Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (soundtrack)

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Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
Soundtrack album by
Miles Davis
Released1958 (1958)
RecordedDecember 4 and 5, 1957
StudioLe Poste Parisien, Paris
GenreModal jazz[1]: 63–82 
Length25:38 (original LP); 71:18 (CD)
LabelFontana
Miles Davis chronology
Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet
(1958) 		Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
(1958) 		Milestones
(1958)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Tom Hull – on the Web
B+[6]

Ascenseur pour l'échafaud is an album by the jazz musician Miles Davis. It was recorded at Le Poste Parisien Studio in Paris on December 4 and 5, 1957. The album features the musical cues for the 1958 Louis Malle film Ascenseur pour l'échafaud.

Background

Jean-Paul Rappeneau, a jazz fan and Malle's assistant at the time, suggested asking Miles Davis to create the film's soundtrack – possibly inspired by the Modern Jazz Quartet's recording for Roger Vadim's Sait-on jamais (Lit: 'Does One Ever Know', released as: No Sun in Venice), released a few months earlier in 1957.

Davis was booked to perform at the

theme
, while edited loops of the musically relevant film sequences were projected in the background.

Release and reception

In Europe, the soundtrack was originally released as a

Best Jazz Performance, Solo or Small Group
. The CD edition, released internationally by Fontana/Polygram in the late '80s, contains the original soundtrack material, versions of the original album tracks without the reverb that was added to the initial release, and several previously unreleased alternate takes.

In the opinion of Romina Daniele, the musical mood and characteristics of the soundtrack immediately preceded and introduced Miles Davis's subsequent records Milestones (1958) and Kind of Blue (1959).[8]

Track listings

10" LP

Side one

No.TitleLength
1."Générique"2:45
2."L' Assassinat de Carala"2:10
3."Sur L'Autoroute"2:15
4."Julien dans L'Ascenseur"2:07
5."Florence sur les Champs Élysées"2:50

Side two

No.TitleLength
1."Dîner au Motel"3:58
2."Évasion de Julien"0:53
3."Visite du Vigile"2:00
4."Au Bar du Petit Bac"2:50
5."Chez le Photographe du Motel"3:50

CD

No.TitleLength
1."Nuit sur les Champs-Élysées (take 1)"2:25
2."Nuit sur les Champs-Élysées (take 2)"5:20
3."Nuit sur les Champs-Élysées (take 3)"2:47
4."Nuit sur les Champs-Élysées (take 4)"2:59
5."Assassinat (take 1)"2:02
6."Assassinat (take 2)"2:10
7."Assassinat (take 3)"2:10
8."Motel"3:56
9."Final (take 1)"3:05
10."Final (take 2)"3:00
11."Final (take 3)"4:04
12."Ascenseur"1:57
13."Le Petit Bal (take 1)"2:40
14."Le Petit Bal (take 2)"2:53
15."Séquence Voiture (take 1)"2:56
16."Séquence Voiture (take 2)"2:16
17."Générique"2:45
18."L' Assassinat de Carala"2:10
19."Sur L'Autoroute"2:15
20."Julien dans L'Ascenseur"2:07
21."Florence sur les Champs Élysées"2:50
22."Dîner au Motel"3:58
23."Évasion de Julien"0:53
24."Visite du Vigile"2:00
25."Au Bar du Petit Bac"2:50
26."Chez le Photographe du Motel"3:50

Note: The track listing above refers to the currently available CD version. The original soundtrack to the film, as mixed and edited (with additional reverb) in 1958, and used for the screen, can be heard in tracks 17 to 26.

Personnel


Charts

Chart performance for Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
Chart (2024) Peak
position
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[9] 14

References

  1. ISSN 1478-8810
    .
  2. ^ Nastos, Michael G. (2000). Ascenseur Pour l'Échafaud – Miles Davis | AllMusic: Review. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2011-03-20.
  3. ^ Feather, Leonard (June 18, 1989). "Mixed Doubles in New Jazz Releases". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  4. ^ Caulfield, Mary (March 3, 2011). Miles Davis – Disc of the day – Mojo. Mojo. Archived from the original on 2011-03-20.
  5. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0
    .
  6. ^ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Grade List: Miles Davis". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  7. ^ Ascenseur Pour L'Échafaud, at Discogs, accessed June 18, 2015
  8. ISBN 978-88-904905-9-0
    .
  9. ^ "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
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