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Jazz at the Plaza consists of the recordings taped at a party thrown by Columbia to celebrate the healthy state of their jazz division. It was not meant to be a recording session. The event brought together the talents of the Miles Davis Sextet (featuring John Coltrane Cannonball Adderley and Bill Evans) the Duke Ellington Orchestra (showcasing the singing of Jimmy Rushing on a few songs) and Billie Holiday who performed on just two tracks. It was issued on two separate volumes the first of which contained Miles’ performance. The Miles Davis portion of the show featured the famed sextet that would record Kind of Blue six months later. The musicians did not know they were being recorded at the time (which explains why they moved freely on the stand without worrying about being off mike) and the concert was issued years later. Pianist Bill Evans later stated the musicians were offered payment at the 1958 scale. “My Funny Valentine” which had become a staple in the sextet’s repertoire was performed by Davis in his new modal style. Thelonious Monk’s “Straight No Chaser” was wrongly cited as “Jazz at the Plaza” in Townsend’s original liner notes. The original LP also misidentified the drummer as Philly Joe Jones and the location as The Edwardian Room (it’s actually the Persian Room). “If I Were a Bell” was one of the more usual pieces of the group’s repertoire. Pianist Red Garland had brought the Frank Loesser song to the band two years before but this version is quite different from the earlier ones.

MILES DAVIS trumpet; JOHN COLTRANE tenor sax; CANNONBALL ADDERLEY alto sax; BILL EVANS piano; PAUL CHAMBERS bass; JIMMY COBB drums
Recorded live at the Persian Room of the Plaza Hotel New York Tuesday September 9 1958.

Side A:
1. IF I WERE A BELL (Frank Loesser)
2. OLEO (Sonny Rollins)
Side B:
1. MY FUNNY VALENTINE (Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart)
2. STRAIGHT NO CHASER (Thelonious Monk) / THE THEME (Miles Davis)