The reason why many treat “Round about Midnight” slightly disrespectfully might lie with the performance of John Coltrane, which does not yet come with the characteristic and unique personality of his later recordings. Maybe, it also has to do with the choice of repertoire, which is marked less by a daring attitude and rather led by concentrating on a quality selection. On the other hand, the album is a perfect example of how a cast of poised performers can more than make up for that and how to-the-point those sessions were: All tracks were realised in one take.

From a historical point of view, of course, “Round About Midnight” is highly interesting, because it holds a place at the verge of a new era. You don’t need to agree with Speaker’s Corner assessment that "Tadd’s Delight" by Tadd Dameron and "Ah-Leu-Cha" by Charlie Parker hold the seed for modal Jazz (and the phenomenal success of “Kind of Blue”) to see that the record both ends and begins a chapter in the career of Miles Davis. In this respect, the high-quality Vinyl edition is a perfect tribute to a still disputed classic.

Homepage: Speaker’s Corner Records