Miles Davis: Music From And Inspired By Birth Of The Cool, A Film by Stanley Nelson

The most devout fans of the late Miles Davis will likely hear the selections on this album as touchstones of their collections of the jazz icon's work. More casual fans and dilettantes can listen and learn to the same cuts as guideposts to assemble their own. Neither approach undermines the value of the title as a worthwhile companion piece to Stanley Nelson's film.

It's been said a formidable jazz library might be built from works by musicians with whom Davis worked during his multi-decade career and this release substantiates that view. Just take note of two of the more prominent commentators featured in the spoken interludes: Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. But there are also multiple variations on the fundamental theme of the movie, that is the initial formulation of the groundbreaking cool jazz style, as well as a flash-forward in the form of the heretofore unreleased cut with Miles himself (as well as former collaborators percussionist Lenny White and guitarist John Scofield): "Hail to the Real Chief" leads directly to a collection of similarly contemporary vintage, Rubber Band (Rhino, 2019).

Yet neither the concentration compelled by, nor the sense of satisfaction derived from, Birth of the Cool's "Moon Dreams" is arguably any more or less than for the seductive and insistent electrified rhythms of Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1970), from whence comes the single edit of "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down." This soundtrack doesn't so much beg a fundamental question as pose it in such a way the answer is all too obvious: Miles Davis was the catalyst for multiple paradigm shifts in the world of jazz. Ergo, the the modal majesty of Kind of Blue's (Columbia, 1959) "So What" is as forward thinking in its own way as intricate orchestrations at the heart of this movie soundtrack's source material.

There surely remain more than a few who, in keeping with much of the initial response, don't hold such latter-day records as the Marcus Miller-produced Tutu (Warner Bros., 1986) in comparably high regard. Similarly, it's well to ponder the contemporary influence of On the Corner (Columbia, 1972), curiously overlooked here, especially in relation to that which is the ostensible focus of the director/writer/producer's documentary. Similarly, while absorbing select culls the seamless likes of Sketches of Spain (Columbia, 1960) may leave a listener wanting on Music From and Inspired By..., that fact is such seminal work remains readily available, in its entirety as originally released and in the expanded form of lavish box sets.

Likewise, the fourteen tracks of the twenty-eight total here in the form of commentary may come across as non-sequiturs (and abrupt ones at that given the introduction of each speaker). Notwithstanding the contemporary popularity of vinyl, on which configuration The Complete Birth of the Cool (Blue Note, 2019) found its latest re-issue, after an initial hearing (to refresh the memory or introduce to same), this CD may beg reprogramming to play either all music or all conversation. Either way, those verbal intervals, like the ones of pure music, can readily plant and/or nurture seeds of curiosity and rediscovery, a dual dynamic that is, in fact, at the very heart of the source work that gave birth to Stanley Nelson's cinematic creation.

Comments