In 1957, Miles Davis is in Paris for an engagement at the ‘Club Saint-Germain’ and a wonderful concert at the Olympia Theatre. Once in Paris, Miles came into contact with many members of the modern existentialist cultural environment in the neighborhood of Saint-Germain-des-Près. These include the director Louis Malle who had just finished his first movie : ‘Ascenseur Pour L’échafaud’.

Rated 10/11 Music and 10/11 Sound by Michael Fremer (Analog Planet)
 

• Limited Edition (1000 Units)
• 10" Vinyl at 33 1/3 rpm speed
• Pressed at Optimal in Germany
• First Ever 10" Facsimile Reissue 
• Remastered from the Original Master Tapes
• Analog Cut by Ray Staff at Air Mastering
• Includes Grand Prix Du Disque 1958 OBI Strip

In 1957, Miles Davis is in Paris for an engagement at the ‘Club Saint-Germain’ and a wonderful concert at the Olympia Theatre. Once in Paris, Miles came into contact with many members of the modern existentialist cultural environment in the neighborhood of Saint-Germain-des-Près. These include the director Louis Malle who had just finished his first movie : ‘Ascenseur Pour L’échafaud’. Jean-Paul Rappeneau, a Jazz fan and Louis Malle’s assistant at the time, suggested asking Miles Davis to create the film’s soundtrack. A private sceening has been organized.

On December 4 1957, Miles Davis brought three French Jazzmen – Barney Wilen on tenor saxophone, René Urtreger on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass and his american compatriot Kenny Clarke on drums – to the recording studio ‘Le Poste Parisien’ without having them prepare anything. Miles Davis only gave the musicians a few rudimentary harmonic sequences he had assembled in his hotel room. This recordings was made at night in a most informal atmosphere.

The soundtrack was not released on it’s own in the USA but ten songs from this soundtrack was released as one side of the album Jazz Track which received a 1960 Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Performance, Solo or Small Group. ‘Ascenseur Pour L’échafaud’ has become a great achievement of artistic excellence.

"Jazz and film noir are perfect bedfellows, as evidenced by the soundtrack of Louis Malle's Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud (Lift to the Scaffold). This dark and seductive tale is wonderfully accentuated by the late-'50s cool or bop music of Miles Davis, played with French jazzmen -- bassist Pierre Michelot, pianist René Urtreger, and tenor saxophonist Barney Wilen -- and American expatriate drummer Kenny Clarke. This recording evokes the sensual nature of a mysterious chanteuse and the contrasting scurrying rat race lifestyle of the times, when the popularity of the automobile, cigarettes, and the late-night bar scene were central figures. Davis had seen a screening of the movie prior to his making of this music, and knew exactly how to portray the smoky hazed or frantic scenes though sonic imagery, dictated by the trumpeter mainly in D-minor and C-seventh chords. Michelot is as important a figure as the trumpeter because he sets the tone, as on the stalking "Visite du Vigile." While the mood of the soundtrack is generally dour and somber, the group collectively picks up the pace exponentially on "Diner au Motel." At times the distinctive Davis trumpet style is echoed into dire straits or death wish motifs, as on "Generique" or "L'Assassinat de Carala," respectively. Clarke is his usual marvelous self, and listeners should pay close attention to the able Urtreger, by no means a virtuoso but a capable and flexible accompanist. This recording can stand proudly alongside Duke Ellington's music from Anatomy of a Murder and the soundtrack of Play Misty for Me as great achievements of artistic excellence in fusing dramatic scenes with equally compelling modern jazz music." - Michael G. Nastos, All Music

Musicians:

Miles Davis (Trumpet)
René Urtreger (Piano)
Barney Wilen (Tenor Saxophone)
Pierre Michelot (Bass)
Kenny Clarke (Drums)

Track Listing:

Side A
01. Générique 2’47”
02. L’assassinat des Carala 2’09”
03. Sur l’autoroute 2’18”
04. Julien dans l’ascenseur 2’09
05. Florence sur les Champs-Elysées 2’51”

Side B
06. Diner au motel 3’56”
07. Evasion de Julien 0’51”
08. Visite du vigile 2’04”
09. Au bar du petit bac 2’53”
10. Chez le photographe du motel 3’57”

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫