Setlist is a new series by the Sony Legacy imprint to showcase live sides by artists in their catalog. In looking at the track listing and time period of the
Miles Davis volume, it also seems like they were going with a series of cuts that highlighted only some of the many changes
Davis either initiated in jazz or went through as an artist while at the label. Produced for release by
Steve Berkowitz, the comp begins, as it rightfully should, with "Straight No Chaser/The Theme," from the
Jazz at the Plaza album, whose recordings took place in 1958, though they weren't released until 1973. The band at the time was a sextet featuring
Bill Evans,
John Coltrane,
Paul Chambers,
Jimmy Cobb, and
Cannonball Adderley. It's followed a quintet -- minus
Adderley -- reading of "Bye Bye Blackbird" from the same year, taken off
Miles and Monk Live at Newport. There are two tracks from
In Person: Friday & Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete, with a quintet that features
Hank Mobley and
Wynton Kelly from 1961. The early version of the second great quintet is heard on "Milestones," off
Miles Davis in Europe from 1964, and includes
Herbie Hancock,
Ron Carter, and
Tony Williams, with
George Coleman on tenor, and "My Funny Valentine" with
Sam Rivers instead of
Coleman off
Heard 'Round the World; this is included though
Davis' displeasure with
Rivers in this band is well known. The final two cuts -- "So What" and "All Blues" -- complete the second great quintet with
Wayne Shorter; the former is from
Heard 'Round the World, recorded in 1964, and the latter is off
Live at the Plugged Nickel, cut in 1965, and that's it. It's also a major problem. By not including tracks from any of
Davis' electric bands on the set,
Berkowitz can't really call this the "
Best of Miles Davis Live." With all of the excellent live tracks caught on tape in 1968 and 1969, the '70s, and even his comeback tour of the '80s (à la
We Want Miles) being left off, this album only provides a glimpse of
Davis live, and should have been title "Best of Miles Davis Live: Acoustic" or something. This is a squandered opportunity, even for a budget reissue, Legacy could have -- and should have -- done a lot better.