Miles was fresh from his triumph at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival when he agreed to record for his old friend Charles Mingus’ label (they had first met in California 10 years before). Considering the volatile temperaments of the two protagonists, the music is surprisingly calm, but according to Elvin Jones (a new face in town), “If they had just printed the conversations in the studio at that time, that would have been a best-seller.” Woodman had known Mingus since boyhood, and Charles was then a frequent musical associate with similar ideas about composing and arranging. The charts here are all by Teddy, except “Alone Together,” which is by Mingus.