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Miles Smiles - Black LP
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Release Date
11/29/2024
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Sourced from the Original Master Tapes. Numbered-Edition 180g 33RPM SuperVinyl LP. 1/4” / 15 IPS / Dolby SR analogue remix master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe. Catalog Number: LMF515SV Color: Black Format: LP The clarity afforded by history proves Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet vying for the unofficial honour of being the finest small jazz combo to ever record to tape. Originally released in 1967, Miles Smiles is largely responsible for the feat, as it commences a series of five groundbreaking albums -- chronologically rounded out by Sorcerer, Nefertiti, Miles in the Sky, and Filles de Kilimanjaro -- guided not by chordal patterns but open responses to melodies. Music would never again be the same. Neither will Miles Smiles once you hear this reference-setting pressing. Sourced from the original master tapes and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing on MoFi SuperVinyl, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g 33RPM SuperVinyl LP takes the landmark effort into new sonic territory. Davis and company play against backgrounds that serve to illuminate every detail, texture, and nuance. Realistic separation and plentiful air allow instruments to fully blossom, effectively taking you into Columbia's 30th Street Studio to watch the sessions transpire before your eyes. MoFi's SuperVinyl profile means the noise floor is practically non-existent, an advantage that works in tandem with the formula's pristine transparency, stunningly quiet surfaces, and superb groove definition to bring you "there." Like the other Davis titles in Mobile Fidelity's reissue series, this collectible version puts a premium on tonality and preservation of notes, which arc and decay with uncanny realism. The brilliance of Teo Macero's original production springs forth from every passage. Experience this standard-setting record burst with a verve, energy, and spirit you can feel. Davis and Wayne Shorter's horns crackle with electricity. Ron Carter's bass attains unprecedented fluidity and dimensionality. Tony Williams' drums pop, splash, and swing with terrific fervour. Herbie Hancock's 88s dance with a communal dynamic. Despite all the headway the ensemble made on its subsequent albums, many jazz cognoscenti and Davis diehards believe the Grammy-nominated Miles Smiles remains the apex of the group's time together. The evidence is found within the thrills, adventurousness, and curiosities tied to each composition. Accessible and unpredictable, songs reflect an ever-changing mentality, edgy moodiness, and triumphant will -- with each corner the band rounds a new opportunity to integrate and interact, anticipate and respond, investigate open spaces and establish contagious, broad, striding grooves.