E.S.P. is an album recorded in January 1965 by the Miles Davis quintet. The quintet of Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams would be the most long-lived of Davis's groups, and this was their first studio recording. Image File history File links Miles_Davis-E.S.P._(album_cover). ... An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public. ... Davis 1959 album Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz album ever. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans, rooted in Western music technique and theory, and is marked by the profound cultural contributions of African Americans. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Columbia Records is the oldest continually used brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888. ... Legacy Recordings is the reissue division of Sony BMG Music Entertainment which was founded in 1990 by CBS Records (renamed Sony Music in 1991) to handle reissues of recordings from the vast catalogues of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated labels. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links Description: Rating stars. ... Davis 1959 album Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz album ever. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Davis 1959 album Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz album ever. ... Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter in the 1960s quintet Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz composer and saxophonist. ... Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is a jazz pianist and composer from Chicago, Illinois, USA. Hancock is one of jazz musics most important and influential pianists and composers. ... Ron Carter (born May 4, 1937, Ferndale, Michigan) is an American jazz bassist. ... Tony Williams (December 12, 1945 – February 23, 1997) was an American jazz drummer. ...

The album consisted entirely of compositions written by members of the group. Despite the profusion of new material, only one tune ("Agitation") is known to have appeared in the group's live performances. Two versions of this tune appear on the Plugged Nickel recordings from December 1965; it was played live as late as the fall of 1969.

"Little One" might be best known for being revisited on Hancock's landmark album, Maiden Voyage, recorded a few weeks later. This version is somewhat more embryonic; Carter's bass is halting, and Davis and Shorter state the theme with winding, interlocking contrapuntal lines that evoke Davis and Coltrane's version of "Round Midnight". Hancock's solo version is more precisely arranged, with Freddie Hubbard (on trumpet) and George Coleman (on tenor sax) playing in straight harmony. Interestingly, Hancock's solo on Carter's composition, "Eighty-One", also presages his work on that LP - particularly its title track. This is reflected in the liner notes of the 1999 reissue. The maiden voyage of a ship or aircraft is the first cruise or flight in revenue service, typically following a series of shakedown cruises or test-flights. ... Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (born April 7, 1938) is an American jazz trumpeter. ... George Coleman (born March 8, 1935 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American jazz saxophonist, known chiefly for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s. ...

Shortly therafter, Shorter's compositions would begin to dominate the Quintet's recordings, though here he contributes only three of the seven songs. The title track is reminiscent of Jackie Maclean's "Little Melonae", which Davis had recorded with John Coltrane in 1956. "Iris", by contrast, is another Coltrane-like ballad, not too dissimilar to "Infant Eyes" on Shorter's Speak No Evil album. Speak No Evil is an album by Wayne Shorter, recorded in 1964 and released on Blue Note in 1965. ...

E.S.P. is also renowned as one of the longer jazz albums of its period - at over forty-eight minutes.

Track listing

1. "E.S.P." (W. Shorter)
2. "Eighty-One" (R. Carter/M. Davis)
3. "Little One" (H. Hancock)
4. "R.J." (W. Shorter)
5. "Agitation" (M. Davis)
6. "Iris" (W. Shorter)
7. "Mood" (R. Carter/M. Davis)

Perfomers

• Miles Davis - Trumpet
• Wayne Shorter - Tenor saxophone
• Herbie Hancock - Piano
• Ron Carter - Double bass
• Tony Williams - Drums