The Ultimate Music Gift For The Holidays: The Miles Davis Complete Columbia Album Collection

I’d like to give a shout out to what may possibly be the greatest gift to give this Holidays for that special someone who is a true music aficionado. The Miles Davis Complete Columbia Album Collection (currently $293) is a deluxe, limited edition retrospective of the iconic music Miles Davis created during his 30 years with Columbia Records. If you don’t know, Miles Davis was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. But he was just more than that, he was an iconic figure whose music has withstood the tests of time and plays in a way that always captures you. Widely considered one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music including cool jazz, hard bop, free jazz, fusion and techno. Many well-known jazz musicians made their names as members of Davis’s ensembles.

Anyway, this exquisite package, comprised of 70 CDs (!) and 1 DVD, contains all 52 of Miles’ Columbia recordings in Japanese-styled mini LP jackets and includes a 250-page book with a biography, a fully annotated discography, a complete song index, and rare photos. It’s so amazing to see such a large box set of Miles Davis like this – I would dedicate the time to eventually listen to every CD. I couldn’t imagine trying to do it in one sitting, though.

Appearing on DVD for the first time in this box is Live in Europe ’67, shot in Stockholm and Karlsruhe during the Miles Davis Quintet’s European tour of 1967. Completely remastered from the original broadcast tapes, these performances feature Miles with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. In addition to the DVD, there will be a first-time audio release of the full performance from the 1970 Isle of Wight festival. Bonus tracks and other rarities that have been added to the CD reissues of individual albums in past years are also included.

Just to whet your whistle, here is one of my favorite Miles Davis songs: