Miles Davis’ quintet was formed in 1955 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest combos in jazz history. Each of its members were individual creative forces that could have easily been leaders. “Philly Joe and Red Garland were the same age,” explained Miles in his autobiography, “about three years older than I was. Coltrane and I were born in the same year, with me being a little older. Paul Chambers was the baby in the group, being only twenty, but he was playing like he had been around forever. And so was Red; he was giving me that Ahmad Jamal light touch, and a little bit of Erroll Garner, along with his own shit up in all of that. So everything was happening.” This quintet—like many other great bands composed of important figures— didn’t last long despite Miles’ best attempts to keep it together. ’Round About Midnight was Miles’ first album for this company, and he titled it after the Thelonious Monk tune that had earned him such great success at Newport in 1955. Two songs from the sessions originally issued on LP compilations have been added as a bonus.
