E.S.P. is a track written by Wayne Shorter that became the title tune of Miles Davis's 1965 album E.S.P. The album, released August 16, 1965 on Columbia and recorded January 20-22, 1965 in Hollywood, features Miles Davis's second great quintet - Miles Davis (trumpet), Wayne Shorter (tenor), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass), Tony Williams (drums) - playing all original compositions. The music marks a shift to group-driven, improvisation-heavy hard bop and post-bop, with Shorter's abstract themes and Davis's telepathic interplay driving the performances; "E.S.P.", "Iris" and the other tracks push beyond standard 32-bar forms. The title track and this album helped define the era and the quintet's sound, though critics at the time were divided, with Kenny Dorham calling the music mostly brain music. Notable trivia: the album's back cover features a Gleason poem made from the track titles, and the rights to the title tune were originally shared with Shorter but Miles Davis later returned all the rights.
