Kevin Whitehead

On No Blues, pianist Herbie Hancock and bassist Ron Carter follow him all the way down.

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The players' anti-music stance pushed back against Miles Davis' stale and limited live repertoire.

The quintet had broken new ground on their current album, ESP, recorded earlier in 65, but on gigs they played only one tune from it in simplified form.

Mostly they did songs he'd been doing for years, some since the 1950s.

Miles usually took the first solo, with the rhythm section generally well-behaved.

After that, things might advance into more open territory with more floating rhythm.

Tony Williams is the band's spark plug, but on the seven and a half hours of Miles Davis' complete live at the Plug Nickel in 1965, the star soloist is Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone.

Miles could play sparsely, leaving lots of space.

Shorter, by contrast, might overflow that space, as John Coltrane had with Miles.

Then on the very next number, Wayne Shorter is relaxed, lyrical, and full-bodied.

A total turnaround.

In truth, the quintet's weak link is Miles Davis.

The trumpeter had been sidelined for most of the year with hip problems and sounds out of practice.

Miles' greatness isn't about sterling technique, but the ingenious ways he works around his limitations.

But here when his lips tire, he may fall back on pure bluster.

One static episode prompts belated heckling from Tony Williams.

The band didn't always play nice for the boss.

Miles' chops would soon improve just to keep up.

And at the plug nickel, he does have his moments.