Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings

Craft Recordings has just released a select compilation of Miles Davis' recordings from 1954 for the Prestige label. I just got the Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings vinyl release, and it is a beautiful box set package with four discs, a booklet with an essay from author Ashley Kahn, session photos, and Dan Morgenstern's notes from the original Miles Davis box set, Chronicle: The Complete Prestige Recordings [1951-1956]. As the album title suggests, Miles '54 focuses on the music recorded in that year at Rudy Van Gelder's Hackensack, N.J. studio. These sessions feature Miles, Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke, Percy Heath, Milt Jackson, J.J. Johnson, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Dave Schildkraut, Horace Silver, and Lucky Thompson.

The pressings in this release are excellent and sound incredible. Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings was remastered from the original session tapes by Paul Blakemore at CMG Mastering, and lacquers were cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.