MILES DAVIS - SEVEN STEPS TO HEAVEN (HYBRID SACD)

Miles Davis Seven Steps To Heaven on Hybrid SACD from Analogue Productions

Mastered for SACD from the Original Analog Tapes by Kevin Gray at AcousTech: You'll Think You're Listening to Vinyl

1963 Set Features Two Great Miles Davis Bands

What could be better than an outstanding Miles Davis band? Try two of them. In 1963, the brilliant composer was in the midst of another transitional phase, and for the recording of Seven Steps to Heaven, split the sessions in half. He also used geography to his advantage in creating a cohesive album that nonetheless features two distinctive units, one from the West Coast, the other from the East Coast.

Teaming with George Coleman, Victor Feldman, Ron Carter, and Frank Butler, Miles recorded "Basin Street Blues" and "Baby, Won't You Please Come Home"--rarities in that they are standards, something that Davis rarely included on album--as well as "I Fall in Love Too Easily," stamping the tunes with a West Coast jazz bent. But he wasn't finished. In New York, he kept Carter and Coleman, but added Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams to the mix, resulting in a lineup that became his new group, the fruits of which can be heard on "So Near So Far," "Joshua," and the title track. 

While not as famous as the more experimental Columbia sets he'd record a year later, Seven Steps to Heaven is a titanic jazz album, with the players demonstrating a palpable harmonic subtlety and ability to shade melodies on a level few have ever matched. Heard in the context of Davis' later works, the record stands as one of his best. And that's no small claim. And never has Seven Steps to Heaven sounded, well, so heavenly.

Mastered from the original master tapes at Acoustech by acclaimed engineer Kevin Gray, Analogue Productions' hybrid SACD is unbelievably great. Open and transparent, this digital edition mines the music's details, microdynamics, and notes, placing them on a lifelike soundstage that will have you spinning this disc on a regular basis for years to come. Rarely, if ever, has Miles sounded so splendid on disc. This edition even bests the celebrated Japanese SACD version!

Los Angeles Musicians:
Miles Davis
George Coleman
Victor Feldman
Ron Carter
Frank Butler

New York Musicians:
Miles Davis
George Coleman
Herbie Hancock
Ron Carter
Tony Williams