Craft Recordings isn’t messing around with Miles ’55: The Prestige Recordings—this is 16 tracks of pure ’55 fire straight outta Rudy Van Gelder’s Hackensack studio. Forget dusty reissues; this is a proper box set, remastered to make you feel like you’re sitting in the room while Miles was carving out his signature sound. You get cuts from Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet, Miles Davis and Milt Jackson Quintet/Sextet, The Musings of Miles, and more.
1955 was the year Miles nailed the sound that would haunt jazz forever, fronting his First Great Quintet—Coltrane, Garland, Chambers, Philly Joe—while heavyweights like Milt Jackson and Oscar Pettiford reinforced the foundation.
Tech side? All 16 tracks were pulled from the original analog tapes and remastered by GRAMMY-winner Paul Blakemore. The vinyl? Lacquers cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio on 180-gram wax. Every note pops—you’ll swear you’re in Rudy Van Gelder’s living room, cigarette smoke and all, watching a young Miles Davis make history. Hackensack never sounded so dangerous. And believe me, these sessions are way more dangerous than leaving me alone at White Manna with their hamburgers—and I have the gastroenterology bills to prove it.
Inside Miles ’55: Complete 2-CD and 3-LP Sets with Liner Notes and Session Details
For sale on August 22, Miles ’55 arrives in 2-CD and 3-LP sets, plus standard and hi-res digital formats—whether you prefer vinyl or high-resolution streaming, Craft has you covered. The package also includes detailed liner notes by GRAMMY-winning writer Ashley Kahn and session insights from jazz historian Dan Morgenstern.
Miles ’55: The Prestige Recordings continues where Miles ’54 left off, focusing on sessions from the year Davis found his footing as a bandleader. As Kahn points out, the ’50s jazz scene increasingly revolved around one trumpet player: Miles.
All three LPs come in sturdy sleeves with clear track listings and sharp photography, pressed clean and consistent. The included booklet covers the period, the three session dates, and all the context leading up to the Hackensack recordings, giving collectors and newcomers alike a solid understanding of this pivotal year.
The box set is well-made and thoughtfully designed—thick, solid, and offering excellent value for the money, easily holding its own against higher-end sets from MoFi.
Disc One opens with standouts like “I Didn’t,” “Will You Still Be Mine,” and “A Night in Tunisia.” “I Didn’t” is the cut that grabs you—propulsive, sharp stereo separation, and Miles front and center, playing like he owns the room. The horns carry real presence and bite, while the pacing keeps everything locked in tight. Percussion and piano sit a little further back in the soundstage, but they’ve got body—nothing thin or washed out here. Clean recording, no glaring issues, just the band doing business.
Disc Two kicks off with “Dr. Jackle” (Jackie McLean), paced more deliberately but pushed forward in the mix, giving it a stronger presence. The percussion snaps harder here, adding some extra bite. “Bitty Ditty” works on the interplay—Milt Jackson opens with a vibraphone line that sets the table before Miles steps in, sharp and decisive. The pacing stays tight, the trumpet brimming with energy but never tipping into that brittle, hard edge that lesser recordings tend to exaggerate.
Disc Three opens with Benny Golson’s “Stablemates,” pulled back a bit in the soundstage—Miles included—which gives it a more measured presence. “How Am I to Know,” “Just Squeeze Me,” and “There Is No Greater Love” slow the pace down, each leaning into a more reflective mood. That last track especially feels less like a studio date and more like a late-night set in a smoke-filled club—Miles doesn’t just play it, he owns the room.
The pressings are solid—quiet, clean, with just the right amount of detail. Enough to pull you in, never so much that it feels clinical. What you get is a sharp snapshot of three essential sessions, and one absolutely worth owning. It’s not cheap, but this is a box set that earns its keep, documenting a pivotal stretch where Miles was turning a corner and writing history in real time.
Where to buy: $99.99 at Amazon
Related Reading:
- Wheelin’ And Dealin’ 180-Gram Vinyl Review: Craft Recordings’ OJC Reissue Showcases Waldron And Wess
- Review: Cal Tjader’s Amazonas 1976 Latin Jazz-Rock Fusion Album Gets First Vinyl Reissue Via Craft Recordings & Jazz Dispensary
- Review: Here’s Lee Morgan – Craft Recordings’ OJC Reissue Revives A Hard Bop Rarity
- Review: Looking Ahead – Ken McIntyre & Eric Dolphy’s Boundary-Pushing OJC/Craft Recordings Reissue On 180g Vinyl
