The first half of this celebrated medley from Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet features the trumpeter's 16-bar composition taken at a blazing 315 BPM. Recorded during the prolific 1956 sessions at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, the performance captures the first great Miles Davis Quintet — with John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums — at peak efficiency. Davis and Coltrane each deliver seven choruses of brisk, propulsive improvisation over the compact form, with Garland adding a three-chorus piano solo. The tune is credited to Davis, though its authorship has been disputed — Eddie Vinson claimed he originally composed it, and the harmonic structure shares DNA with several earlier pieces. Regardless of origin, this recording became the definitive version, showcasing the quintet's remarkable cohesion at high tempos. The performance transitions directly into the contrasting ballad-tempo When Lights Are Low without a break.
