The glimpse of Gil Evans in Don Cheadle’s contentious Miles Ahead is an important reference for the aficionado and layperson alike, and the reissue of this album is arguably still very important. Miles’ sadly never-realised recording session with Jimi Hendrix might be the great ‘what if?’ of modern musical history – though Hendrix and Sam Rivers, which apparently had a greater chance of happening, is right up there too – but this is one of the definitive extrapolations of Jimi in jazz. First and foremost, Evans’ grandiose but sensitive arrangements capture all of the richness as well as power of the guitarist’s chords and melodies, and introduce the kind of harmonic embellishments that also stay true to Hendrix’s astutely expressive use of his voice and studio effects. The trump card however is the gallery of fine soloists deployed by Evans, of which the likes of Billy Harper, ‘Hannibal’ Marvin Peterson and David Sanborn stand tall. All of them perform with a verve and ingenuity that betray a consummate grasp of the relationship between blues, funk, rock and jazz that was such a significant part of Hendrix’s aesthetic and was also deeply understood by Evans. If you care to save the cinema ticket money then you’d do really well to buy this album.