lessly hammer at the same conceptualntheme. The word and notion bourgeoisienis distilled on their canvases as the purengnostic extract of evil. Rudolf Schlichter’snportrait of Bertolt Brecht becomes ansort of holy icon. Christian Schad’s renditionsnof individualized depravity arenperhaps more humane, moderated bynsome melancholic, worldly introspections,nbut at the same time ambivalent.nWe had no trouble with George Grosz’snnaturalistic satire; he’s perhaps the bestnknown of the group because of his politicalndrawings, in which he unabashedlynexecuted Communist Party line.nWe now know the outcome of his efforts,nRecordsnby Doug RamseynThe trumpeter Miles Davis recordednexclusively for the Prestige label fornnearly five years, from January 1951nto October 1956. During that period henbecame a figure of prodigious influencenin the development of jazz. His Prestigenrecordings, often reissued and steadilynpopular, have served as living textbooksnfor musicians. Now comes the ultimatenDavis reissue on Prestige, a 12-recordnset (“Chronicle,” Prestige P-012) thatnpresents everything he recorded for thenlabel. For |120 the buyer gets an indexed,nbound volume of the records innchronological order, a biographical essaynby Dan Morgenstern, a Davis Prestigendiscography tracing the history ofneach title by master number, completenpersonnel information for each session,nand photographs of Davis and some ofnhis most important colleagues.nHearing Davis through the early 50’snis to trace the course of the jazz mainstream.nHe seems to be in a constantnsearch for a perfect band, which henMr. Ramsey is a jazz musicologist innNew Orleans.nChronicles of Culturenthe political consequences he served.nWe know how his artistic passion helpednthe masters of Gulags. In fact, the samengoes for most of his confreres: theirntalents, their art, their high-powerednskepticism, all of which seem to be motivatednby a penetrating, infallible, sharpnintelligence, in the end served a shallownlie, a propagandistic exploitation. It’snironic that, in the long run, the politicalnreality for which they fought producedna cultural prison for their grandsonsnin East Germany, Hungary, Polandnand Czechoslovakia. In the short runitnhad a hand in the rise of nazism andnthecreationof Auschwitz. •nformed, perhaps, in 1955. There are nonless than 32 tracks by the Davis quintetnwhich included tenor saxophonist JohnnColtrane, pianist Red Garland, drummernPhilly Joe Jones and bassist Paul Chambers.nThis, I believe, was the most importantnsmall band of the 1950’s, andnone of the most important in the historynof jazz, ranking with the LouisnArmstrong Hot Five, Jones-Smith,nIncorporated (Count Basic and LesternYoung), and Duke Ellington’s smallngroups. The quintet paved the way forna slightly later Davis group in which he,nColtrane and pianist Bill Evans developednthe scalar and modal playing thatnopened new vistas in the 1960’s andn70’s.n”4×4: McCoy Tyner Quartets”n(Milestone M-55007) presents the pianist,nbassist Cecil McBee and drummernAl Foster with four soloists recordednin separate sessions. It includes some ofnTyner’s most focused playing. Much ofnhis work of the past decade has beenndiffused by the monotony of his harmonicnapproach as he explored the possibilitiesnof simplified chord structuresnand the abstractions of free jazz. Withnthis album it seems he should havennncalled off the exploration and returnednearlier to the song form. I haven’t heardnthis much lyricism and cogency fromnTyner since the middle and late 1960’s.nHe is particularly effective in the piecesnwith saxophonist Arthur Blythe, vibraharpistnBobby Hutcherson and trumpeternFreddie Hubbard, whose solo on Tyner’sn”Inner Glimpse” is masterful.nWith guitarist John Abercrombie,nTyner returns to boredom as the twonreinforce one another’s tendencies tonmeander and ruminate.nSam Most inspired and set the examplenfor most of the day’s leading jazznflute players, including James Moody,nHerbie Mann, Yusef Lateef and HubertnLaws. There is a strong case to be madenfor Most’s still being the best of thenbreed, and “From the Attic of My Mind”n(Xanadu 160) is the latest evidence. Hisnreappearance on the jazz scene afternseveral years in the artistic desert of thenHollywood studios and sound stages isnan auspicious event.nTwenty-five years ago I was captivatednby a drum solo, something thatnhas rarely happened before or since. Itncame during a piece called “A Fifth fornFrank” on a Curtis Counce album,n”Landslide” (Contemporary S 7526),nand the drummer was young Frank Butler.nIt was, so help me, a lyrical drumnsolo, a melodic drum solo, a witty drumnsolo, and it was performed with a skillnand panache that identified its authornas a genuine stylist. Later I learned thatnButler’s solo on “A Fifth for Frank”nwas an underground favorite of jazznmusicians, particularly drummers, allnover the world. “Landslide” is still available,nby the way, and I recommend it notnonly for Butler’s solo but also becausenthe Counce band was a marvel.nButler has remained a favorite performernof musicians and hard-core jazznfans but has been all but unknown tonthe public. He was caught for years inna consuming narcotics addiction. Afternhe had conquered his sickness, he becamena professional narcotics counselor,nhelping others to get well. It was notn