Another iconic album release from Hemiolia Records: Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain

Posted on by Dave Denyer

Boy, are these good times for Miles Davis fans! The folks at Hemiolia Records just keep on keeping ‘em coming with their incredible copy-master tape releases, and the next title has just been announced.

Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain was recorded in late 1959 / early 1960 at Colombia Records’ 30th Street Studio (aka ‘The Church’) in New York. The album is considered to be an exemplary recording of the genre known as ‘third stream’, which is essentially a fusion of jazz, European classical and various world music styles (in this case most notably flamenco, with its strong Moorish / North African influences).

Some initial critical responses were mixed, particularly from die-hard fans of either jazz or flamenco who weren’t keen on the genre being taken in such a new direction. But for those open to experimentation and not wedded to a particular movement, the album was deemed a triumph.

Downbeat magazine hailed it as “one of the 20th century’s most important musical works so far” and in 1961 Davis and arranger / composer Gil Evans won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Composition of More Than Five Minutes Duration. The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) called it “a work of unparalleled grace and lyricism” and ranked it number 358 in their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time (published in 2003 and 2005).

There’s a nice short video on YouTube (below) featuring extracts from the album, in which Miles’ wife Frances Davis tells the story of how the album came about. You can also read more from Miles on the Miles Davis website at www.milesdavis.com/albums/sketches-of-spain

Hemiolia are launching a collector’s edition (of which the fist 20 copies will be numbered) which will ship from 8th March and you can pre-order now at www.hemioliarecords.com/en/master-tapes/58-numbered-edition-sketches-of-spain-miles-davis-8050616581327.html

Hemiolia have said that this remastered edition created by Pietro Benini has even surprised their own team, so they’re confident that this recording will exceed the expectations of those who already know and love the album. Watch this space, I’ll let you know once my copy arrives…