Monster Music is about to release fresh 5.1 mixes of Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain and Seven Steps, two of trumpeter’s collaborations with Gil Evans. The mixes were done at Germano Studios in New York by engineer David Rideau using new transfers taken from the original 3-track masters.

I had a chance to listen to the transfered tracks in stereo and they are stunning. I own original vinyl and remastered CD versions of Sketches of Spain and the realism of the newly transfered tracks offers an unparalleled listening experience. For starters, (and I hope this makes the record) Gil Evans gives instructions to the players then counts off Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto De Aranjuez. The transients of the castinets, harp and even the breaths of the flute players are captured faithfully at 96kHz-24-bit and puts you in the room. It literally raised the hair on my arm and is a top 5 listening experience. What’s most interesting is “seeing” the edits they made of the original takes, in one case the right channel dropping dramatically where the tape was cut, but it works in the context of the arrangement and has become part of the feel of the piece.

I can’t wait to hear the final in 5.1. If you’re in the neighborhood, the debut playback will take place at AES in San Francisco on Saturday Nov 6th, 4:30 til 6pm in Room 124 at the Moscone Center.