Advanced Hard Bop
This Miles Davis classic starts with the title track. This mournful melody repeats, and the improvisation is all going on in the rhythm section. "Nefertiti" is one of Wayne Shorter's most beloved compositions. "Fall" seems like a smaller song; it's slow and in a minor key. "Hand Jive" is a faster song with very good playing. The alternate versions of the song are also pretty good. "Madness" is similar to "Hand Jive", though tougher to get a handle on. The alternate takes of "Madness" aren't quite as good as the original. "Riot" is a well-liked Herbie Hancock song that Herbie re-recorded in 1968. "Pinnochio" is another good Wayne Shorter composition.

"Nefertiti" is one of four must-have CD's by the second great Miles Davis quintet. The others are "E. S. P.", "Miles Smiles", and "Sorcerer". It's hard for me to be too picky about one over the others. "Nefertiti" isn't quite consistantly strong enough to be a 5-star CD, but the overall accomplishment of those four albums is mighty indeed.

The second great quintet goes out with a stunningly self-confident album
NEFERTITI, released in 1968, stands as one of Miles Davis' last fully acoustic albums. With the following year's IN A SILENT WAY, Davis was to increasingly rely on electric instruments and the studio wizardry of producer Ted Macero. This last product of the famed second quintet might be the best of all. Davis on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on double bass, and Tony Williams on drums give us six immensely self-assured tunes.

Davis' respect for the younger members of his ensemble and their ability to make fresh new contributions shows in the fact that NEFERTITI has not a single Miles Davis composition, the authorship of tracks being split between Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. And what good material these two young jazz virtuosos came up with.

Shorter contributes the opening "Nefertiti" has horn and sax playing the same melody again and again over its eight-minute length, while the other instruments furiously improvise: a clever inversion of the traditional rhythm section. Furthermore, Davis and Shorter's lines phase-shift, making the innovation all the more striking. Shorter's ballad "Fall" refers back to the cool modality of nearly a decade before, showing how even within Miles Davis' strain of jazz things had already changed more than might be readily apparent. Shorter's "Pinocchio", the album closer, has probably the most catchy theme of any Miles Davis ensemble work.

Herbie Hancock's contributes the piano-driven "Madness" and "Riot". The former track is a long exploration of instruments together and in pairs. The latter is by far the shortest track on the album, an elegantly crafted jewel featuring excellent saxophone, trumpet, and piano and bass solos in just over three minutes.

The latest Columbia reissue fills the album out with alternate takes, but as usual these seem meant to sell the big Columbia box sets and only distract from the tightness of the original album.

Most underrated album - period.
Nefertiti is my favorite studio recording from Miles' 2nd Great Quintet.
This is not an album I would play while driving the car....I'd have to stop and listen to it. Miles Smiles seems to get the most attention from this group, but this album is more magical. When I read that it was one of Joni Mitchells favorites, I thought, well of course.

Fall is one of jazz's most beautifully recorded ballads (I love what Tony plays under Herbie's solo). Tony Williams drumming is amazing on this album and especially on the haunting title track. Wayne Shorter's solo on Riot is akin to something Orpheus might have performed on the fringe of Hades' underworld--that is, it's downright scary. This album also showcases some of Waynes great compositions. Ron Carter's lines are quite adventurous and when things get crazy he holds it all together. Miles provides direction, center and of course his beautifully mysterious tone.

Do yourself a favor and experience this album.

Whoa man...
Miles' '60's quintet made some great music, and this is arguably their best ever. Nothin' here by Miles, but Shorter; Hancock and Williams make up for that. Wayne especially, his title track SMOKES. You'd expect a song that repeated a melody, without solos, for eight minutes to be a piece of crap, right? Well, when the melody's that awesome, when the groove's that hypnotic, when Tony Williams is proving himself the best drummer ever to walk the face of this Earth, you're wrong. It's pure dynamite. Same with his Fall, he's channeling Coltrane here. I love Coltrane, so of course I love Fall. Makes sense, no? Tony gives us the brilliant modern-bop Hand Jive, while Hancock provides the short-but-sweet Riot. Really, Miles kinda takes a backseat and lets the rest of his group show off, and of course I won't complain about that, but his trumpet's still great throughout. But it's Tony Williams and Wayne Shorter who make this record the near-masterpiece (I reserve "masterpiece" for the VERY best of the best) that it is.

An overlooked gem
Nefertiti would be the fourth album recorded by the second Miles Davis Quintet and would further point to the fusion era that began with Davis' album In a Silent Way. While its predecessor, Sorcerer, was steeped in hard bop and has a lot more soloing, Nefertiti is more about mood. The title track boasts one of their most memorable themes played over a shuffle while Tony Williams' rapid fills become more prevalent as the track progresses. The next track, "Fall", is simply a beautiful piece of music. While the restraint taken by Williams and bassist Ron Carter help the song gel, it is Wayne Shorter's solo and Hancock's exquisite playing, that make it a work of art. "Hand Jive" finds the band returning to hard bop as Shorter bounces between expression and rapid flurries of notes while Carter and Williams provide a relentless pace. "Madness" is more dramatic and features great bass work from Carter and a cool solo, some of it unaccompanied, from Hancock. "Riot" is another moody albeit short track where Shorter, Davis, and Hancock all belt out strong solos. "Pinocchio" is very melodic, similar to the tunes on Miles Smiles, and finds Williams playing like an absolute monster. The remastered version includes four alternate takes including two versions of "Hand Jive" that are even hotter than the original and a subdued version of "Pinocchio" taken at a slower tempo that works very well. All told, while it doesn't get the attention of E.S.P. or Miles Smiles, Nefertiti is another gem from the second Miles Davis Quintet. Highly recommended.