by Matt Collar
Recorded live in France at the Festival Mondial, du Jazz Antibes, Miles Davis in Europe captures trumpeter Miles Davis in late 1963. While Four & More and My Funny Valentine -- both taken from the same 1964 New York Philharmonic Hall concert -- are most often cited as this lineup's essential live recording, Miles Davis in Europe is a no less exciting listen. The band, including tenor saxophonist George Coleman, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams had recorded Seven Steps to Heaven a few months earlier, which would turn out to be the one studio album Davis would make with the lineup. Already, the band's adventurous, avant-garde leanings are on display with the young Williams propelling Davis to scorching heights on the fast swinger &Milestones.& Similarly, Hancock helps turn the standard &I Thought About You& into an impressionistic and free-flowing ballad allowing Davis to spread wide swaths of tonal color and deep note bends across the stage. Although Coleman would depart the group in less than a year, he proves himself here to be a muscular, keen improviser who deserved more attention than he got at the time.