US reissue of an instant-classic collaboration, in beautiful condition.

As The Birth of the Cool of 1949 and 1951 revealed how effective post-bop jazz and 20^th Century classical sonorities could work together—and also how Miles and arranger Gil Evans were such an effective match—Miles Ahead was the album that allowed that fusion and that team to reach full maturity. As a follow-up to the concentrated punch of Miles’ ‘Round About Midnight, it was as surprising as it was successful.

Independent of the notion of a promise fulfilled, the album stands on its own merits: meticulous harmonies voiced by a generous woodwind-and-brass ensemble, a disarming emotional sophistication in the arrangements that sweeps from tune to tune (the tracks are laced together in a suite-like manner), and a delicate balance of light and shade that Miles achieved as the lone soloist on the album, playing only the flügelhorn throughout.