‘Round About Midnight, Miles Davis’ debut for Columbia Records, was actually recorded before his contract with Prestige had expired. Thus, even though it wasn’t released until 1957, one of its tracks (the Charlie Parker composition “Ah-Leu-Cha”) is the first recording ever by his quintet with saxophonist John Coltrane, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones. A month later, he’d track The New Miles Davis Quintet for Prestige. The other two sessions that made up ‘Round About Midnight were recorded more or less concurrently with the ones for Cookin’ … , Relaxin’ … , Steamin’ … and Workin’ With The Miles Davis Quintet. And like those albums, the track listing is a mix of standards and tunes by peers; there are no Davis originals. But ‘Round About Midnight has a few things that put it ahead of the Prestige albums: its title track, and Columbia’s money.

The title track is a version of pianist Thelonious Monk’s composition “‘Round Midnight,” originally composed way back in 1941. Davis’ interpretation smooths out the composer’s lurching rhythms, his muted elaborations on the melody turning it into a mist rising up from the ground, until suddenly, almost exactly at the halfway mark, he blows a shrill fanfare and Coltrane comes swaggering in for a rich, bluesy solo of his own. Overall, the album has a lush, glossy production that the Prestige albums don’t; it feels like a real work of art, not a recording of five guys blowing through some tunes in a room. The uptempo songs have a crisp swing; Philly Joe Jones’ drumming is less jackhammer-like than he could be at other times, and Paul Chambers’ bass sound is full and human. Ultimately, there’s not that much separating this from the other five albums by this band, but the small, subtle differences of degree turn out to be crucial. If you want to hear one album by the Miles Davis Quintet, this is the obvious choice.