In the summer of 1955, Davis performed a noted set at the Newport Jazz Festival, and had been approached by Columbia Records executive George Avakian, offering a contract with the label if he could form a regular band. Davis assembled his first regular quintet to meet a commitment at the Café Bohemia in July with Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. By the autumn, Rollins had left to deal with his heroin addiction, and later in the year joined the hard bop quintet led by Clifford Brown and Max Roach.
At the recommendation of drummer Jones, Davis replaced Rollins with John Coltrane, beginning a partnership that would last five years and finalizing the Quintet's first line-up. Expanded to a sextet with the addition of Cannonball Adderley on alto saxophone in 1958, the First Great Quintet was one of the definitive hard bop groups along with the Brown-Roach Quintet and the Jazz Messengers, recording the Columbia albums Round About Midnight, Milestones, and the marathon sessions for Prestige Records resulting in four albums collected on The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions.
In mid-1958, Bill Evans replaced Garland on piano and Jimmy Cobb replaced Jones on drums, but Evans only lasted about six months, in turn replaced by Wynton Kelly as 1958 turned into 1959. This group backing Davis, Coltrane, and Adderley, with Evans returning for the recording sessions, recorded Kind of Blue, considered "one of the most important, influential and popular albums in jazz". Adderley left the band in September 1959 to pursue his own career, returning the line-up to a quintet. Coltrane departed in the spring of 1960, and after interim replacements Jimmy Heath and Sonny Stitt, Davis plus Kelly, Chambers, and Cobb continued through 1961 and 1962 with Hank Mobley on tenor sax.
The two rhythm sections from the Davis Quintet also achieved fame on their own. Garland, Chambers, and Jones recorded as a unit on Art Pepper meets The Rhythm Section and Sonny Rollins' Tenor Madness, while Kelly, Chambers, and Cobb toured and recorded as a trio under Kelly's name, in addition to appearing on the albums Coltrane Jazz and the solo debut of Wayne Shorter, as well as backing Wes Montgomery on Full House and Smokin' at the Half Note. The Kelly-Chambers-Cobb trio also backed Art Pepper on the album Gettin' Together, which included trumpeter Conte Candoli.
Mobley, Kelly, Chambers, and Cobb all left Davis by the end of 1962, and during 1963 he struggled to maintain a steady line-up. By the late spring, he had hired the core of the Second Quintet with Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. Initially with George Coleman or Sam Rivers on tenor sax, the final piece of the puzzle would arrive in late 1964 with saxophonist Wayne Shorter.
The performance style of the Second Great Quintet was often referred to by Davis as "time, no changes", incorporating elements of free jazz without completely surrendering to the approach, allowing the five men to contribute to the group as equals rather than as a leader and sidemen peeling off unrelated solos. This band recorded the albums E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, Nefertiti, Miles in the Sky, and Filles de Kilimanjaro, and the live set considered by The Penguin Guide to Jazz to be their crowning achievement, The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965.
When Davis began to become more interested in the rock, soul, and funk music of the late 1960s, the Second Quintet unraveled. Carter departed during the sessions for Filles de Kilimanjaro, and Williams left in early 1969 to start his own band, the Tony Williams Lifetime, staying on with Davis to record the groundbreaking In a Silent Way. Davis would continue his innovations into jazz fusion with the album Bitches Brew and his work in the 1970s. As a result, the Second Quintet came to an end, though Hancock would contribute to subsequent sessions with Miles and appear on Jack Johnson, On the Corner, and Get Up with It. Players on In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew would go on to form the core jazz fusion bands of the 1970s away from Davis: Shorter and Josef Zawinul to Weather Report; John McLaughlin and Billy Cobham to the Mahavishnu Orchestra; Hancock and Bennie Maupin to Headhunters; and Chick Corea and Lenny White to Return to Forever.
Columbia/Legacy Recordings released Freedom Jazz Dance: The Bootleg Series Vol. 5, a collection of previously unreleased tracks recorded by the Second Great Quintet between 1966 and 1968.
Ahmad's Blues
Miles Davis Quintet Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tryin' to find myself a way to pay my dues
And would you believe it I'm so urban
My suburban friends don't know my bag of blues
I'm up in the morning on the corner so siditty
That you'd hardly know it's me
And late in the evening when I'm mellow
It's a world full of cocktails at nine
And dinners and wine very late shows
And where the crowd goes
I'm a girl with a world of her owna queen on her throne
Till everything's gone and then
I wake up to find that I'm a stranger
In a world where I have never before
I look for my man who held my hand
But now I know that he'll be coming back no more
I'm telling you 'bout this bag of blues
Paid a whole lotta dues baby
Gonna change my way of livin' talkin' bags of blues
Mister don't you see I'm paying dues
Gonna change me some shoes baby
Walkin' in a daze to my apartment where I'll grab another wink
And doze on the sofa 'til eleven then get up and pour myself another drink
While back at the party I'll be hardy while I'm waitin' for some better news
But now in the meantime I'll just sit right here and cool it
We're gonna cool it now and listen to the rhythm
Ahmad's blues
Ahmad's Blues by Miles Davis Quintet and Miles Davis talks about the various changes and transitions that the singer undergoes while trying to find a way to pay his dues. The lyrics talk about feeling like a stranger in different situations despite being so familiar with them. The singer is so urban that his suburban friends don't understand his bag of blues. He wakes up in the morning feeling siditty and almost unrecognizable to anyone who knew him. However, when he's feeling mellow late in the evening, he sees the world in a different way, seeing things that he didn't see before. The singer mentions living in a world full of cocktails at nine, dinners, wine, and very late shows, highlighting the luxurious life he's living. He refers to himself as a girl with her world, a queen on her throne, but wakes up to realize that she's a stranger in a world she has never been before. The singer pays his dues, talks about bags of blues, and tries to change his ways by getting new shoes.
The song shows the complexity of the singer's emotions, and how he feels like a stranger in his world. He's trying to navigate the world while paying his dues, which is a relatable theme. The variant emotions that he experiences throughout the day make it a beautiful and relatable song. The theme of the song is about feeling like a stranger in your world and trying to find your place in it, which is something that many people can relate to. The song has a beautiful rhythm and blues feel to it, which perfectly complements the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
I go through the strangest kind of changes
I experience various changes in my life that are difficult to understand.
Tryin' to find myself a way to pay my dues
I'm trying to figure out how to make up for past mistakes.
And would you believe it I'm so urban
Despite my upbringing, I have become very comfortable in a city environment.
My suburban friends don't know my bag of blues
My friends who grew up in the suburbs can't relate to the struggles I've faced in life.
I'm up in the morning on the corner so siditty
I'm often seen hanging out on the street corner, trying to project an air of sophistication.
That you'd hardly know it's me
I've changed so much that my old acquaintances might not even recognize me.
And late in the evening when I'm mellow
At night, when I'm feeling relaxed and at peace, I can be myself.
There's my fellow with the world for me to see
When I'm with my significant other, I feel like there's nothing we can't do together.
It's a world full of cocktails at nine
In my social circle, drinking and partying starts early in the evening.
And dinners and wine very late shows
We indulge in fancy dinners and watch performances that go on into the night.
And where the crowd goes
We follow the trendsetters and go where the popular people hang out.
I'm a girl with a world of her owna queen on her throne
I'm a confident woman with her own sense of style and individuality.
Till everything's gone and then
Although I feel in control of my life, it can all fall apart in an instant.
I wake up to find that I'm a stranger
When things go wrong, I can feel lost and disconnected from myself.
In a world where I have never before
I find myself in new and unfamiliar situations that challenge me.
I look for my man who held my hand
I seek comfort and support from my partner, who has been there for me in the past.
But now I know that he'll be coming back no more
I've lost my partner, and there's no hope of him returning to me.
I'm telling you 'bout this bag of blues
I'm sharing my emotional struggles with others.
Paid a whole lotta dues baby
I've faced a lot of tough times and had to work hard to get where I am today.
Gonna change my way of livin' talkin' bags of blues
I'm determined to turn my life around and shed the weight of my emotional burdens.
Mister don't you see I'm paying dues
I'm still struggling and working hard to overcome my past mistakes.
Gonna change me some shoes baby
I need to change my perspective and find a new way forward in life.
Walkin' in a daze to my apartment where I'll grab another wink
I often feel lost and unfocused as I go through my daily routine.
And doze on the sofa 'til eleven then get up and pour myself another drink
To cope with my pain and fatigue, I sometimes turn to alcohol as a temporary escape.
While back at the party I'll be hardy while I'm waitin' for some better news
Despite my problems, I try to keep up appearances and put on a brave face for those around me.
But now in the meantime I'll just sit right here and cool it
For now, I'm going to take a break and try to relax for a while.
We're gonna cool it now and listen to the rhythm
Let's all take a break and enjoy some music to help us unwind.
Ahmad's blues
This song, composed by my friend Ahmad Jamal, expresses our shared feelings of melancholy and blues.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AHMAD JAMAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind