180g Limited Edition White Vinyl with Die-Cut Sleeve!
Compilation album by Miles Davis featuring notable jazz musicians Gerry Mulligan, John Lewis, and Lee Konitz as members of his nonet. These tracks are considered to be seminal in the history of cool jazz with their use of paired instrumentation.
"So dubbed because these three sessions -- two from early 1949, one from March 1950 -- are where the sound known as cool jazz essentially formed, Birth of the Cool remains one of the defining, pivotal moments in jazz. This is where the elasticity of bop was married with skillful, big-band arrangements and a relaxed, subdued mood that made it all seem easy, even at its most intricate. After all, there's a reason why this music was called cool; it has a hip, detached elegance, never getting too hot, even as the rhythms skip and jump. Indeed, the most remarkable thing about these sessions -- arranged by Gil Evans and featuring such heavy-hitters as Kai Winding, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, and Max Roach -- is that they sound intimate, as the nonet never pushes too hard, never sounds like the work of nine musicians. Furthermore, the group keeps things short and concise (probably the result of the running time of singles, but the results are the same), which keeps the focus on the tones and tunes. The virtuosity led to relaxing, stylish mood music as the end result -- the very thing that came to define West Coast or "cool" jazz -- but this music is so inventive, it remains alluring even after its influence has been thoroughly absorbed into the mainstream." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com
Features:
Limited Edition 180g White Vinyl
Limited Edition Die-Cut Sleeve
Import
Musicians:
Miles Davis, trumpet
Kai Winding, trombone
J. J. Johnson, trombone
Junior Collins, French horn
Sandy Siegelstein, French horn
Gunther Schuller, French horn
Bill Barber, tuba
Lee Konitz, alto saxophone
Gerry Mulligan, baritone saxophone
Al Haig, piano
John Lewis, piano
Joe Shulman, bass
Nelson Boyd, bass
Al McKibbon, bass
Max Roach, drums
Kenny Clarke, drums
Selections:
Side 1:
1. Move
2. Jeru
3. Moondreams
4. Venus de Milo
5. Budo
6. Deception
Side 2:
1. Godchild
2. Boplicity
3. Rocker
4. Israel
5. Rouge
6. Darn That Dream
Compilation album by Miles Davis featuring notable jazz musicians Gerry Mulligan, John Lewis, and Lee Konitz as members of his nonet. These tracks are considered to be seminal in the history of cool jazz with their use of paired instrumentation.
"So dubbed because these three sessions -- two from early 1949, one from March 1950 -- are where the sound known as cool jazz essentially formed, Birth of the Cool remains one of the defining, pivotal moments in jazz. This is where the elasticity of bop was married with skillful, big-band arrangements and a relaxed, subdued mood that made it all seem easy, even at its most intricate. After all, there's a reason why this music was called cool; it has a hip, detached elegance, never getting too hot, even as the rhythms skip and jump. Indeed, the most remarkable thing about these sessions -- arranged by Gil Evans and featuring such heavy-hitters as Kai Winding, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, and Max Roach -- is that they sound intimate, as the nonet never pushes too hard, never sounds like the work of nine musicians. Furthermore, the group keeps things short and concise (probably the result of the running time of singles, but the results are the same), which keeps the focus on the tones and tunes. The virtuosity led to relaxing, stylish mood music as the end result -- the very thing that came to define West Coast or "cool" jazz -- but this music is so inventive, it remains alluring even after its influence has been thoroughly absorbed into the mainstream." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com
Features:
Limited Edition 180g White Vinyl
Limited Edition Die-Cut Sleeve
Import
Musicians:
Miles Davis, trumpet
Kai Winding, trombone
J. J. Johnson, trombone
Junior Collins, French horn
Sandy Siegelstein, French horn
Gunther Schuller, French horn
Bill Barber, tuba
Lee Konitz, alto saxophone
Gerry Mulligan, baritone saxophone
Al Haig, piano
John Lewis, piano
Joe Shulman, bass
Nelson Boyd, bass
Al McKibbon, bass
Max Roach, drums
Kenny Clarke, drums
Selections:
Side 1:
1. Move
2. Jeru
3. Moondreams
4. Venus de Milo
5. Budo
6. Deception
Side 2:
1. Godchild
2. Boplicity
3. Rocker
4. Israel
5. Rouge
6. Darn That Dream