Classic Album Reviews - Miles Davis E.S.P. (1965)

by John Doyle

Colour was splashed everywhere to greet Miles Davis' second
coming in 1965. Blessed by the emmergence of his bona fide
classic quintet, the phrase "Prince Of Darkness" would be
left to simmer just a little for this seminal recording.
Bright summer kissed shades, and tantilising sexual tension
on the album sleeve, complimented a generous offering of 48
minutes exploring virgin sonic patterns, as Davis finally
got himself back on track. The contributions of his
supporting cast, both performance wise, and creatively,
would play a pivotal role. Miles Davis always had a gift for
finding lean, hungry rookies, knocking them into shape, and
sending them wise out into the big bad world, enchanted by
maximum exposure to his unspoken mystical presence. On
"E.S.P.", we can chart the development of key tinkler Herbie
Hancock, Wayne Shorter, regarded as the rightful "successor"
to John Coltrane, bassist Ron Carter, and Tony Williams, a
percussive timebomb, astonishingly not yet 20 years old, but
privy to both the legal and illegal that circulated around
Davis' fabled domain. It was like the Rat Pack of jazz, sans
the cheap and demeaning 3 am debauchery, and brown nosing
shindigs in wiseguy laden supper clubs. Miles and his boys
were of a different class. Instantly hitting top gear with
the sharp and efficient Shorter penned title track, the
complicated mathematics of jazz's grand poobah are laid down
in bulk. Shorter and Davis complement and redefine the
linear harmonies, as they become each other's shadow. Davis
gives a solid body to the bones of Ron Carter's hip
grooves, on the tracks "R.J.", a dedication to Ron's son,
and the piece de resistance, "Mood", the closest Miles came
to date, in reaching 1959's celestial "Flamenco Sketches",
as the ladder like interplay of the intro reaches the
highest plains unimaginable. Much was made of the
relationship between Davis, and production legend Teo
Macero,
who oversaw "Kind Of Blue" amongst the many other
masterpieces they collaberated on. Things turned sour
between the two for most of the 1960s, after they had the
classic "artistic dispute" over the album "Quiet Nights" in
1962, allowing Irving Townsend to step into the breach.
Shrewdly, Townsend doesn't "fuck with the formula" on
"E.S.P.", instead focusing on the ever growing chemistry
between the musicians, and allowing things to take a natural
progression. Miles contributes only one wholly original
tune, "Agitiation", which mirrors the toughness of its
title. Hancock and Carter, without ever slipping out of pre
determined character, switch between disciplined rhythms and
improvised flair, in a similar state of mind and body as
Williams' rampant intro. It is another piece the group would
constantly shape and reshape in concert as the tune almost
became unrecognisable when it was retired from the live set
around 1969, or thereabouts. Herbie presents the exploratory
piece "Little One" to his collegues. The writer Bob Belden
in the album's revamped liner notes, draws attention to the
tense approach Hancock brought to the sessions with this
lesser known piece. For such a delicately titled work, its
deceptive swings gave the group plenty of meat to chew on.
Shorter's second composition "Iris" really defies stuffy
critical comment. Just listen, be seduced, be amazed, eight
minutes and thirty seconds later, any listener of any
spiritual persuasion will thank god for giving them ears. On
Columbia's 1998 C.D. re-issue, Davis is pictured at the end
of it all, clutching his trumpet tensely and tightly. But
his shoulders are loose, and a smile slowly etches itself
upon his weather beaten face. Under Townsend's supervision,
they had pulled off nothing short of a triumph. From here
"Miles Smiles", "Filles De Kilimanjaro", the transitional
"Miles In The Sky", and the ultimate fusion successes of "In
A Silent Way", and "Bitches Brew" would all follow. "E.S.P."
was recorded in three days. Within six years, Davis and a
multitude of those hungry rookies would redefine jazz
forever. No surprise then, that Miles was beggining to smile
again.