Miles Davis

Europe 1982 press. Some spotting to sleeve and inner. ESP was the first of the Miles Davis Quintet albums featuring Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Tony Williams on drums, Ron Carter on bass and Herbie Hancock on piano. Released in 1964 it was Miles' attempt to stretch acoustic jazz further whilst avoiding the free style of the then happening Ornette Coleman. The result is a stunning collection of numbers where the musings of Miles intertwine with the muscularity of Shorter's sax. But then the whole band are superlative, not least the young drummer (indeed because of Williams's age many clubs banned them from playing and Miles insisted that he grew a moustache to add some years to his look). With an artist of the calibre of Miles and with his almost uniquely extensive list of great albums it is difficult to pick his best, but it is probable that ESP would be somewhere near the top. All eight tracks are beautiful examples of just how moving jazz can be and are now even more so, with the excellent remastering. Numbers such as the title track and "Agitation" have influenced and inspired jazz musicians and listeners alike since its release.