The Second Great Quintet in spectacular form, featuring the late Wayne Shorter

November 4, 1967
Berliner Jazztage 1967
Philharmonie, Berlin,
the former West Germany

MILES DAVIS QUINTET
Miles Davis- trumpet
Wayne Shorter- tenor saxophone
Herbie Hancock- piano
Ron Carter- bass
Tony Williams- drums

introduction 0:00
Agitation (Miles Davis) 0:04
Footprints (Wayne Shorter) 5:19
'Round Midnight (Bernie Hanighen-Cootie Williams-Thelonious Monk) 14:00
No Blues [aka Pfrancing] (Miles Davis) 21:41
Masqualero (Wayne Shorter) 32:16
closing credits 41:52

Audio source B: ORF radio broadcast, May 8, 1968

At the time of posting we recently learned of the passing of Wayne Shorter. Wayne was an incredible saxophonist, a distinctive, original voice that graced not only Miles Davis's Second Great Quintet, but hard bop's premier finishing school Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, the giants of fusion Weather Report, a string of superb solo albums that spanned seven decades, many stunning recordings with Joni Mitchell, and numerous appearances as a sideman, particularly on Blue Note in the 1960s. Wayne always brought an intelligent, individual voice to any setting, by turns serene and turbulent, constantly finding fresh, unpredictable directions. His original thinking also made him a brilliant composer, contributing dozens of modern jazz standards to the repertoire.

Shorter brought all of these qualities to the Davis group when he joined in the autumn of 1964, providing the most commanding frontline partner Miles had had since John Coltrane, and writing many of the tunes on E.S.P, Miles Smiles, Sorcerer and Nefertiti. In his autobiography, Miles says "Wayne was the idea person, the conceptualizer of a whole lot of musical ideas we did... He wanted to play freer than he could in Art [Blakey]'s band but he didn't want to be all the way out, either. Wayne has always been someone who experimented with form instead of someone who did it without form. That's why I thought he was perfect for where I wanted to see the music I played go." Shorter himself said "It wasn't the bish-bash, sock 'em dead routine we had with Blakey, with every solo a climax. With Miles, I felt like a cello, I felt viola, I felt liquid, dot-dash... and colors started really coming."

The tour of Europe in late 1967 was part of promoter George Wein's Newport Jazz Festival in Europe package tour, and this date formed part of the Berliner Jazztage festival, on which Davis's group appeared alongside the quintet of free jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp, and the Thelonious Monk Orchestra (incidentally, every discography, tour itinerary, and bootleg of this show gives the date as Novemebr 4. However, this poster for the Berliner Jazztage places the concert on the 3rd: https://g123-media.sos-ch-gva-2.exosc.... Can anyone clarify?). In contrast to the theatrical Shepp, Miles and his quintet were still dressed in the sharp suits familiar from previous tours and, although they now played their set as one continuous, uninterrupted medley, there were still clear melodies and familiar theme-solos-theme structures, even if they were stretched to breaking point. This was a band at the height of their powers, an unparralleled creative unit drawing on all the elements of Davis's recent career: hard bop, modal, and even hints of the avant garde music of which Miles was so suspicious, with an interplay that bordered on telepathy (or, if you prefer, ESP). Writer and photographer Val Wilmer said of the band's London date, "the music was bittersweet perfection."

We originally posted this music back in 2015, taken from a bootleg CD Live In Europe (Jazz Up, JU-320 [Italy, 1989]). That recording had several issues, including frequent distortion, drop outs and evident tape damage. This new version comes from a recording of a 1968 ORF radio broadcast. This tape had its own issues, including running slow, cloudier sound, and occasional radio static. I have remastered the audio to resolve some of these issues and it now offers a useful alternative to the bootleg CD version. You can still hear that version here:    • Miles Davis- November 4, 1967  Philha...  

Shorter was the one holdover after the dissolution of the Great Quintet, continuing to play with Davis through the groundbreaking 1969 fusion recordings of In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew, before leaving in the spring of 1970 to join forces with fellow Miles alumnus Joe Zawinul in Weather Report.

As Miles noted, "Wayne was always out there on his own plane, orbiting his own planet."

Orbit in peace, Wayne.


If you enjoy these posts and would like to thank us for our efforts you can buy us a coffee:
https://ko-fi.com/milestonesarchive
Thank you!