When I set out to write a piece on Birth of the Cool, I soon realized with great dread how unprepared I was. What did I know about the history of jazz up to that point? Hardly anything. I thus took a deep dive into the depths of jazz, looking into the swing and hot jazz of the earliest days, and then up through the bebop era of the late 30s and 40s, finally finishing off with the development of cool jazz and hard bop in the early 50s. At that moment, I realized that writing a post on Birth of the Cool was utter folly, and my focus should be on the history of jazz up to Miles Davis’ career high points. And so that’s what I did; and so that’s what the previous blog is about. And yet. Birth of the Cool is just so wonderful. I originally thought I would simply mention it in the last post as a way to get into jazz, since it’s not technically an album, but still essential to the history. And yet. It just captivated me to a certain extent. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I have now forsaken all music for cool jazz at this point, but listening to this, I could not help but feel that at least 894 words were in me to describe what I find so special about this.

If you’ve read my previous post, then you know the history and background behind Birth of the Cool. Davis, as well as Gil Evans and several other musicians, had been steadily brewing a strange new concoction in order to advance jazz farther. Bebop was then popular among jazz musicians, but the wild, over-the-top, extended soloing was beginning to wear thin on these particular musicians. Turning to a more classical approach, Evans and Davis developed several composed pieces to be played by a nonet, including non-standard instruments such as the tuba and French horn. Rather than the typical bebop pattern – play the standard, each musician gets a long, complex solo, return to the standard – these were composed “wall to wall” as it were, with several sections of the band playing themes and counterpoints, in A parts and B parts, expositions and developments throughout each song. That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of room for incredibly talented soloing – but the distinction between solo and theme is not nearly as clear on these tracks. When Davis has a trumpet solo to play by himself, sometimes he’ll just be backed by the rhythm section, and then the rest of the brass and woodwinds will come in to play accompaniment too, and then part of the solo will join the accompaniment, forming a whole orchestra for a second before the trumpet breaks free again. It’s all quite thrilling to listen too, and while most of the recordings are brief (the compilation as a whole clocks in at a very brief thirty-two minutes), they are filled with complexities and nuances that make themselves known on multiple listens.

Most of the tracks on this record anticipate future developments in jazz by taking down the tempo. Some time before, musicians like Charlie Parker and Dizzie Gillespie were amping up their tempos to extremes – Davis’ nonet puts the cool in “cool jazz” by playing several down or mid-tempo numbers. A lot of these pieces imitate the big-band spirit of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. Standout track “Jeru”, as well as “Venus de Milo” and “Israel” have a wonderful, mid-tempo swing feel, while keeping the harmonies and themes complex and drawn out. That’s not to say that the album is all slow and serious – opening track “Move,” and “Rocker” are, as the names may imply, high speed bonanzas, while “Moon Dreams” is by far the slowest track on the record. There’s an awful lot in which to get immersed, to listen again and again for the nuanced arrangements, combined with each soloist’s fantastic inventions. The partnership between Davis and Evans for these recordings was so successful that they would continue to work together throughout the years, and we’ll be coming back to them in due time.

Birth of the Cool is a short record. Most jazz recordings were short at the time, even bebop, although the much longer recordings (more similar to as these songs are played live) were soon to be in style. Even so, despite it’s short runtime, Birth of the Cool can still be hard to digest for those unfamiliar with jazz. It’s complicated, innovative, and very subtle most of the time. It’s an extremely unconventional collection that didn’t see release for seven years after the recording sessions were completed. Nevertheless, it’s important to listen to, as this this compilation of recordings captures a snapshot in the post-WWII jazz scene, a snapshot that marked the development of new advancements in the art of jazz…and the increasing velocity of the career of Miles Davis, who may well be the most influential jazz musician of his era – and maybe ours too. Davis, a Julliard dropout and talented composer and player, probably is most responsible for forming the popular conception of jazz today as most people know it around the world. And this is the moment when that genius mind began to turn and point jazz in new, uncharted directions, as it would continue to do so for years to come.