We've reached a period where seemingly more attention is being paid to the works of Coltrane than to the great Miles. Hearing once again the marvellous Davis quintets are a reminder that, despite being only four months younger than Miles, Coltrane was a very late developer. Even Eric Dolphy who only came to prominence aged 29 (with Chico Hamilton), was by then fully formed whereas Trane (joining Davis at the same age) was still getting his act together. Especially on the May session, the tenorman frequently starts ideas that he either has difficulty completing or, if they're too commonplace or Dexter-derived, he seems deliberately to sabotage. Listeners who found him wanting at this stage saw themselves rewarded, of course, a couple of years later.

These marathon sessions took place because, though Davis had begun to record what became ‘Round About Midnight for Columbia, he was still contracted to Prestige, who were then able to create four new albums released over five years – Cookin', Relaxin', Workin' and Steamin'. The comparative relaxation of taping what amounted to nightclub sets without an audience – and without retakes – paid off handsomely (and Rudy Van Gelder was superior to Columbia's engineers in reproducing the rhythm-section, especially Chambers). The 25 tracks include remakes of tunes Miles previously recorded – including ‘'Round Midnight’, Rollins' ‘Oleo’ and Airegin', Eddie Vinson's ‘Four’ and ‘Tune Up’, Benny Carter's ‘When Lights Are Low’ – and a song repertoire influenced by Ahmad Jamal. The rhythm-section was also influenced by Jamal, for instance in the frequent two-in-the-bar feel on standards, while the “ensemble” backing figures of Garland and Philly Joe – for instance, on ‘Tune Up’ and ‘Woody'n You’ – may derive from the work of Silver and Blakey who had done earlier studio sessions with Miles.

As on the Prestige reissue Chronicle (from which this is presumably copied), there's one bit of the informal chat from Relaxin' retained but two others are missing. The Coltrane Stardust, on the other hand, has two whole Prestige albums (also on Coltrane '58, see Jazzwise 240) and, despite the majestic playing he was then capable of, falls a bit flat, thanks mainly to the sidemen's lengthy solos.