Description
Miles Davis – Porgy And Bess – 180 Gram Vinyl Record
Miles Davis – Porgy and Bess, released in 1959, is a landmark collaboration between Miles Davis and arranger/composer Gil Evans, transforming George Gershwin’s 1935 folk opera into a sweeping, cinematic work of modal jazz and orchestral elegance. More than just a jazz adaptation of Gershwin’s score, Porgy and Bess is a deeply innovative reimagining, fusing the melodic richness of the original compositions with Davis’s signature lyricism and Evans’s bold orchestral textures. It remains one of the most ambitious and revered projects in Miles Davis’s career—and a crucial moment in the evolution of third stream music, which blends classical and jazz idioms.
Building on the success of their earlier collaboration, Miles Ahead (1957), Davis and Evans approached Porgy and Bess with a shared vision: to maintain the emotional heart of Gershwin’s opera while giving it a new, contemporary jazz voice. The result is an album that is at once majestic and intimate, highlighting both Miles’s expressive restraint and Evans’s command of color and dynamics. The orchestra—comprised of a large ensemble of top New York jazz and studio musicians—serves not just as accompaniment, but as a musical canvas, swirling around and reacting to Miles’s every phrase.
Standout tracks include:
“Summertime” – a hauntingly slow and smoldering version that strips the song down to its emotional core. Miles’s muted trumpet turns the familiar melody into a solitary, introspective lament.
“It Ain’t Necessarily So” – full of sly, syncopated rhythms and mischievous energy, reflecting both the character of the original and Davis’s own cool detachment.
“I Loves You, Porgy” – rendered with aching vulnerability, showing Davis’s unparalleled ability to convey emotional nuance through minimalism.
“Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)” – where Evans’s orchestration swells with spiritual gravity, creating a reverent, almost cinematic backdrop for Davis’s lyrical improvisations.
What makes Porgy and Bess so enduring is the synthesis of spontaneity and structure. Gil Evans’s orchestrations are dense with harmonic depth and rhythmic variation, but he always leaves space for Miles to float freely. The interplay between soloist and ensemble feels organic and unforced, and the emotional arc of the album—moving from despair to hope to defiance—mirrors the opera’s themes while functioning entirely on its own terms.
Recorded at Columbia’s 30th Street Studio (often called “The Church” for its acoustics), the album boasts a warm, resonant sound that heightens its epic quality. It was released during a prolific and transformative period in Davis’s career—between Milestones (1958) and Kind of Blue (1959)—and it reflects his growing interest in modal improvisation, tone color, and musical space.
Porgy and Bess has come to be recognized not only as one of the finest jazz adaptations of a classical work, but also as a milestone in orchestral jazz and modern American music. It’s a profound exploration of American identity, expressed through the voices of two musical visionaries pushing genre boundaries.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Track Listing
The Buzzard Song
Bess, You Is My Woman Now
Gone
Gone, Gone, Gone
Summertime
Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess
Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)
Fisherman, Strawberry And Devil Crab
My Man’s Gone Now
It Ain’t Necessarily So
Here Come De Honey Man
I Loves You, Porgy
There’s A Boat That’s Leaving Soon For New York
