mark anson music
 Location:  Home» Music » Bargain CDs » Birth of The Cool  
Subcategories
Bargain CDs
Budget

Birth of The Cool

Birth of The Cool

enlarge enlarge 

Other Views:
Artist: Miles Davis
Label: Capitol Jazz
Category: Music

List Price: £4.99
Buy New: £3.45
You Save: £1.54 (31%)



New (39) Used (7) Collectible (1) from £2.71

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 4 reviews
Sales Rank: 411

Format: Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 5 x 0.4

MPN: 30117
UPC: 724353011727
EAN: 0724353011727
ASIN: B00005614M

Release Date: January 8, 2001
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Immediate despatch from our UK store

Tracks:

  • Move
  • Jeru
  • Moon Dreams
  • Venus De Milo
  • Budo
  • Deception
  • Godchild
  • Boplicity
  • Rocker
  • Israel
  • Rouge
  • Darn That Dream

Similar Items:

  • Kind of Blue
  • Somethin' Else: Remastered
  • Sketches of Spain
  • Blue Train: Rudy Van Gelder Remaster
  • Milestones

Editorial Reviews:

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:

2 out of 5 stars Caution   July 15, 2007
C. Carswell (UK)
3 out of 11 found this review helpful

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


5 out of 5 stars Not many better starts to jazz than this   November 26, 2004
Martin Lowe (England)
28 out of 28 found this review helpful

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.


5 out of 5 stars Cool and Blue   September 11, 2001
15 out of 20 found this review helpful

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"


5 out of 5 stars And a genius is born...   April 28, 2001
13 out of 23 found this review helpful

This is where it all starts, people. You have to hear this stuff. If the only jazz CD you've ever heard of is 'Kind Of Blue', for my money this has a little more bite to it - oooh controversial. Still great though.

Powered by Associate-O-Matic