12) Miles Davis: 'The Birth Of The Cool'

Which definition of cool is most applicable to Miles Davis’s ‘Birth of The Cool’? Cool in the sense that it is composed and controlled? Cool that it is skilled and clever? Could it mean his style of playing was cool with a laid back approach? Maybe it even means cool in the way that people set trends which others then followed? The answer is, in fact, all of these definitions. He was undoubtedly one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century and a towering giant of jazz at the forefront of several major developments of the genre; such as bebop, hard bop, jazz fusion, and, to which we are concerned with here, cool jazz.

As the 1940s progressed and bebop became firmly established, it was clear that Miles simply couldn’t take on the established greats of bebop. Therefore Miles, along with arranger Gil Evans and his nonet, a group of nine musicians (you learn something new every day), began to head off into a new direction to counter against the aggressive tempos of bebop. Over the course of 1949 and 1950 Davis and his group recorded three LPs of twelve compositions which make up this compilation album, ‘The Birth of The Cool.

Cool jazz placed an emphasis upon texture and form, attempting to connect written parts with improvised ones. Similarly, cool jazz also featured unusual instrumentation such as a tuba and French horn along with the more traditional saxophones, trombone, piano, bass, drums, and, of course, trumpet. The arrangements were also inspired by classical music. All of this created a style of playing that was more akin to how Davis wanted to perform music, allowing him to create a rich tapestry of tones, texture, and harmony. The result was as the album suggests, the creation of cool jazz.

It's a welcome relief to see that this album contains no compositions over the four minute mark; they all hover around three minutes in length. Thankfully there are no endless solos and pushing of the 15 minute mark as many jazz albums do much to my annoyance at times. Davis’ trumpet solos are short, focused and emotional, as are all the solos actually. I was actually surprised to read that there were nine people playing these songs because it never sounds like it. The sound is intimate and never pushes too hard.

However, to say this album is ‘pure cool’ would be wrong. The tempo of opener ‘Move’ is anything but ‘cool’, in fact it could fit nicely onto any other bebop album of the time. However, the trumpet along with the other brass works well, its tight and the drumming is fantastic. ‘Budo’ also follows in a similar vain to the previous song. Apart from that though, the tempo is either middle paced or the ‘cool’ relaxed pace as the album suggests. ‘Jeru’ is one of the highlights with its great swinging drums, walking bass and trumpet snaking its way through this effortless number. In fact its when the swinging rhythms kick in that Davis and his band appear to be at their best. Other songs such as ‘Mood Dreams’ are great for creating spatial and atmospheric ballads. ‘Boplicity’ is another highlight of this album again with a great swinging melody. Rather bizarrely though, Davis composed this under a pseudonym, Cleo Henry, for this track alone and was never to use the name again. The rest of the songs on this album are solid and continue within the theme, the only exception is ‘Darn that Dream’ which features vocals. Not in itself a bad thing, but it just feels a little out of place on this album. Take this away and we have eleven solid tracks here.

I can completely appreciate the timelessness as well as the quality of this album. There is nothing not to like about this album. It could be played at any time simply as background music or one could study every single note and intricate detail contained within. It’s varied enough to not be monotonous but also not too varied as to lose the whole theme of coolness. 'The Birth of The Cool' will probably not be my favorite album of Miles Davis as there are still more classics to come which excite me even more. However, ‘The Birth Of The Cool’ is a perfect example of how something can be created which is new yet timeless. All hail the coolness of Miles Davis.

11) Sabu: 'Palo Congo'

I’m just glad there is some respite from listening to another jazz album! Actually I had been highly anticipating Sabu’s ‘Palo Congo’. Not only does it contain percussion as the propelling and dominant force; it also fuses African and Cuban influences. I have always found it rather amusing how Western society, with its pop bands lip-syncing their way through an auto-tuned computer-composed version of some cheesy pop classic, has the audacity to refer to African music as primitive. The beats and rhythms of African music are anything but, being both intricate and highly complex. This album therefore, on paper at least, contains the necessary elements for something quite amazing.

Born Louis Martinez in 1930, he was one of the most prolific conga players in Afro-Cuban music. The door had been opened for him by Chano Pozo who put Afro-Cuban drums firmly into jazz recordings during the 1940s. Martinez was himself inspired by some of the early jazz greats which culminated with him playing in Gillespie’s band in 1948. It was he who gave Martinez the nickname ‘Sabu’ which he was to use henceforth. Sabu remained a high-in-demand session player throughout the 1940s ad 1950s but faded into a drug induced haze in the late 1950s. Fortunately, he bounced back in 1957 with a run of three classic albums, Palo Congo was one of them. It is hailed as an Afro-Cuban masterpiece, a link between jazz, traditional African beats, and modern Cuban music.

‘Palo Congo’ was Sabu’s debut offering as leader and melded together what is essentially a percussionists album except for bass (Evaristo Baro) and Cuban Tres (Arsenio Rodriguez). Add to that some singing and chanting and we have the entire ingredients for the entire eight songs on this album.

Right from the outset it is obvious that this really needs to be listened to on one of those steaming hot summer days, a Mojito lightly cupped in one hand while the other gently cradles a Havana cigar with the smoke slowly rising into the afternoon sky. Instead I am listening to this on a cold and damp autumn morning frantically making my way to the train station. Anyway, this album can really be split into two sections. The first of which is the more fast paced Latin orientated sound. Tracks such as the fantastic opener ‘El Cumbanchero’ contains a simple, yet catchy, melody which gets the toes tapping and instantly brings a smile to the face. ‘Choferito’ showcases the great guitar work and a nice shuffling beat driven by tight harmonizing vocals. Similarly, ‘Tribilin Cantore’ appears perfect for driving along the coast on a hot summers day in an old 1950s Cadillac .

The second part of the album is certainly more African orientated with a more raw and wild feel to it. Indeed, it would not be too out of place to say that it feels like one has stumbled upon a tribe of elders in the African plains chanting and dancing happily around a campfire. Tracks such as Billumba’ and ‘Asabache’ and Aggo Eleuga’ demonstrate this perfectly. If nothing else, the musicians are clearly having the time of their life playing these songs, the passion is admirable. The best two tracks on this album have to be ‘Simba’ and ‘Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso’. The interplay between the percussion, cowbells, and guitar are awesome and the latter tracks fast and exciting pace are great highlights here.

In conclusion there is certainly nothing inherently bad about this album, indeed there are some pleasant moments here. Yet, there is nothing which is particularly inspiring here. May of the tracks go on for rather longer than they really should do; maybe that has something to do with the simple phrases being constantly repeated. I have certainly heard a lot more Latin music which commands more attention than 'Palo Congo'. I almost get the feeling of, ‘Is that it?’ after finishing this album. Why it appears on an essential listening list remains a mystery to me; there is obviously something I am missing. In 1967, Sabu emigrated to Sweden with his wife never to return to the USA again. I fear a similar fate for this album in 2010, it will emigrate to the doldrums of my hard drive never to heard from again.

Stand-out Tracks: 'El Cumbanchero', 'Simba', 'Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso'

Rating: 5/10

10) Thelonious Monk: 'Brilliant Corners'

Thelonious Monk is to jazz what Brian Wilson is to 1960s pop music, i.e. a musical genius. Not only did they push and shape the direction of their genres to the extent of defining them; they also both suffered from bi-polar disorder which was part responsible for their creativity and idiosyncrasies. If truth be told, I had never even heard of Thelonious Monk prior to this. Even as unfamiliar I am with jazz I had heard of some of the greats; such as Ellington and Basie. However, I was surprised to discover Monk was also considered one of the greatest jazz musicians to have lived. My ignorance is partially due to the fact that Monk’s particular sub-group of jazz, bebop (or to give it its accurate label of hard bop) is something I am entirely unacquainted with. I am officially a fish out of water here.

Growing up in New York in the early twentieth century, Monk tried hard to carve his own niche in the jazz community. By joining the bebop scene he did just that but was by no means successful, he was seen as eccentric and remained unpopular at first. Indeed, his techniques were so unique that he was considered inferior to his contemporaries. Suddenly, however, in the mid 1950s he was proclaimed a genius and held that status for the rest of his career.

Monk was important because he created his own world of music with its own rules and logic. As a performer he was very animated and quite the showman, yet it was his style of playing rather than his personality which was of most relevance. So advanced were his compositions that he was often considered crazy. Now many of these songs are played as jazz standards. He gave jazz a fresh and modern feel and along with his quintet of more than able musicians; pushed the boundaries of jazz musically.

‘Brilliant Corners’ is fast, highly complex, and difficult to appreciate at times but is a classic bebop album nonetheless. Jazz often has the wonderful oxymoron of ‘organized sloppiness’ thrown its way and it actually seems to fit perfectly to ‘Brilliant Corners’. It’s impossible to imagine how Monk sat down and thought about the overall concept and structure for this album; yet beneath the chaos there is certainly structure among the skewed melodies and truncated rhythms.

The complexity of this album is noted by the fact that its title track was spliced together from twelve incomplete takes from some of the best musicians around. The overall sound is almost jarring at to listen to at times. This is not helped by Monks use of chromatic and Lydian scales (as with a lot of jazz musicians) which basically give the impression that Monk doesn’t quite know how to play the piano, it sounds out of tune. Yet to say this is to say Picasso wasn’t much of an artist.

The album consists of only 5 pieces but is almost 45 minutes in length. It really doesn’t help that the rhythms are constantly changing; it’s really not easy to listen to. Opening track ‘Brilliant Corners’ is built around stuttered rhythms, piano and punctuated horns. It’s almost a bit too overwhelming to be honest. ‘Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues’ is a blues composition where each of the players takes it in turn to perform a solo in this thirteen minute Magnus-Opus. With it being this long, it is impossible not to lose interest, my mind always starts to wander half-way through. ‘Pannonica’ is probably the only accessible track on this album. It also sees Monk play celeste and piano at the same time, impressive in itself, and a melody that is actually memorable. Its unusual combination of instruments also gives it a rather unusual and memorable quality than others. The album concludes with ‘I Surrender, Dear’ and ‘Bemsha Swing’ with even more complex chord progressions.

Overall, I can understand and appreciate the importance of this album. However, bebop is really not for me. I know from playing jazz that it commands the utmost skill. To play jazz is amazing; to simply listen to it for pleasure, not so much. This kind of music commands full attention and I can’t help but let my mind wander at times when listening to this. Just as I can appreciate a great painting or great architecture, it’s great to see, or listen to in this case, but not something I would want to revisit anytime soon.

Standout Tracks: 'Pannonica'

Rating: 6/10