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.
If I Were A Bell
Miles Davis Quintet Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now that we're cosy and clinging,
Well sir, all I can say is
If I were a bell I'd be ringing!
From the moment we kissed goodnight,
That's the way I just gotta behave,
And if I were a lamp I'd light,
Ask me how do I feel,
Little me with my quiet upbringing,
Well sir, all I can say is
If I were a gate I'd be swinging!
And if I were a watch,
I'd start popping my spring,
Oh, and if I were a bell
I'd go "Ding dong ding dong ding!".
Ask me how do I feel
From this chemistry lesson I'm learning,
Well sir, all I can say is
If I were a bridge I'd be burning!
Well, I knew my moral would crack
From the wonderful way you looked,
Boy, if I were a duck I'd quack,
Or if I were a goose I'd be cooked!
Ask me how do I feel
Now that we're fondly caressing,
And if I were a salad,
I know I'd be splashing my dressing!
Or if I were a season,
I'd surely be Spring,
Yes, and if I were a bell,
Say, if I were a bell,
If I were a bell
I'd go "Ding dong ding dong ding!".
The lyrics of Miles Davis's song "If I Were A Bell" describe the euphoria and excitement that a person experiences when they are newly in love. The songwriter uses metaphors to depict how they feel, suggesting that if they were an inanimate object they would "be ringing" like a bell or "be swinging" like a gate due to the overwhelming emotion that they are feeling. The lyrics incorporate a lot of playful language with lines like "if I were a lamp I'd light" and "if I were a bridge I'd be burning" to suggest that they are unable to contain the excitement that they feel when they are close to the person they love.
Towards the end of the song, the lyrics suggest that the person is aware that their newfound love is changing them on a fundamental level and that they are enjoying the experience all the same. The line "now that we're fondly caressing, and if I were a salad, I know I'd be splashing my dressing!" shows the extent to which they are willing to embrace the changes that they are experiencing. The song leaves the listener with a sense of exuberance and suggests that falling in love can be transformative.
Line by Line Meaning
Ask me how do I feel,
Please inquire about my emotional state
Now that we're cosy and clinging,
Now that we're intimately close
Well sir, all I can say is
My response is
If I were a bell I'd be ringing!
I'm so happy I'd be making noise like a bell
From the moment we kissed goodnight,
From the time we shared a goodnight kiss
That's the way I just gotta behave,
That's how I can't help acting
And if I were a lamp I'd light,
I'd be glowing brightly like a lamp
Or if I were a banner I'd wave!
I'd be waving like a flag
Little me with my quiet upbringing,
I, coming from a reserved background
If I were a gate I'd be swinging!
I'd be giddy and swinging like a gate
And if I were a watch,
If I were a timepiece
I'd start popping my spring,
I'd be overjoyed and sprightly
Oh, and if I were a bell
And if I were a bell, as before
I'd go "Ding dong ding dong ding!".
I'd be merrily ringing out
From this chemistry lesson I'm learning,
From this lesson in attraction
If I were a bridge I'd be burning!
I'd be uncontainable and fiery like a bridge on fire
Well, I knew my moral would crack
I knew my resolve would give way
From the wonderful way you looked,
From the lovely way you appeared
Boy, if I were a duck I'd quack,
I'd be exuberant like a duck quacking
Or if I were a goose I'd be cooked!
I'd be in trouble like a cooked goose
Now that we're fondly caressing,
Now that we're affectionately touching
And if I were a salad,
And if I were a dish of greens
I know I'd be splashing my dressing!
I'd be splashing about like dressing on a salad
Or if I were a season,
Or if I were a time of year
I'd surely be Spring,
I'd be like the season of Spring, with all its new life and growth
Say, if I were a bell,
Ask me, if I were a bell, like before
If I were a bell
If I were a bell, once again
I'd go "Ding dong ding dong ding!".
I'd be ringing loudly and joyfully
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MARY C BROCKERT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jerryjemmott3259
My life as a musician began 60 years ago when I heard Paul Chambers playing "If I Were A Bell" with Miles Davis, in 1957. I was immediately hooked and realized I had a future. He passed on this day in 1969. Thank you Mr. PC.
@burningrabbitacres8330
I love your story, Brother. Thank you for sharing. You've seen it all, believe that...!
@Ghtthomps
Jerry Jemmott It was the sounds Paul was laying it down; Bass on top.
@nipper559
I'm thrilled to see the comments of the great Jerry Jemmott here. As much as Paul Chambers has brought me untold hours of listening pleasure - so have you Mr Jemmott. Great to know who inspired you.
@pectenmaximus231
Jerry, my life as a musician began 14 years ago (I'm 26 now) when I first saw Modern Electric Bass. You said it.. "I was immediately hooked and realized I had a future". I thank you with deepest gratitude and humility.
@2dasimmons
Dear Paul Chambers, Charles Mingus and ARVELL SHAW were my favorite double-bassists. Just fabulous. Especially Arvell Shaw who is on here in a video with Louis Armstrong playing I think: HOW HIGH THE MOON. Simply divine:-) It was recorded with fabulous Louis Armstrong in Australia. Tremendous!!
@VendibleUser
"I'll play it and tell you what it is later"
@Frogchannel75
I believe that quote was Miles being asked his opinion on rock and roll as I recall
@lungilemaqoma5453
JigglyVideos hahahahahahahhahshaha
@ok-ms3ke
We never got to know what it was later