Miles Davis – E.S.P. (180g 45rpm 2LP)

Label: Mobile Fidelity – MFSL 2-451 – 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl – 821797245111
AAA 100% Analogue – Numbered Limited Edition – Pressed at RTI
Pure Analogue Mastered by Kreig Wunderlich from the Original MasterTape at MFSL
Half Speed Mastered on the Mobile Fidelity The Gain 2 Ultra Analog System
The Absolute Sound Super Disc List TAS Harry Pearson Super LP List

Mobile Fidelity’s 45rpm two-disc vinyl reissue-mastered from the original ¼-inch, 15ips, two-track tapes by Krieg Wunderlich-captures the sound’s bloom and detail with more warmth and detail than any previous pressing, including Columbia’s original. Miles’ “second great quintet,” as this group is called, recorded six albums from 1965-68-after E.S.P., there were Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, Nefetiti, Miles in the Sky, and Filles de Kilimanjaro. All of them are vital assets of any jazz collection, and MoFi’s 45rpm pressings (which exist for all the titles except Miles Smiles, and I hope it’s on the way) are the best way to hear them- www.stereophile.com

ESP marks the beginning of a revitalization for Miles Davis, as his second classic quintet — saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams — gels, establishing what would become their signature adventurous hard bop. Miles had been moving toward this direction in the two years preceding the release of ESP and he had recorded with everyone outside of Shorter prior to this record, but his addition galvanizes the group, pushing them toward music that was recognizably bop but as adventurous as jazz’s avant-garde.

A landmark recording and masterful symphony of performance, composition, and execution, Miles Davis’ E.S.P. established the template jazz would follow for the following decade. The 1965 record splits the gap between accessible hard-bop and the cutting-edge approach Davis increasingly pursued into the 1970s. Adventurous, sophisticated, and yet altogether cohesive, E.S.P. stands out not only due to its elastic compositions but via its chemistry, interplay, and feeling attained by the instrumentalists. The first album Davis’ classic second quintet made together, it’s also very arguably the group’s best. Never before has the effort been experienced in such transformational sound.

It’s the avant-garde record even jazz traditionalists love, and essential on every level.