Davis,Miles L'Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud CD

Unavailable in the U.S.! Miles Davis' moody, evocative music for the Louis Malle movie (translation: The Lift to the Scaffold) comes in two different forms on this reissue. There is a chronological sketch pad of tracks which didn't appear in the original release, or appeared in altered form, and tracks 16-26, which comprise the body of the original release, complete with the odd dollop of post-production echo to italicize the film's dramatic content. Recorded on December 4-5, 1957, the music for the film has an elegant, romantic air to it. In the company of such French jazzmen as Pierre Michelot and tenor saxophonist Barney Wilen, this soundtrack is something of a throwback to the feel of Miles' early '50s Blue Note recordings with drummer Kenny Clarke. Rarely has Miles' open tone been more poignant, and that bittersweet quality probably owes something to Miles' ongoing affair with the film's leading lady, Jeanne Moreau.

1. Nuit Sur Les Champs-Elysees (Take 1) 2. Nuit Sur Les Champs-Elysees (Take 2) 3. Nuit Sur Les Champs-Elysees (Take 3) (Generique) 4. Nuit Sur Les Champs-Elysees (Take 4) (Florence Sur Les Champs-Elysees) 5. Assassinat (Take 1) (Visite Du Vigile) 6. Assassinat (Take 2) (Julien Dans L'ascenseur) 7. Assassinat (Take 3) (L'assassinat de Carala) 8. Motel (Diner Au Motel) 9. Final (Take 1) 10. Final (Take 2) 11. Final (Take 3) (Chez Le Photographe Du Motel) 12. Ascenseur (Evasion de Julien) 13. Le Petit Bal (Take 1) 14. Le Petit Bal (Take 2) (Au Bar Du Petit Bac) 15. Sequence Voiture (Take 1) 16. Sequence Voiture (Take 2) (Sur L'autoroute) 17. Generique 18. L'assassinat de Carala 19. Sur L'autoroute 20. Jullien Dans L'ascenseur 21. Florence Sur Les Champs-Elysees 22. Diner Au Motel 23. Evasion de Julien 24. Visite Du Vigile 25. Au Bar Du Petit Bac 26. Chez Le Photographe Du Motel