Someday My Prince Will Come

Editors’ Notes Miles Davis had recently recorded the all-time classics Kind of Blue and Sketches of Spain, but this album, released at the end of 1961, marked a time of change. His rhythm section is still onboard, but the departures of John Coltrane (who guests on two tracks here) and Cannonball Adderley left a hole that softer-toned tenor man Hank Mobley could only partially fill. Even so, this album is very, very good, with the quintet working in the same mode as on Davis’ mid-‘50s Prestige releases that leaned more on standards and conventional arrangements. Regardless of who wrote it or recorded it, any ballad that Miles Davis played in this era sets a new standard: “Someday My Prince Will Come” (with Coltrane) is a stone-cold classic, and “I Thought About You” isn’t far behind. Of the three originals, the waltzing “Teo” features the trumpeter giving a textbook lesson on his less-is-more aesthetic, and Coltrane pours soulful passion into his solo. Also included in this reissue are previously unreleased versions of the title cut and “Blues No. 2.”