Saxophonist Greg Wall pointed out an interesting fact to Lewis Porter: At the Dinah Washington
recording session of March 4, 1949, the theme played on “Drummer Man” is the same one used
here on “Freight Trane.” (Coltrane was not on the 1949 session.) Tommy Flanagan told Porter that
he did not write “Freight Trane,” although he is listed as composer. Kenny Burrell wrote to Porter
on May 6, 1996, that this tune was played around Detroit, but “we did not know the composer.”
(L.Porter 3/30/08)

Note: we have also corrected the spelling of the title of this composition, which appears as both "Freight Train" and "Freight Trane" in the body of the entry and in this note. Although "Freight Train" appears in a number of discographies, the original release of the session (and subsequent reissues) all show the title as "Freight Trane". (3/30/08

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58-1000. In an interview in Coda in 1979 (Issue #166, 4/1/79, p. 8), reprinted with modifications on page 122 of "Stopping Time: Paul Bley and the Transformation of Jazz", by Paul Bley with David Lee, (Véhicule Press, 1999), Paul Bley reports having seen a 90-minute film of the Miles/Trane/Cannonball group in Philadelphia:
"To get back to why visuals; this was just an experience. Somebody about five or ten years ago played me a black&white video tape of a concert by Miles Davis in a theatre in Philadelphia. It was Coltrane, Cannonball, Bill Evans, whoever. This was a single camera on the first balcony, that just turned to the left for the piano solo, to the center for the trumpet and saxophone solos, and to the right for rhythm section solos. The concert lasted an hour and a half. They used a long lens so that you could bring in closeups." 

In the later reprint, Bley is more specific about the personnel: "It was the band with Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones."

While it would be marvelous if such a document existed, evidence suggests that Bley's memory is flawed, and that he is remembering a later concert, perhaps conflating several videotaped performances by later Miles Davis groups.
--Bley's personnel listing is vague ("whoever") in the original interview
--The period when Bill Evans was a member of the group is fairly brief, and so far we have not found evidenceo of a concert by that group in a theatre in Philadelphia in 1958 (the session number 58-1000 simply indicates the ending date of that group's existence).
--Bley says "video tape", which would not have been an option for other than a professional, commercial broadcaster
--To film a 90 minute concert using 16mm film (the commonly available technology) would have been VERY expensive and would required two cameras because the film reels ran out every 20 minutes.
--we've found no other report of such a film, which seems unlikely given the complexities involved in making such a film.
(2/6/08)

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58-1013. Issue Data:

The Reference (p. 540) gives "released ca. Feb - May 1959" as the release date of Hard Driving Jazz.  However, the release date was probably closer to February than to May.  A brief review of the album appeared in the February 25, 1959 issue of Variety (p. 44).  The following is the entire review:

"The title of this set may be somewhat misleading.  Although the program includes titles like 'Double Clutching' and "Shifting Down,' the style is more smooth sailing on cool waters than hard-driving over rocking roads.  Pianist Cecil Taylor and combo swings only on occasion within the cerebral confines."

Thanks to H. Herold for providing this information
(7/6/08)