Home » Jazz Articles » Radio & Podcasts » Miles and Friends - The “Birth” of the Cool (1947 - 1950)

3

Miles and Friends - The “Birth” of the Cool (1947 - 1950)

Click the play button to listen

The torrid pace of bebop improvisations reached a point in the late 1940s that prompted a musical reconsideration and Miles Davis was there at the conception. Davis had been with the Charlie Parker Quintet since 1945, when he began to woodshed with composer/arrangers John Lewis, Gerry Mulligan and Gil Evans, all of whom would become major long-time contributors to the music. In three recording sessions starting in January 1949, this arrangers super-group created a body of music which, when rereleased at the beginning of the LP era, was known as the "Birth of the Cool."

Playlist

  • Host Intro 0:00
  • Miles Davis All Stars. "Milestones" from Bebop Story: Vol. 063, Miles Davis Vol. 1 (Encyclopedia of Jazz) 2:25
  • Host speaks 5:00
  • Miles Davis Nonet. "Moon Dreams" from Norton Collection of Jazz Recordings (Norton) 8:25
  • Miles Davis Nonet. "Rocker" from Birth of the Cool (Blue Note) 11:44
  • Host speaks 14:46
  • Miles Davis Nonet. "Boplicity" from Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz (Smithsonian) 15:02
  • Host speaks 18:00
  • Gerry Mulligan Quartet. "Line for Lyons" from The Gerry Mulligan Quartet. (Pacific Jazz) 24:04
  • Gerry Mulligan Quartet. "Walkin' Shoes" from The Gerry Mulligan Quartet (Pacific Jazz) 26:34
  • Host speaks 29:43
  • Modern Jazz Quartet. "All the Thing You Are" from The Norton Jazz Collection (Norton) 31:44
  • Host speaks 34:58
  • Modern Jazz Quartet. "Django" from Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz (Smithsonian) 35:58
  • Host speaks 41:23
  • J.J. Johnson Sextet. "Sketch One" from The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson (Blue Note) 44:09
  • JJ Johnson -Kai Winding Quintet. "Reflections" from Jay and Kai. (Savoy) 48:34
  • Host speaks 52:45
  • Gil Evans Orchestra. "I Don't Wanna Be Kissed (By Anyone But You)" from Miles Ahead (Columbia) 53:55
  • Host Outro 56:55

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

Radio & Podcasts


Tune in daily to hear the internet's top jazz programs including Mondo Jazz, Jazz Bastard, Spotlight On, Liner Notes, World of Jazz, Allston Boylston, One Man's Jazz, The Outer View, Neon Jazz, A Broad Spectrum, Bitches Brew and more. View our program schedule and check this week's JazzWeek Radio Chart.

Popular

Read Take Five with Pianist Irving Flores
Read Jazz em Agosto 2025
Read Bob Schlesinger at Dazzle
Read SFJAZZ Spring Concerts
Read Sunday Best: A Netflix Documentary
Read Vivian Buczek at Ladies' Jazz Festival

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.