Update: THE MAIDS OF CADIZ (Les filles de Cadix) – An old French song revisited by Benny Goodman & Miles Davis with Gil Evans

This beautiful melody by French composer Léo Delibes should be the fitting musical preface for the last and late Summer’s versions of “Summertime”.

First comes the Benny Goodman Sextet with an almost forgotten interpretation of the song:

The Maids Of Cadiz (1947).

Benny Goodman (cl), Red Norvo (vib), Jimmie Rowles (p), Al Hendrickson (g), Harry Babasin (b), Don Lamond (d) – Hollywood, June 6, 1947.

Miles Davis & Gil Evans must have loved the pretty tune with that Spanish touch very much; otherwise they wouldn’t have included the song on their highly praised first album which became a classic: Miles Ahead (1957).

Here’s the carefully remastered CD version:

Les filles de Cadix

After listening extensively to the promo-pressing of the album (he was obviously very enthusiastic about it), Dizzy Gillespie ordered a new copy directly from Miles, ’cause he played the album so often that it was kaputt after a few weeks of excessive spinning.

Blog owner’s remark: I can only guess what kind of heavy-weight stylus Dizzy must have used then, or how many times he must have played the disc?

This is the cover for the later issue of Miles Ahead. — The original LP from 1957 sported a straw-hatted white woman and a little boy on a sailboat. — Miles never liked that, he actually hated it so very fondly that he forced CBS to use his portrait for the later reissue:

— Blog owner’s note for the lovers of old vinyl:

You either should go for the original LP from the late 1950’s, or for the Japanese mono pressing with the white-girl-on-board-with-kaput-straw-hat cover, or the above pictured reissue (which is in stereo!).

Beware the 1980’s reissue with the blue framed cover which appeared on SONY-CBS. — That one sounds crappy, and it doesn’t feature the tracks from the original album but some alternates without mentioning it in the liners.

As a grande P.S., the original, as sung by one of the most beautiful sopranos of all times: Victoria De Los Angeles. — Exceptional!