Saturday, June 01, 2024

Saturday Sounds - Miles Davis - Ascenseur pour l'echafaud

This week's musical treat is a rather obscure album by Miles Davis that I had not heard of until reading this articlereading this article from Everything Jazz. Recorded in  Paris 1957, it's the soundtrack to the filrm Ascenseur pour l'echafaud (Elevator to the Gallows) directed by Louis Malle. 

He was met at the airport by his old flame, the actress and singer Juliette Greco, and 24-year-old film director Louis Malle, a crucial figure in the burgeoning Nouvelle Vague movement. Malle had an intriguing proposition for Miles – the offer of a soundtrack for his debut film, “Ascenseur pour l’échafaud”, starring Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet as a couple embarking on an illicit, murderous romance. Miles accepted the assignment, subject to viewing a rough cut.

The album is classic atmospheric Miles, parts very reminiscent of Kind of Blue, which he would record in 1958. The film, under its English title, is streaming on Plex or can be rented on Apple TV so I may check it out. But for now I'm very much enjoying the album and I hope you do to.

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