Collectors' Items

Collectors' Item is a 1953/1956 studio album by Miles Davis There are two sessions collected on the album with, apart from Miles, is largely different musicians. The first 1953 session is Compulsion, The Serpent's Tooth (two takes) and 'Round About Midnight. The second 1956 session is In Your Own Sweet Way, Vierd Blues and No Line. The personnel for the first session were Miles, Sonny Rollins and "Charlie Chan" on tenor saxes, Walter Bishop on piano, Percy Heath on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. For the second session the tenor sax was Rollins alone, the piano was Tommy Flanagan, the bass Paul Chambers and Art Taylor on drums. Quite who "Charlie Chan" was remains remains a mystery but according the sleeve notes by Ira Gitler it was only the second time he had recorded on a tenor. Perhaps some obscure joke is being made here.