"In the summer of 1955, after Davis performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, he was approached by Columbia Records executive George Avakian, who offered him a contract if he could form a regular band. Davis assembled his first regular quintet to meet a commitment at the Café Bohemia in July with Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. By the autumn, Rollins had left to deal with his heroin addiction, and later in the year joined the hard bop quintet led by Clifford Brown and Max Roach.
At the recommendation of drummer Jones, Davis replaced Rollins with John Coltrane, beginning a partnership that would last five years and finalizing the Quintet's first line-up. Expanded to a sextet with the addition of Cannonball Adderley on alto saxophone in 1958, the First Great Quintet was one of the definitive hard bop groups along with the Brown-Roach Quintet and the Jazz Messengers, recording the Columbia albums Round About Midnight, Milestones, and the marathon sessions for Prestige Records resulting in four albums collected on The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions."
- Miles Davis, trumpet
- John Coltrane, tenor saxophone
- Red Garland, piano
- Paul Chambers, double bass
- Philly Joe Jones, drums
DISC ONE
1. Stablemates (5:22)
2. How Am I To Know (4:40)
3. Just Squeeze Me (7:28)
4. There Is No Greater Love (5:20)
5. The Theme (5:52)
6. S'posin' (5:16)
Recorded 16 November 1955
7. Ahmad's Blues (7:25)
8. Surrey With The Fringe On Top (9:06)
9. It Never Entered My Mind (5:24)
10. When I Fall In Love (4:25)
11. Salt Peanuts (6:09)
12. Four (7:15)
13. The Theme (Take 1) (2:01)
14. The Theme (Take 2) (1:05)
Recorded 11 May 1956
DISC TWO
1. 'Round Midnight (5:58)
2. Ah-Leu-Cha (5:53)
3. All Of You (7:04)
4. Bye Bye Blackbird (7:58)
5. Tadd's Delight (4:29)
6. Dear Old Stockholm (7:56)
2. Recorded 26 October 1955
1, 3 Recorded 5 June 1956
4, 5, 6 Recorded 10 September 1956
7. In Your Own Sweet Way (5:45)
8. Diane (7:50)
9. Trane's Blues (8:35)
10. Something I Dreamed Last Night (6:15)
11. It Could Happen To You (6:39)
12. Woody'n You (5:05)
Recorded 11 May 1956
DISC THREE
1. It I Were A Bell (8:19)
2. Well, You Needn't (6:21)
3. 'Round Midnight (5:23)
4. Half Nelson (4:47)
5. You're My Everything (5:20)
6. I Could Write A Book (5:11)
7. Oleo (6:19)
8. Airegin (4:24)
9. Tune Up (5:38)
10. When Lights Are Low (7:26)
11. Blues By Five (9:54)
12. My Funny Valentine (6:00)
Recorded 26 October 1956
Disc One & Disc Two, tracks 7-12 recorded Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, first issued by Prestige
Disc Two, tracks 1-6 recorded Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City, first issued by Colombia
Disc Three recorded Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, first issued by Prestige
