About

A TAV Curator’s Pick.

Culled from three separate nonet sessions that took place from early 1949 through March of 1950, Birth Of The Cool is the literal blue print for the sound known as cool jazz thus its title. Featuring the fluidity of bop, innovative big band arrangements and a relaxed overall elegance, the Gil Evans arranged sessions find Miles Davis supported by pivotal performances from such jazz luminaries as Kai Winding, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz and Max Roach among others. Despite such a large band, the proceedings sound remarkably intimate with concise and sophisticated songs built largely on tone and mood. A seminal recording in the history of jazz! – Press Release

Tracklist

A1 Move   

A2 Jeru     

A3 Moon Dreams 

A4 Venus De Milo 

A5 Budo   

A6 Deception        

B1 Godchild         

B2 Boplicity           

B3 Rocker 

B4 Israel   

B5 Rouge

“This instrumentation, coupled with the likes of Davis on trumpet, baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, pianist John Lewis, alto saxophonist Lee Konitz and drummers Kenny Clarke and Max Roach, created a warm, relaxed, albeit "cool," sound that would become the standard for West Coast jazz.

Even though these songs clock in at an average of three minutes, the Davis nonet uses the shortened time span to create something magical.

Davis' trumpet solos are brief and don't fly at a furious rate, but you can almost hear his soul pouring out of each note on Evans' graceful arrangement of "Moon Dreams."

Mulligan and Konitz also follow the short-and-sweet-solo formula on songs like the Mulligan-penned "Jeru" and Lewis' arrangement of Denzil Best's "Move," respectively.

Birth of the Cool serves as a perfect example of how the music can evolve to create something timeless. But this wouldn't be the last time Davis started a revolution in the jazz world.” – All About Jazz

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