Porgy and Bess (Miles Davis Album) - Reception and Influence

Reception and Influence

The second in a series of Davis/Evans collaborations, Porgy and Bess was well-received upon its release by music critics and publications, including The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. Music writer Bill Kirchner wrote "In this century's American music, three partnerships have been most influential: Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn, Frank Sinatra/Nelson Riddle, and Miles Davis/Gil Evans." As one of Miles Davis' best-selling albums, Porgy and Bess has earned recognition as a landmark album in orchestral jazz. Davis biographer Jack Chambers described the album as "a new score, with its own integrity, order and action." The album's appeal was more widespread among critics following its reissue in 1997. Robert Gilbert of All About Jazz praised Porgy and Bess, stating "one of many great albums that Miles Davis recorded over his lifetime. It reaches a higher plateau than most, though, in its way that it can reach the listener on both a musical and emotional level. That the album is still able to do this after almost forty-five years is a testament to the rare magic that occurred in a New York studio over four days in the summer of 1958." In an August 1997 issue, JazzTimes magazine called Porgy and Bess "possibly the best of the collaborations between Miles and Gil Evans... Evans is justly regarded as the master of modern orchestration and Porgy and Bess shows him at his best." The album was included in Elvis Costello’s "500 Albums You Need" (Vanity Fair, Issue No. 483 11/00) and was also ranked #785 on the Virgin "All-Time Top 1000 Album" list.