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Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet); Hank Mobley (tenor saxophone); Wynton Kelly (piano); Paul Chambers (bass); Jimmy Cobb (drums). Recorded live at the Blackhawk, San Francisco, California on April 21, 1961. Originally released on Columbia (8469). Includes liner notes by Ralph J. Gleason. Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet); Hank Mobley (tenor saxophone); Wynton Kelly (piano); Paul Chambers (bass); Jimmy Cobb (drums). Recorded live at the Blackhawk, San Francisco, California on April 22, 1961. Originally released on Columbia (8470). Includes liner notes by Ralph J. Gleason. Miles Davis' first live presentation of his working band took place at the noted San Francisco nightclub, the ambience of which may best be summed up by the proud words of its owner, Guido Caccienti: "I've worked and slaved for years to keep this place a sewer." "Walkin'" is taken at the kind of jaunty tempo that distinguished the Wynton Kelly-Paul Chambers-Jimmy Cobb rhythm axis. Paul Chambers' buoyant, effortless beat, his sure sense of harmony and swing, and his resounding brand of melodic bass (dig his little bowed break at the conclusion of "Walkin'") are the glue which hold these performances together. On "Walkin'" he and Jimmy Cobb lock up the groove as if swinging were the same as breathing, allowing Kelly to engage the trumpeter in a continual dialogue, feinting counterpoint and feeding him his favorite chords, then dropping away to allow Miles to stroll for a taste. Kelly's joy is infectious on the band's old warhorse "Bye Bye Blackbird" and the easy-going ballad "All Of You," where he seems to particularly inspire a laid back bluesy Hank Mobley tenor solo. Mobley, never a Davis favorite, is not the fiery foil he relished, but his buttery tone and imperturbable lyric charm suit the slightly conservative tone of these performances. But in a long reading of "No Blues," Miles pointedly has Wynton Kelly testify briefly in response to his own, almost down home reading of a blues, before engaging Cobb in some talking rhythm exchanges. However, Kelly is capable of a gorgeous romantic approach, as in the lush chording which enlivens the closing "Love I've Found You."
