Product Details

* Audio CD (May 19, 1998)
* Original Release Date: May 19, 1998
* Number of Discs: 1
* Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
* Label: Blue Note Records
* Catalog Number: 94550
* ASIN: B000006Q6B
* Average Customer Review: based on 23 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,690 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #12,677 in Music

Listen to Samples
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1. Move Listen Listen
2. Jeru Listen Listen
3. Moon Dreams Listen Listen
4. Venus De Milo Listen Listen
5. Budo Listen Listen
6. Deception Listen
7. Godchild Listen
8. Boplicity Listen
9. Rocker Listen
10. Israel Listen
11. Rouge Listen
12. Darn That Dream Listen
13. Birth Of The Cool Theme Listen
14. Symphony Sid Announces The Band Listen
15. Move Listen
16. Why Do I Love You Listen
17. Godchild Listen
18. Symphony Sid Introduction Listen
19. S'il Vous Plait Listen
20. Moon Dreams Listen
See all 25 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Birth of the Cool is the first important leader date from Miles Davis, one of jazz's most seminal figures and farsighted practitioners. Having made his reputation in large measure from playing with bop giant Charlie Parker, Davis confounded expectations when he embraced the "cool" arranging style of Gil Evans, an arranger for Claude Thornhill's band. Evans, who was employing unique voicings by adding French horns and tuba to Thornhill's instrumentations, also emphasized a diminished use of vibrato in both reeds and brass, producing a drier, "cool" sound. Two of Evans's arrangements, "Boplicity" and "Moon Dreams," appear on the album. Also involved are baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, who contributed such outstanding tunes as "Jeru" and "Venus de Milo," and Modern Jazz Quartet pianist John Lewis. The result is a date that has withstood the tests of time, fashion, and Davis's own extraordinary growth as a performer. An enhanced set, The Complete Birth of the Cool expands the original issue with previously bootlegged live recordings of Davis's nonet at the Royal Roost in New York in 1948. Although the sound quality is far from perfect, the performances are remarkable, and worth the additional expense for the serious fan. --Fred Goodman ( )