"It Never Entered My Mind" from Miles Davis's 1956 album Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet features a poignant piano solo from Red Garland over Richard Rodgers's theatrical ballad. Garland's three-quarter-chorus solo at 57 BPM in A-flat over the 34-bar AABA' form demonstrates his signature block-chord technique, a style inspired by pianist Ahmad Jamal and trumpet player Milt Jackson. The crystalline quality of Garland's playing perfectly complements the song's wistful, melancholic mood. The recording comes from the remarkably productive marathon sessions of May and October 1956 that generated enough material for four complete albums. Davis's quintet with John Coltrane, Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones has been called the greatest small group in jazz history, and this tender ballad reading reveals the ensemble's interpretive sensitivity alongside their more celebrated swing and blues capabilities. The song became closely associated with Davis, whose own trumpet statement on the theme is a masterpiece of understated emotion. Garland's solo extends the ballad's dreamy atmosphere with exquisite taste and harmonic sensitivity.
