Miles Davis, photo by Herb Snitzer
Along with Brown/Roach and Coltrane/Jones, the musical pairing of Miles Davis and Tony Williams marks one of the great leader/drummer partnerships in jazz history. Joining Miless group when he was just seventeen, Tony Williams changed the realm of possibilities for the bebop drummer with his unique four-way independence (especially the freeing of his left foot to play more complex patterns) and his quiet burn the ability to play independent, polyrhythmic patterns while comping at a soft volume. These drumming elements are all evident in this live example, made all the more effective through his interaction with rhythm-section mates Hancock and Carter.