From Bebop to Cool: 1947-1949

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A consistently interesting 20-song collection, From Bebop to Cool tracks the trumpeter's most significant early signposts. We start with three of the four cuts from Davis's first session as a leader in 1947, alongside boss and mentor Charlie Parker on tenor sax. Even though the date owes much to Parker's bop models, Davis is already showing a unique mindset. He's able to use the melodic and harmonic freedom created by bebop, but he tempers the unbridled technical outbursts characteristic of the style. Next are eight of the 12 landmark Capitol recordings generally grouped together as the Birth of the Cool sessions. With like-minded thinkers such as Gil Evans, Lee Konitz, and Gerry Mulligan, Davis extends his growing concepts of economy and restraint to include nonet arrangements featuring "odd" instruments, such as tuba and French horn. The ensemble pulls back on the reins a bit, mixing in elegance and craft with the spontaneity and excitement of bop. In many ways, this notion was almost as revolutionary as bop itself. The nine remaining quintet tracks were recorded at the 1949 Paris Festival International de Jazz, and it's as if the preceding developments had never happened! Miles is getting "back to his roots" in a way, wailing boldly and brightly like his idol, Dizzy Gillespie, and being spurred on by bop stalwarts James Moody on tenor, Tadd Dameron on piano, and Kenny Clarke on drums. --Marc Greilsamer

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