Sorcerer

Sorcerer is an album recorded in May 1967 by the Miles Davis quintet. It is the third of six albums that this quintet recorded. It also includes one track from a 1962 session with vocalist Bob Dorough, which was the first time saxophonist Wayne Shorter recorded with Miles Davis. Davis does not play on the second track, “Pee Wee”. The only tune from the album known to have appeared in Davis’s live performances is “Masqualero”, written by Shorter. Davis’s groups performed it as late as April 1970; the last known version appears on the live album Black Beauty.

The song “Sorcerer” shows emphasis on complex, interweaving chords with a coolly relaxed sound, and sheer improvisation. The album’s lineup features Davis on trumpet, Shorter on tenor saxophone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. The track “Nothing Like You” features a different lineup, with vocalist Dorough, trombonist Frank Rehak, drummer Jimmy Cobb, bassist Paul Chambers, and Willie Bobo on Bongos adding some ideas as well. The album’s cover is a profile photo of actress Cicely Tyson, who at the time was Davis’s girlfriend (and many years later his wife).