Cookin', Relaxin', Workin', and Steamin' – Miles Davis Quintet

Cookin', Relaxin', Workin', and Steamin' – Miles Davis Quintet

From You'll Hear It by Peter Martin & Adam Maness

April 20, 2026 · 1h 12m · Season 14 · Episode 15

About this episode

The episode explores the significance of Miles Davis's quintet and their albums during a pivotal time in his career.

Cookin', Relaxin', Workin', and Steamin' capture Miles Davis on one of music history's most remarkable upswings. He had recently become clean after a years-long heroin addiction that led to his exclusion from major record labels and clubs. And now, in 1956, he had a deal with Columbia - the Cadillac of record labels - and a band he loved: Red Garland on piano, Philly Joe Jones on drums, Paul Chambers on bass and John Coltrane playing the sax. In this episode of You'll Hear It, jazz pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness go through each album. They discuss the outsized influence of Ahmad Jamal, Red Garland's Red spread technique, the power of Miles's chatter on Relaxin' and whether this is the greatest rhythm section in the history of recorded music. Whether this is your first introduction to Miles Davis, or you've been listening to these albums for years, you'll walk away from this episode with a new understanding of, and appreciation for, Miles and his first great quintet. ------------------------------ Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: https://openstudiojazz.com/yhi ------------------------------ Some Day My Prince Will Come…

People in this episode

Hosts: Peter Martin, Adam Maness

Topics covered

  • Miles Davis
  • jazz history
  • album analysis
  • music influence
  • quintet dynamics

Keywords

  • Miles Davis
  • jazz
  • Columbia Records
  • Red Garland
  • John Coltrane
  • album analysis
  • music history

Sponsors

Open Studio

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Columbia

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