Miles Davis Ascenseur Pour L'Échafaud (LP, 10inch Vinyl, Ltd.)

(Sam Records) 10 tracks, recorded in Paris on 4 December 1957, original LP 10 inch edition: Fontana 660.213 MR.

1957 Miles Davis is in Paris for an engagement at the 'Club Saint-Germain' and a wonderful concert at the Olympia Theatre. Once in Paris, Miles Davis came into contact with many members of the modern existentialist cultural circle in the neighbourhood of Saint-Germain-des-Près. Among them was director Louis Malle, who had just finished his first film 'Ascenseur Pour L'échafaud'. Jean-Paul Rappeneau, a jazz fan and former assistant to Louis Malle, suggested asking Miles Davis to create the soundtrack of the film. A private screening was organised.

On December 4, 1957, Miles Davis brought three French jazz musicians - Barney Wilen on tenor saxophone, René Urtreger on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass and his American compatriot Kenny Clarke on drums - to the recording studio "Le Poste Parisien" without any preparation. Miles Davis gave the musicians only a few rudimentary harmonic sequences, which he had put together in his hotel room. These recordings were made at night in a highly informal atmosphere.

The soundtrack was not released alone in the USA, but ten songs from this soundtrack were released as one side of the album Jazz Track, which received a Grammy nomination for best jazz performance, solo or small group in 1960.

Geboren am 25.5.1926 in Alton - USA Der Trompeter, Absolvent des New Yorker Juilliard-Konservatoriums, ist unbestritten eine der Schlüsselfiguren der Fusion Jazz und Rock. Davis, der 1957 einen ersten Hit mit dem Soundtrack des Films „Fahrstuhl zum Schaffott' schrieb, wandte sich immer stärker einem psychedelischen Trompetenjazz zu. Seit seiner Mitgliedschaft im Charlie-Parker-Quintett nach 1945 gilt er als die Verkörperung von Kühle und Unnahbarkeit. Der unberechenbare, egonzentrische Musiker wurde von seinen Mitspielern oft als derart autoritär empfunden, daß ihn die meisten nach kurzer Zeit wieder verließen. Original Presse-Info: CBS Schallplatten GmbH