Track Listing

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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2481 in Music
• Released on: 2001-01-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Amazon.co.uk Review
Many thought that Miles Davis's contributions to Charlie Parker's mid-1940s bebop quintet were insignificant if not disastrous, but his promise became clear on the 1949-50 nonet sides which were collected on LP in 1957 as Birth Of The Cool. If bop's breakneck tempos had caught the young trumpeter unprepared, he flourished in the more relaxed environments of such as "Jeru" and "Israel", maximising the lyricism which became the hallmark of his style. The credit must be shared, however: Miles was part of a group of young experimenters in which Gil Evans, previously noted for his impressionistic arrangements for Claude Thornhill, was a prominent voice. Hence flowing solos from Miles and alto saxophonist Lee Konitz are underpinned by detailed, multi-dimensional writing from Evans, Gerry Mulligan and John Carisi which is more intriguing than the improvisations. Kind Of Blue from 1959 is doubtless a Miles essential, but this set offers a broader sonic experience. The group's nine instruments--unusually for the time including French horn and tuba--are deployed with great craft to create rich, mobile tapestries of tone, texture and harmony. No sound like this had been heard before in jazz, and the rarefied yet vigorous mood it set floated through the collective consciousness of jazz in the ensuing years. There have been several CD editions of these sessions, but this is the first to be drawn from the original 78 tapes rather than the LP master. With transfers by Rudy Van Gelder, the result is a new freshness in music which in some respects still sounds like it could have been written yesterday. --Mark Gilbert

Customer Reviews

Caution
I own several of MD's album - my personal favourite being Sketches of Spain. This album, which is rather dull, I made the mistake of buying on the basis of the track Rocker on a compilation. It's dificult to describe, but to me the sound is too undifferenciated to let the melodies and tune speak. It is an ambient album. Pleasant, but doesn't set the blood racing. Instead, buy in A Silent Way, Sketches... or Kind of Blue.....Or better yet by the Best of Blue Note Comp' - not a duff track on it

Not many better starts to jazz than this
If you're new to jazz, you can easily be swayed away from the genre by stuff that sounds like a tray of dropped cutlery.

This, however, is a sheer joy to listen to - whether dipping a tentative toe into the ocean that is jazz, or if your beard smells of real ale and your favourite chords are augumented thirteenths.

The remarkable consensus amongst critics that this is one of the finest jazz albums made goes to show how strong it is. It is a major achievement that even jazz critics can't be snobbish about this - a groundbreaking record made in 1949 that still sounds fresh.

Buy - you will not be disappointed.

Cool and Blue
The cool ooozes out of this great Miles classic. Surely, together with Kind of Blue, a must have...

And if you liked this one, check out Gerry Mulligan's "Rebirth of cool"