Miles Davis with Quincy Jones & the Gil Evans Orchestra: Live at Montreux 1991

Two jazz legends joined forces in Montreux, Switzerland, for this landmark musical summit—composer Quincy Jones and trumpeter Miles Davis—to pay tribute in 1991 to arranger Gil Evans, Davis's collaborator for four decades. The 12-song set is performed by a whopping 54 musicians on stage, although the concert is built around star Davis, who plays a red trumpet bearing his name in white script (he wears a New Wave suit with oversized shoulders). Although Davis sadly died only three months after this show, he looks and sounds surprisingly good here (trumpeter Wallace Roney and saxophone player Kenny Garrett help to fill out his sound). They all kick off with "Boplicity" from Birth of the Cool before moving on to other Evans arrangements that Davis made famous (Jones introduces a Gershwin medley by noting that Porgy and Bess is his favorite Davis release after Miles Ahead). In addition, the ensemble plays material from Sketches of Spain, incorporating flute and harp to lovely effect. Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include bonus interviews. Highly recommended. (K. Fennessy)