Contradictory accounts of Miles Davis creation of the soundtrack to Louis Malles film noir Ascenseur pour l’chafaud have all become part of its legend. Rarely has a soundtrack been so decisive. Nearly seventy years on, beyond the myth, this taut, feverish recording, imbued with extreme dramatic tension, remains one of the Miles finest records. The basic outline remains: Jean-Paul Rappeneau suggested to Malle asking Miles Davis to create the film’s soundtrack who agreed to record the music after attending a private screening. Davis was performing at the Club Saint-Germain in Paris in November 1957 and on December 4, he brought his four sidemen to the recording studio without having had them prepare anything. Davis only gave the musicians a few rudimentary harmonic sequences he had assembled in his hotel room, and, once the plot was explained, the band improvised without any precomposed theme, while edited loops of the musically relevant film sequences were projected in the background. Bassist Pierre Michelot recalled in 1988 that Miles just asked us to play two chords, D minor and C7, 4 bars of each, ad lib. Typically, Miles planned very little but know exactly what he wanted. This beautiful re-issue of the original recording is pressed on 180g vinyl at GZ, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket with Boris Vians original liner notes and Jean-Pierre Leloirs iconic studio photo of Miles and Jeanne Moreau, and an essay on the circumstances that led to this out-of-the ordinary music by Franck Bergerot.

Tracklist:
Side A
1. Gnrique 245
2. LAssassinat de Carala 210
3. Sur lautoroute 215
4. Julien dans lascenseur 207
5. Florence sur les Champs-lyses 250

Side B
1. Dner au motel 358
2. vasion de Julien 053
3. Visite du Vigile 200
4. Au bar du Petit Bac 250
5. Chez le photographe du motel 350