The ‘kin way in!
(If you’ve gorrit already, go dig it aaaaaaaat again)

OW! It’s only a short matter of time when we’re chatting Jazz and classic Jazz albums before we’re gonna hit somethin led by Miles. He’s always there, putting his tuppence worth into Jazz revolutions, and though i’m not into fantastical statements about an albums “impact” on music or a social movement, this group and it’s collection of material is important.

Miles Davis: Birth Of The Cool (1949-1950)

1.Move
2.Jeru
3.Moon Dreams
4.Venus De Milo
5.Budo
6.Deception
7.Godchild
8.Boplicity
9.Rocker
10.Israel
11.Rouge
12.Darn That Dream

Collective personnel over the three recording dates:

Trumpet: Miles Davis
Trombone: Kai Winding, JJ Johnson,
French Horn: Junior Collins, Sandy Siegelstein, Gunther Schuller
Tuba: John Barber
Alto Sax: Lee Konitz
Baritone Sax: Gerry Mulligan
Piano: Al Haig, John Lewis
Bass: Joe Schulman, Nelson Boyd, Al McKibbon
Drums: Max Roach, Kenny Clarke
Vocal: Kenny Hagood
Arr: Gerry Mulligan, Gil Evans, John Lewis, John Carisi

Look at that line-up. Hawt! So, yeh in a nutshell, Miles started potterin abaaat in 1947 with somethin a bit bigger than the regular bebop groups he was playing with (Charlie Parker etc), inspired and influenced by Gil Evans’ arrangements. He got some tunes and players together for some gigs, but as usual, the public didn’t warm quickly to musical advances, so the Nonet didn’t play much. Massive thanks to a bloke at Capitol records, they managed to put some stuff daaan in the studio over three dates- two in 1949, and one in 1950, and tracks were released as singles over the next few years. It was only in 1957 when Cool Jazz had really taken off that the instrumental tracks listed above were made into an album and finally acknowledged as being the “Birth Of The Cool”.
          Now, “Cool Jazz”, not to be confused with “Smooth Jazz”- the type of crap you’ll hear on “Jazz” radio stations, is coined as Cool not because it’s emotionless, but because compared to it’s immediate predecessor “bebop”, it’s more chilled aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat. There’s more emphasis on the brains behind the sound, e.g tunes and arrangements which are often through composed, and innovative forms, making even the quicker tunes seem laid back. When you hear it you’ll know, “Birth Of The Cool” would’ve sounded cool in the 50’s cos of what it was following, but I swear man, even after all the developments in music since, this album is hip (Daddio).
         Almost all arranged for Nonet, the lines and accompaniments are beautifully textured, and the short track lengths and composed passages leave just enough space for the soloist to drop in and out, keeping self indulgence to a minimum. What I like about this and the other albums we’ve checked is the symmetry thing. Instead of building in intensity, we get to Godchild and Boplicity which define cool. I reckon the first track’s still gripping onto bebop and sounds a bit clumsy, so track two is where the magic starts for me. Then if you get carried away in dreamland pretending yer at Newport Jazz festival in the late 50’s or somethin, the crazy wartime-style vocals on the last track bring you back to where Jazz was kinda still at. Keep in mind, bebop was still relatively fresh in 1949, so Davis was puttin the cool daaaan asap. Of course these guys still played bebop after the cool sessions, but this album was planting the future. Good on you Davis and co!

Best listened to: Publicly in a ‘kin park on a sunny afternoon with yer mayyyytes. Preferably St Peters park in Little Eaton, on Carnival day- Saturday 5th July