Miles ’54 not only coincides with the 70th anniversary of these recordings but also the 75th anniversary of Prestige Records, the venerable independent jazz label founded by producer Bob Weinstock. Launched in 1949, Prestige was at the forefront of the genre, introducing cutting-edge sounds like bop, hard bop, soul jazz, and more, while developing the careers of iconic artists such as John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, and Miles Davis himself.

Miles Davis at his “Miles Davis Quartet” session of March 6, 1954. Photo by Francis Wolff.

The complete “Miles ’54: The Prestige Recordings” collection is now available for pre-order, offering fans an opportunity to own a piece of jazz history. In the meantime, you can stream “Oleo” today and get a taste of this meticulously remastered masterpiece. This release promises to be a definitive collection for both new listeners and longtime fans of Miles Davis, capturing a moment in time when jazz was evolving and Davis was at the forefront of that transformation.

Pre order here: https://amzn.to/3XcPBVA

Stream ‘Miles ’54’ today: https://amzn.to/3ACgLwl


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