Of course, weve heard Coltrane, Miles, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums as a combination on many recordings through the years. I love the way they play on this tune (which Im pretty sure was derived from the sequence of Honeysuckle Rose-Scrapple From the Apple), the way its structured with the little drum-breaks and all the nuancesthe beautiful feeling in the beat and the way they moved through the harmonies. They werent just playing over chords and playing 32 bars. They were exploring a way of playing together.
It was Miles group, someone has to be the leader, to organize things, but its really the community of players that make the music. Each one of my ensembles has been inspired by that particular realization about what is happening on the scene, creating situations for the community I live in. My nonet has a certain repertoire, a certain community of players. Weve been playing together for years. Now, Im the leader. Ive organized and developed my career to a point to be able to put it together. But its the community of players that is making music, too. In 1956, Miles and these guys were living this music together, and you can feel how much they loved to play together. Round About Midnight was one of the first records that totally captured me and gave me a lot of ideas, and I wore it out two or three times.