Definitive mobile fidelity Ultradisc one-step set includes opulent box, foil-stamped jackets, and MoFi Supervinyl LPs pressed at RTI

Miles Davis and Gil Evans bridged styles and collaborated on high-concept projects three different times during their celebrated careers. For their final act, they created Sketches of Spain, a peak moment in each luminary's legacy. The transformative album weds Spanish themes, lush orchestrations, romantic timbres, and Davis' increasingly lyrical methods in a tender ceremony that resonates more than six decades after its original release.

A crucial part of the next phase of Mobile Fidelity's Miles Davis restoration series, the 1960 landmark has been afforded the ultimate white-gloves treatment. Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed on dead-quiet MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, the label's exquisite UltraDisc One-Step 45RPM 180g 2LP box set dramatically expands the soundstages and eradicates a dryness that many critics found inhibitive to the record's enjoyment. Listeners can now hear the full perspective long deserved by the woodwinds, strings, and percussion, all of which come alive with unprecedented definition and detail.

The premium packaging and beautiful presentation of the numbered, limited-edition UD1S Sketches of Spain pressing befit the record's historical importance. Housed in a deluxe box, the reissue features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the 1960 LP. Aurally and visually, this UD1S set exists as a curatorial artifact meant to be preserved, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners who prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves with the album. And who wouldn't want to go deep with Sketches of Spain?

Whether it is the somber mood piece ''''Concierto de Aranjuez (Adagio),'''' renowned for Davis' flugelhorn performance, or the folktale-based ''Solea,'' Sketches of Spain transfixes with playing, ideas, and innovations exclusive to this incomparable effort. It's one reason why Mobile Fidelity's engineers took every available measure to insert listeners into the space originally occupied by Davis, bassist Paul Chambers, drummer Jimmy Cobb, percussionist Elvin Jones, and an 18-piece orchestra. The results are as breathtaking as the music.

Multi-note motifs, brief improvisational solos, fanfare sweeps, and contrapuntal exchanges inform flamenco-spiced pieces. Davis' famous Harmon-muted trumpet is complemented by an assortment of bassoons and French horns. Heard together, they create pleasing contrasts and sounds (pp, mf, ppp) that get to what resides at the heart of Sketches of Spain: color. Seldom, if ever, did Davis ever so expressively and liberally paint with color. And in Evans, he has a likewise-minded partner to help draw out tones, shades, layers, and textures. What they achieved continues in the 21st century to draw praise from the entire music community.

Ranked #358 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, deemed ''a work of unparalleled grace and lyricism'' by noted scribe J.D. Considine, bestowed a five-star review from DownBeat, and noted by Q to have taken ''jazz in a new direction, the Grammy Award-winning effort has never sounded or looked better.