Customer Reviews

The Complete Birth of the Cool

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The Birth of Cool album is the most important album of Davis' earlier works. This album is important for two reasons, one being that this is Davis' first widely noticed album as a leader of a group. The second reason is that this is the album that created the "cool" style of jazz. The remastered edition of The Birth of Cool sounds fresh today, and the band seems to work really well together. This album also showcases the first time that Miles and Gil Evans created an album together, which they would repeat to their success many times. The added live recordings aren't of the best quality, but the quality isn't exactly bad either. This is a very important landmark for Miles Davis, and I recommend fans pick up this album which is probably the most important of his earliest work.

For all their brilliance, the majority of the classic bebop recordings of the mid-late 1940s (by Charlie Parker and his peers) moved along at brisk tempos that made it a little difficult for such modernistic yet lyrical players as Miles Davis to assert their identities and reach their potential.

In what would become a commonplace routine throughout his career, with these 1949-50 BIRTH OF THE COOL sessions Miles revamped his musical surroundings--in this case bebop--to fit his unique trumpet sound. Here Davis usually slowed down the tempo and tended to add more impressionistic colorations...via an expanded, mid-sized ensemble with arrangements by Gil Evans and others. At the same time, Miles retained the advanced harmonic lessons he'd learned from the likes of Parker, Gillespie, and Monk. What Davis sacrificed in velocity he recovered in emotive depth and nuance. These strengths would be further defined--and redefined--by Miles in the coming decades.

The results can be looked at in at least two ways. One, there is a sense that Miles reached his first aesthetic peak here. Secondly--in light of his later habitual strokes of genius--Davis' later music built significantly on what he accomplished here, while never copying these records. To put it another way, these BIRTH OF THE COOL recordings are stand-alone jazz classics. At the same time, in many ways they only hint at Davis' future successes.

In his professional life, Miles Davis was an agent of change and a permanent self critic. Also, he would always surround himself of the best possible musicians (he said, "I'm hiring a [musician] to play, not for what color he is") to help in materializing his musical vision. Leaving behind the enviable position of musical director of Charlie Parker's group, Miles assembled a nonet (several of its members coming from the ranks of Claude Thornhill's Orchestra), Gerry Mulligan and John Lewis among them, and with their help gave birth to the new sound in jazz at the time: the Cool, an attempt to sound like a big band with a significantly smaller ensemble (a nonet, in this case), by means of a collective writing approach.

The album, recorded throughout three sessions between January of 1949 and March of 1950, marked the beginning of a series of outstanding works of Miles along with musical mentor and genius arranger Gil Evans. Its slower and softer sound resonated throughout the jazz world, taking jazz to a new level and influencing musicians all over the place, mostly in California it would help give shape to a mellow sound that would later be called West Coast Jazz (Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, etc.)

It is hard to pick favorite tracks in such a brilliant production. Four different arrangers and a rich assortment of composers, from Davis and Evans, to Mulligan, Lewis, Bud Powell and several others, along with the assorted lineup of musicians (only Davis in trumpet and lead, Mulligan in baritone, Lee Konitz in alto, and John Barber in Tuba were part of all three recording sessions) allow the careful listener to see tunes from a number of different points of view. For example, how does a pianoless Gerry Muligan tune sounds like ("Rocker"), how does a song arranged by John Lewis sound like when it's also a composition of his ("Rouge") as opposed to when it's someone else's ("Move") or how does Max Roach sound on drums with a bunch of other musicians vs. how does Kenny Clarke sound with the same (well, almost) bunch of guys.

There are so many possibilities to the album that the best favor you can do to yourself is to get it and incorporate it into your musical collection and language from now on. This version (The COMPLETE Birth of the Cool) is a bit more expensive than it's "incomplete" counterpart, but it carries live versions of a number of the studio tracks, something of a rarity, considering the nonet did a very small number of live dates.

The music on this CD was recorded in 1949/50, but acquired its famous album title only retrospectively, in 1957. As a jazz term, 'cool' means something more specific than the vague, all-purpose adjective-noun it has since become. It came to particular prominence in the 1950s to describe a more cerebral, less impassioned way of playing jazz. It's generally supposed that these sessions were part of the inspiration for the 'cool school' of jazz.which flourished especially on the West Coast in the 1950s. That's possibly the main reason for the historical importance of the 'Birth of the Cool' sessions and the album may therefore be of more appeal to those interested in the historical development of jazz than to listeners who merely enjoy Miles's own playing.

The historical interest centres primarily on these pieces as examples of jazz composition and arrangement. Along with the work of composer-arranger Tadd Dameron and some of Gil Evans's arranging for the Claude Thornhill Band, these scores were innovative in adapting the procedures of 'Be-Bop' to orchestrated jazz and in the ways in which they deployed the instruments of the nine-piece band, which included, unusually, French horn and tuba alongside trumpet, trombone and alto and baritone saxes. They skilfully exploit the variety of timbres and tone colours to create a sound suggestive of a larger band. This is especially true of Evans's pieces, which show his interest in rich, unusual and shifting chord voicings, although Mulligan's more ingenious arrangements also create some full-sounding, inventive passages. There's a brilliant moment in Evans's arrangement of 'Boplicity' when, within the space of just a few bars, a thematic figure spreads through the instrumentation with a kind of 'rippling' effect as a bridging section between Mulligan's and Miles's solos. It is inspired scoring in its own right, but it also seems to anticipate in miniature some of what Evans was later to do with larger jazz orchestras. His slow ballad arrangement, 'Moondreams', makes use of a favourite Evans technique of varying the chord voicings for different sections of a composition, to give the piece a sense of variety and continuous development. In the final bars he also employs a kind of 'impressionist' technique when the music seems to dissolve into little asymmetrical fragments of melody and rhythm before resolving itself in a brief, quiet coda.

Some of the other tracks - like John Lewis's arrangement of the up-tempo, 'Move' - are entertaining as scaled-down 'big-band' performances without being as strikingly original as Evans's scores. John Carisi's contribution, 'Israel', is one of the most adventurous themes on the album, seeming to point a way forward from 'Be-Bop' to a more advanced harmonic style, but doing so by means of a skilful variation on one of jazz's most 'traditional' forms, the 12-bar blues. It may be that Gerry Mulligan's arrangements tend to be underrated by comparison with Evans's - perhaps because they sound more influenced by the styles and procedures of mainstream jazz. But his scores have their innovative touches, like the rhythmic and harmonic 'dislocation' he gives to the middle-eight section of 'Jeru'. In their own right they are characterful, enjoyable pieces, and since he contributed most of the arrangements he was a major factor in the success of the album and its subsequent influence. He contributes an interesting reminiscence of the sessions as an addition to the liner notes.

Another interesting 'historical' dimension of Birth of the Cool is the collaboration of three composer-musicians who in the 1950s went on to make major contributions to modern jazz through their subsequent individual projects: Lewis with the Modern Jazz Quartet, Mulligan with his pianoless quartets and Concert Jazz Band, and Evans with his later collaborations with Miles and others.

This was, I believe, Miles's first album under his own name; but it's his early-fifties small-group sessions that best document his progress as a jazz improviser, particularly those which produced such classics as "Walkin", "Bemsha Swing" and "Bags' Groove" - as well as a series of fine ballad performances (there is little ballad playing on this album). Arguably, Miles had been a 'cool' musician from the start of his career with Charlie Parker. If so, these sessions can be seen as part of a process (begun during his time with Parker) of his adapting the 'hot' medium of Be-Bop to his own stylistic purposes. However, the liner note argues a contrary view: that Miles could not really be categorised as a 'cool' player. For me, Miles's improvised solos here are less interesting than his later work was to become, when the overt expression of feeling had became more prominent in his music. He was some way from developing that individual sound, with its brooding 'flat' tonality and emotive colouring, which from the late 1950s was to make him one of the most immediately identifiable soloists in jazz. An additional limitation is that the soloists were restricted to very short solos, so that one of the strengths in Miles's later music - his ability to 'build' an improvisation over two or more choruses - was not possible in these sessions. Nevertheless, there are some well-constructed solos from Miles, especially on "Jeru", "Godchild" and "Rocker", suggesting that the need for brevity encouraged him to make short solos as structured and 'eventful' as he could.

So, historically significant though it is, Birth of the Cool won't necessarily appeal to those who have discovered Miles's music via Kind of Blue, Milestones, Sketches of Spain, etc. Less immediate in its appeal than that later work, it is perhaps music that you have to 'learn to like' - though maybe that's generally true of modern jazz.

The more devoted of Miles's fans will welcome the inclusion, on this 'complete edition', of the live, 'Royal Roost' performances by the band. As they were 'unofficial' recordings of radio broadcasts, the sound is not as good as on the studio sessions, but some of the playing has more vitality.

The Birth of the Cool is simply great music. It is amazing that this group of brilliant and inspired musicians found each other, developed this sound and made these recordings at the same time that they were finding their own identities.

I have listened to this music for a couple of decades, and been complacent about it as one of "the classics", I think because the studio tracks are so perfect, polished and mature sounding. It's like seeing the photos of climbers on the summit of Everest without any hint of what it took to get there. Hearing the live sessions that were added to the Complete Birth of the Cool really cracked my shell open.

My first reaction to the live sessions was discomfort -- the heads are basically the same arrangements, but much of it sounds more like be-bop. It was an exploration (not the only one at the time) but had not yet totally clicked. These tracks are definitely worth having for their own merit, for the 40's ambience, for some great solos, and just because so little of this music exists. Most of all it is because they throw the studio tracks into three dimensions, to hear where they came from, and appreciate the true magic of the Capitol studio sessions.

The remastering of the studio sessions sounds great and it is easier to hear the textures and distinguish what each instrument is playing in the ensemble passages, where many of the harmonies are also nice melodies in their own right.

Thanks especially to Phil Schaap for his years of dedication and for passing on these goodies to us average mortals.

This is a real treat for any Miles Davis fan who wants to hear some of Miles's Earlier work. This Deluxe Editon of Mile's now-classic "Birth Of The Cool" sessions not only includes all of the songs the Nonet recorded for Capitol, but also includes a live set at the Royal Roost. This gives this particular collection a great deal of worth, since Birth Of The Cool by itself is a legendary album, but with the bonus material, it is a necessary part of any jazz collection.

The songs are fantastic; my favourites being Venus De Milo and Boplicity. The sound quality of the recording is fair, but not fantastic. This cannot really be helped seeing that is album is over 50 years old, and the technology at the time was quite poor.

This Collection to me is does not contain Miles's best work by far. He and Gil Evans (the arranger of many of the songs on the album) would produce some great collections in later years and Miles's work with his first and second quintets is far more exciting. This album should instead be viewed as a HISTORICAL piece as well as an album. It was a start for a leader who would become one of the greatest jazz artists of all time.

Veering away momentarly from the small combos of Charlie Parker that led him to his first taste of stardom, Miles davis, as he always did, followed his muse to Gil Evans, who helped Miles change jazz with these classic nonet recordings.

The tracks are sophisticated, yet still easily accessable for the average fan. The group, with Lee Konitz, Gerry Mulligan, John Lewis, JJ Johnson, Kenny Clarke and others, would help define not only large group jazz, but, in the case of Konitz and Mulligan, also help to form the West Coast jazz scene, and with Lewis and Clarke, would form the original Modern Jazz Quartet.

This lp is priceless on many sonic and historical levels, and therefore is a must have in any jazz collection. While not the absolute best Miles had to offer, this lp shows that even at his very young age, Miles was something special, and foreshadows the greatness to come.

This album is awesome and was the first solo album by Miles Davis(1926-1991). In 1948, Miles left bebop pianeer Charlie Parker to form his own style of jazz and along with Gil Evans(1912-1988) formed a famous nonet featuring the legedary drummer Max Roach. The album was recorded from 1949-1950 but since the jazz audience didn't really "get" this new form in a time when Bebop ruled the jazz clubs and, more importantly, the record sales, the album wasn't released by Capital Records until 1957, after Miles' famous performance at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival and the release of his 5 classic "first great quintet" recordings(John Coltrane(1926-1967)-Tenor Sax, Red Garland-Piano, Paul Chambers-Bass, and "Philly" Joe Jones(1923-1985) on drums), 4 from Prestige Records-Workin', Steamin', Relaxin', and Cookin' w/ the Miles Davis Quintet, and one from Columbia, the classic 'Round About Midnight. This album is very important in the evolution of modern jazz and this version of the album is made even better with the very rare bootlegged live material from New York's Royal Roost in September, 1948. Unlike the vocal song recorded in 1962 released on the classic second great quintet album, Sorcerer(1967), the vocal on this album is actually sung very well by Kenny Hawgood, I believe, on the song "Darn that Dream." I recommend this album to newcomers and fans of Miles Davis alike, but to those who are just getting into the great world of jazz and consider this one too big a leap, may I suggest the great jazz/fusion trio of recordings(In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, and Tribute to Jack Johnson) or the second great quintet(Wayne Shorter-tenor sax, Herbie Hancock-piano, Ron Carter-bass, and the late Great Tony Williams(1945-1997) on drums) or if you want the tried and true sextet classic, go straight to the 1959 jazz landmark, Kind of Blue.

The other version of this available on Amazon, single CD is a newer remaster from 2000 instead of 1998. Even though this version includes a 2nd CD of live tracks, if you prefer the best studio recording you can get, I recommend the other one. That's not to say this one is bad though.

Also, this version has talking on the live CD. While that's nice from a historical perspective, it does take you out of the music.

Note this is a mono recording, not stereo.

Ahh, Birth of the Cool has just gotten a facelift. There are extra live tracks on it which gives it a great perspective and gives you insight on the 2 dimensions of the Miles Davis Nonet, live and in the studio. This is one of Miles Davis' greatest and most influential recordings and started modern jazz as we know it and was very new for that time since the only type of jazz then was swing and hard bebop. This is definately an essential Miles Davis album This gem is pretty much the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for jazz and most of it still sounds fresh today because it certainly is in most jazz reportoirs. 'Nuff said.