Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis 1963–1964 is a box set of studio and concert recordings by Miles Davis for Columbia over a two-year period. Instead of focusing on a particular collaboration or session period, it focuses on the time period in between the solidified lineups of the first and second Great Quintets, starting with Ron Carter's introduction and finishing with the establishment of Wayne Shorter in the lineup.
| Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis 1963–1964 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Box set by | ||||
| Released | September 28, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | April 16, 1963 – September 19, 1964 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 7:07:40 | |||
| Label | Columbia/Legacy | |||
| Producer | Bob Belden Michael Cuscuna (reissue) | |||
| The Miles Davis Series chronology | ||||
| ||||
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Rolling Stone |    [1] |
| AllMusic | [2] |
AllMusic awarded the box set four stars.
Albums
editThe third chronologically in the series of Miles Davis box sets issued by Columbia, the set includes material from the albums:
- Seven Steps to Heaven (1963)
- Quiet Nights (1963) (One track only)
- Miles Davis in Europe (1964)
- My Funny Valentine (1965)
- 'Four' & More (1966)
- Miles in Tokyo (1969)
- Miles in Berlin (1965)
Track list
edit| No. | Title | Original Release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Joshua" | Previously Unreleased | 5:24 |
| 2. | "I Fall in Love Too Easily" | Seven Steps to Heaven | 6:44 |
| 3. | "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" | Seven Steps to Heaven | 8:25 |
| 4. | "So Near, So Far" | Directions | 5:11 |
| 5. | "Basin Street Blues" | Seven Steps to Heaven | 10:27 |
| 6. | "Seven Steps to Heaven (Take 3)" | Previously Unreleased | 5:29 |
| 7. | "Seven Steps to Heaven (Take 5)" | Previously Unreleased | 6:11 |
| 8. | "Summer Night" | Quiet Nights | 6:01 |
- Track 1 incorrectly indexed as "Album Version", the master take of the song can be found on Disc 2
- Track 4 incorrectly indexed as "Album Version", however it is available as a Bonus Track on the 2005 reissue of Seven Steps to Heaven
- Track 8 also found as a Bonus Track on the 2005 reissue of Seven Steps to Heaven[3][4]
| No. | Title | Original Release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Seven Steps to Heaven (Rehearsal Take)" | Previously Unreleased | 6:57 |
| 2. | "Seven Steps to Heaven" | Seven Steps to Heaven | 6:23 |
| 3. | "So Near, So Far" | Seven Steps to Heaven | 6:56 |
| 4. | "Joshua" | Seven Steps to Heaven | 6:58 |
| 5. | "Introduction by Andre Francis" | In Europe | 1:00 |
| 6. | "Autumn Leaves" | In Europe | 13:55 |
| 7. | "Milestones" | In Europe | 9:17 |
| 8. | "I Thought About You" | In Europe | 11:48 |
| No. | Title | Original Release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Joshua" | In Europe | 11:36 |
| 2. | "All of You" | In Europe | 16:54 |
| 3. | "Walkin'" | In Europe | 16:14 |
| 4. | "Bye Bye Blackbird" | Previously Unreleased | 16:47 |
| 5. | "Bye Bye (Theme)" | Previously Unreleased | 6:06 |
- Tracks 4 and 5 are the final numbers from the concert In Europe was recorded on. Both were left off of previous and future reissues due to CD limitations.
| No. | Title | Original Release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Introduction by Mort Fega" | Previously Unreleased | 2:49 |
| 2. | "Autumn Leaves" | Previously Unreleased | 10:40 |
| 3. | "So What" | 'Four' & More | 9:11 |
| 4. | "Stella by Starlight" | My Funny Valentine | 12:54 |
| 5. | "Walkin'" | 'Four' & More | 8:07 |
| 6. | "All of You" | My Funny Valentine | 14:40 |
| 7. | "Go-Go (Theme and Announcement)" | 'Four' & More | 1:44 |
| No. | Title | Original Release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Introduction by Billy Taylor" | Previously Unreleased | 0:44 |
| 2. | "All Blues" | My Funny Valentine | 8:53 |
| 3. | "My Funny Valentine" | My Funny Valentine | 14:55 |
| 4. | "Joshua" | 'Four' & More | 9:32 |
| 5. | "I Thought About You" | My Funny Valentine | 11:15 |
| 6. | "Four" | 'Four' & More | 6:17 |
| 7. | "Seven Steps to Heaven" | 'Four' & More | 7:45 |
| 8. | "There Is No Greater Love" | 'Four' & More | 10:03 |
| 9. | "Go-Go (Theme and Re-Introduction)" | 'Four' & More | 1:45 |
- All tracks from Discs Four and Five come from the same recording at Philharmonic Hall, which would be split into the slow tracks on My Funny Valentine and the fast tracks on 'Four' and More.
| No. | Title | Original Release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Introduction by Teruo Isono" | Miles in Tokyo | 1:10 |
| 2. | "If I Were a Bell" | Miles in Tokyo | 10:15 |
| 3. | "My Funny Valentine" | Miles in Tokyo | 12:48 |
| 4. | "So What" | Miles in Tokyo | 8:03 |
| 5. | "Walkin'" | Miles in Tokyo | 9:13 |
| 6. | "All of You" | Miles in Tokyo | 11:18 |
| 7. | "Go-Go (Theme)" | Miles in Tokyo | 1:20 |
| No. | Title | Original Release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Milestones" | Miles in Berlin | 8:57 |
| 2. | "Autumn Leaves" | Miles in Berlin | 12:39 |
| 3. | "So What" | Miles in Berlin | 10:27 |
| 4. | "Stella by Starlight" | Miles in Berlin | 12:54 |
| 5. | "Walkin'" | Miles in Berlin | 10:39 |
| 6. | "Go-Go (Theme)" | Miles in Berlin | 1:46 |
Personnel
edit- Miles Davis – trumpet
- George Coleman – tenor saxophone (Discs 1–5)
- Sam Rivers – tenor saxophone (Disc 6)
- Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone (Disc 7)
- Victor Feldman – piano (Disc 1)
- Herbie Hancock – piano (Discs 2–7)
- Ron Carter – double bass
- Frank Butler – drums (Disc 1)
- Tony Williams – drums (Discs 2–7)
References
edit- ^ Moon, Tom (22 September 2004). "Seven Steps to Heaven". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ Jurek, Thom. "Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings 1963–1964". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ "Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis 1963–1964".
- ^ "Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis 1963–1964 (7-disc) CD | Shop the Miles Davis Official Store".