Miles Davis from Birth of Cool . . .

George Cables, the band leader and piano player, took the stage first and arranged his music. Then Lonnie Plaxico started working the bass. Vincent Lewis sat down at the drums, and Eric Alexander on sax, Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, and Eddie Henderson on trumpet completed the band. It was Friday night at the Iridium. I went to hear the second set of their tribute to Miles Davis. They opened the set with "So What" from Miles Davis' 1959 album "Kind of Blue." The song opened with a contemplative bass solo, and Lonnie Plaxico was all still, cool, lone wolf up there filling the room with his pulse. Jeremy Pelt's trumpet came in elegant and bright. I love the vulnerable sound of Miles Davis, and on "'Round Midnight" Jeremy captured it. He was haunting. And Eric Alexander burned it up on "81" by Ron Carter with his incredible speed and penetrating sound. This week there is another tribute to Miles Davis at Smoke on Fri., Sat. and Sun. with George Coleman, Eddie Henderson, Harold Maburn, Dwayne Burno and Joe Farnsworth.

SMOKE

I've heard Joe Farnsworth play many, many times and have marveled at his virtuosity, but something special happened last night. He burrowed down deep and released himself. I could see it happening as he played, the effortless exhilaration when there is no separation between the artist and their medium. When musicians like Joe, who also bring phenomenal skill and discipline, connect there is nothing better. That five or seven minute drum solo (I lost track of the time) was epic in scope, power, variety, and expression.

Mike LeDonne was on the organ, Vincent Herring on sax, and Peter Bernstein on the guitar. The whole second set had a driving, bluesy feel which I love. I asked LeDonne about it after and he said that is often what the organ brings to the music. They opened the second set with a crazy fast version of "Backstabbers." It jumped off the stage, lyrical, rousing and shaking the place up. LeDonne's organ on "Someday We'll All Be Free" was aching and moaning with serious passion.

On the third set of the night the legendary George Coleman came up on stage and sat in with the guys. His presence changes the room. Giddiness and anticipation takes over on stage. He played "You've Changed" -- simple, elegant, perfect. It was a lucky night for me. Joe Farnsworth will be at Smoke this weekend playing with his brother John. I will be at Iridium Friday night.

Steve Davis Quintet at Smalls

Last night the Steve Davis quintet played two sets to an absolutely packed house at Smalls in the Village. I stood in the back talking to an Australian guy visiting New York on business. We kept laughing because no matter where we stood our feet seemed to be in the way of people trying to get in. The space is tight and personal. You walk down a steep flight of stairs, and come into one small room. It feels like a church, with chairs lined up in rows facing the stage, and people treat it that way in the best sense. Early in the set they played "Vibration Blues" by McCoy Tyner. Mike LeDonne opened the tune with a kind of mind blowing precise attack on the piano, then the rest of the band came in and kept it up all the way through, Tyler Mitchell on bass, Mike DiRubbo on sax, Steve Davis on trombone and Willie Jones III on drums. It was thrilling to watch these guys navigate the demands of the song and give it everything they had. Then Steve announced that they were going to slow it down and DiRubbo came in with his sweet, melancholy sax on "You've Changed." I love that song and DiRubbo, a very souful, interesting dude, did it up just right. I rode the melody all the way with him and never wanted it to end. Josh Bruneau, a young trumpet player, sat in later on the first set and he was so good the crowd gave it to him at the end of his first solo. His solo on "Spirit Waltz" in the second set was heart-wrenching in the way the trumpet can express a voice teetering on the edge of something painful, dangerous, exciting, but never giving in or letting up . . . no matter what the cost. This is the first time I heard Willie Jones III on drums and he had a rigorous, exacting, right on the edge of control style that I really liked.

I don't know Steve Davis well, but from the first time I met him I felt his genuine, open, welcoming spirit and that comes across in his playing. His trombone has an honest, effortless, warm tone. He reached out into the crowd and held us there note by note all evening as he told his story. They will be at Smalls again tonight, don't miss it.