Four & More
'Four' & More: Recorded Live in Concert is a live jazz album by American trumpeter Miles Davis, featuring his second great quintet and capturing a high-energy performance from a benefit concert at Philharmonic Hall in New York City's Lincoln Center on February 12, 1964.[1] Released by Columbia Records on January 17, 1966, the album showcases Davis's innovative post-bop style through an octet of tracks, including standards like "So What" and "Walkin'" alongside originals such as "Four" and "Seven Steps to Heaven."[2] The recording highlights the quintet's telepathic interplay, with Davis on trumpet, George Coleman on tenor saxophone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums, emphasizing rapid tempos and extended improvisations that define Davis's mid-1960s evolution toward modal jazz and fusion influences.[3] Recorded during the same evening as the more ballad-focused companion album My Funny Valentine, 'Four' & More prioritizes up-tempo selections to demonstrate the group's technical prowess and rhythmic drive, distinguishing it as one of Davis's most electrifying live documents from this era.[4] The album's production, overseen by Teo Macero, preserved the concert's raw energy without overdubs, contributing to its enduring reputation among jazz enthusiasts for capturing the quintet's peak form just before Davis's shift to electric instrumentation in the late 1960s.[3] Over the years, it has been remastered multiple times, including a 2022 edition that enhances audio clarity while maintaining the original's spontaneous vitality.[5]Background and Context
Formation of the Quintet
The formation of Miles Davis's Second Great Quintet marked a pivotal transition in his career, building on the modal innovations of his earlier work while introducing a fresh, high-energy dynamic. Following John Coltrane's departure from Davis's group in 1960, the band underwent several lineup changes before stabilizing in 1963 with the recruitment of tenor saxophonist George Coleman and a youthful rhythm section.[6] This new ensemble reflected Davis's intent to evolve beyond his cool jazz roots toward a more rhythmically complex post-bop style, emphasizing interaction and improvisation among emerging talents.[7] George Coleman, born in 1935 in Memphis, Tennessee, brought substantial experience to the quintet after early gigs with B.B. King and Ray Charles in the 1950s, followed by stints in Lionel Hampton's orchestra (1952–1954) and later with Slide Hampton (1959–1962) and Wild Bill Davis (1962–1963).[8] At age 28 when he joined Davis, Coleman provided a robust, lyrical tenor voice that bridged the band's modal explorations with hard bop influences, having auditioned successfully amid Davis's search for a post-Coltrane saxophonist.[9] To invigorate the group's sound, Davis deliberately sought out younger musicians capable of challenging his improvisational approach and pushing rhythmic boundaries. Pianist Herbie Hancock, then 23, had recently graduated from Grinnell College and was gaining notice in Chicago's jazz scene before being invited to New York for Davis's sessions.[10] Bassist Ron Carter, 26 and a Manhattan School of Music alumnus, contributed a versatile, walking-line foundation honed through work with Jaki Byard and others.[11] Completing the rhythm section was 18-year-old drummer Tony Williams, a prodigy from Boston who had already impressed with Jackie McLean and others, bringing explosive, polyrhythmic energy that contrasted Davis's more subdued phrasing.[11] This infusion of youth—averaging under 25 years old—signaled Davis's vision for a quintet that would advance modal jazz through intensified interplay and no-changes structures, distinct from the cooler, more structured ensembles of his 1950s quintets.[7] The quintet's early cohesion was evident in its initial studio recordings during May 1963 for the album Seven Steps to Heaven, where tracks like the title composition showcased the emerging chemistry among Davis, Coleman, Hancock, Carter, and Williams.[11] These sessions previewed the group's potential for live performances, laying the groundwork for the innovative sound captured on subsequent releases, including the live album Four & More.Benefit Concert Details
The benefit concert featuring Miles Davis's quintet took place on February 12, 1964, at Philharmonic Hall in Lincoln Center, New York City, serving as a fundraiser for voter registration efforts sponsored by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).[12] This event aligned with the Voter Education Project, directing proceeds from the quintet's $6,000 earnings to voter registration in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, and repairs for Plymouth Rock Baptist Church in Plaquemine, Louisiana, to support civil rights initiatives in the South.[13] Structured as a double-bill performance, the concert divided the set into up-tempo selections, later compiled for the album Four & More, and ballads, which formed My Funny Valentine: Miles Davis in Concert.[14] Davis, committed to the cause, unilaterally decided to donate the band's performance fees without prior consultation, informing the musicians just before the show and insisting they proceed despite their objections.[13] This sparked immediate tensions, particularly with the 18-year-old drummer Tony Williams, who, along with other young band members facing financial pressures, argued against performing unpaid, contributing to a charged backstage atmosphere that Davis later described as fueling "creative tension."[14] The audience, comprising high-dollar civil rights donors, jazz enthusiasts, and activists, created an electric energy reflective of the 1960s civil rights movement's peak urgency, with the event underscoring jazz's emerging role in social activism amid ongoing struggles for racial equality and voter rights.[13] Held on Abraham Lincoln's birthday, the concert amplified its symbolic weight, drawing a diverse crowd united by the era's push for justice and highlighting Davis's personal engagement with the movement.[14]Recording and Production
Recording Session
The recording of 'Four' & More occurred on February 12, 1964, during a live performance at Philharmonic Hall in Lincoln Center, New York, as part of a benefit concert for civil rights organizations including the NAACP, CORE, and SNCC.[1] Supervised by Columbia Records staff, the session was engineered by Fred Plaut under the production oversight of Teo Macero, utilizing the label's advanced recording capabilities for the era to capture the event in high fidelity.[2][15] The setup employed live mixing techniques to preserve the Miles Davis Quintet's spontaneous improvisations without any overdubs, emphasizing the raw energy of the performance in the expansive hall.[1] Teo Macero later selected the up-tempo tracks from the complete concert tape—"So What," "Walkin'," "Four," and "Seven Steps to Heaven"—editing them for optimal pacing and sequencing to create a continuous, propulsive flow that highlighted the group's intensity.[1][2] Challenges in the session included managing the high volume levels and extended solos within the acoustics of the large venue, which contributed to the album's distinctive clarity and forward momentum, capturing thunderous audience applause alongside the musicians' dynamic interplay.[1]Original Album Production
The album 'Four' & More was produced by Teo Macero, Columbia Records' staff producer who played a key role in editing the live tapes from the February 12, 1964, concert at Philharmonic Hall. Macero assembled the LP by focusing on high-energy, up-tempo selections such as "Walkin'," "Four," and "So What," creating a dynamic counterpart to the slower, ballad-oriented tracks issued on the companion album My Funny Valentine.[1][2] It was released on January 17, 1966, by Columbia Records in mono (CL 2453) and stereo (CS 9253) editions. The original cover artwork featured a live performance photograph of Miles Davis taken by photographer Jim Marshall, capturing the intensity of the quintet on stage.[2][16] Liner notes for the original release were penned by jazz pianist and educator Billy Taylor alongside Columbia executive Mort Fega, who emphasized the quintet's infectious vitality and the raw spontaneity of their improvisational interplay during the live set. Taylor described the music's excitement as a "chain reaction" that exemplified the group's creative synergy.[2][17] In its initial marketing, the album was positioned by Columbia as a vivid showcase of Davis's Second Great Quintet—featuring Herbie Hancock, George Coleman, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams—highlighting their evolution toward more propulsive, hard bop-infused live performances following Davis's modal jazz studio explorations of the early 1960s.[1]Reissue Productions
The 2005 CD reissue on Columbia/Legacy (catalog COL 519505 2) was produced by Michael Cuscuna and Bob Belden, with remixing and mastering handled by Mark Wilder at Sony Music Studios in New York using DSD technology.[18] This edition incorporated the previously omitted track "Joshua," restoring the full concert sequence and extending the total runtime to 53:53.[18] Subsequent editions continued to refine the album's presentation. The 1996 Japanese CD reissue under the Master Sound series featured 24-bit digital remastering from the original tapes, including the expanded track list with bonus material like "Joshua" for enhanced archival completeness.[19] In 2019, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a hybrid SACD edition mastered directly from the original analog master tapes, prioritizing audiophile-grade audio fidelity with improved clarity and depth for high-end playback systems.[20] The 2022 digital remaster, available on streaming platforms, utilized high-resolution transfers from the original tapes to deliver superior sound quality optimized for modern digital consumption.[5] In 2024, Music On Vinyl issued a 180g vinyl reissue.[21] These reissues marked a broader shift to digital remastering techniques, which minimized tape hiss and surface noise while boosting dynamic range and instrumental separation compared to the original analog LP.[1] Updated liner notes in these versions provided deeper historical context, detailing the quintet's performance amid the 1964 benefit concert for civil rights organizations and the band's intense rehearsal dynamics.[1]Track Listing
Original LP
The original LP release of Four & More, issued by Columbia Records in 1966 (catalog number CS 9253), presented live performances from the quintet's February 12, 1964, benefit concert at Philharmonic Hall in New York City, emphasizing up-tempo material to highlight the group's dynamic interplay.[2] The album's total runtime is approximately 41:22, fitting the standard vinyl format constraints of the era.[22] The track listing is as follows:| No. | Title | Composer(s) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "So What" | Miles Davis | 9:10 |
| 2. | "Walkin'" | Richard Carpenter | 8:06 |
| 3. | "Joshua" | Victor Feldman | 9:26 |
| "Go-Go (Theme and Announcement)" | Miles Davis | 1:48 | |
| 4. | "Four" | Miles Davis | 6:18 |
| 5. | "Seven Steps to Heaven" | Victor Feldman, Miles Davis | 7:51 |
| 6. | "There Is No Greater Love" | Isham Jones, Gus Kahn | 5:35 |
| "Go-Go (Theme and Announcement)" | Miles Davis | 1:48 |