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'COOL' MILES DAVIS CAPITOL JAZZ 78 FROM 1950
Here's a fine Miles Davis Capitol jazz 78 from around 1950,
a part of the historic Birth Of The Cool sessions.
We'll let the All Music Guide have the last word on these
sessions…
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.
We heard Boplicity on the June 25/07 All
Jazz All 78s edition of RRR.
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