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.
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