Birth Of The Cool

I mean, it's jazz and it's Miles Davis. It's great.

First Miles Davis album I listened to. Really enjoyed this, and in a weird way, it makes me ready for the Christmas season. Looking forward to more Miles Davis music.

not exactly mys style, but great if you're looking for new tastes

I must have heard this before, idk where. It's good though :)

toot

Very good, short, no duds on this one.

Lovely

Reminded me of both a transition in a movie like "Catch me if you can" and the music you always here in crime drama bar scenes. Very groovy

Jazz canónico. Un 4.

Nice

Very enjoyable! I liked this one more than the other two Miles Davis records we've had so far. Both relaxing and stimulating.

Love me some Miles

Evocative of a specific time and place in American history, this album features great musicians collaborating with each other but for me is not more than music to have in the background. That likely has nothing to do with them and everything to do with me, who did not grow up listening to this kind of music. You can't deny the talent.

Nice short but sweet jazz album.

I mean, what is there to really say? This is some serious jazz for the hep cats! Music like this always makes me think of getting dressed up and working the room at a fancy Christmas party where they serve little tiny cocktail weiners on toothpicks. Tom Hanks would be there, along with Meg Ryan and probably David Letterman. For the record, I do not always get invited to these kinds of Christmas parties, but when I do, I want Miles Davis to be there.

genieten

Ovaj je bas bio upbeat. Mislim da nikad ne mozes pogriješiti sa Milesom. Doktor jazza

Imam veliko poštovanje prema gospodinu Davisu. Najdraži jazz izvođač, bar zasad, uvijek se vraćam njegovim albumima ukoliko želim nešto jazza za smirenje ili prije spavanja. Ovo isto spada u dobre stvari njegove glazbe, kompilacija, ali dobra. Just vibe.

Great. I think

Dat kewl m8

Great ensemble. Miles playing is clear and definitive.

Jazz isn't typically my vibe but it was surprisingly good! Felt a bit like I was in a silent film but decent all the same, felt very calm after, would probably listen again. 7/10

Good Jazz. Confused the shit out of my cats, so you know it's real. Made me do the Early Disney finger wag, so you know it's catchy.

Not the best of miles, but still miles

Well they got that title correct. V. cool indeed.

loving the Jazz

There really is only one word to describe it, and that's "cool". It's just a solid record, and I love the constant use of dissonance throughout. Favorite tracks: "Moon Dream", "Boplicity"

Miles Davis prophesizing my birth 31 years prior. Crazy.

One of the albums that shaped the history of jazz. Not one of my absolute favorite jazz albums to listen to, but definitely a great one and incredibly important.

He's no Kenneth G.

Really solid throughout but I don't think it's the best I've heard from him. Listened to it a few times and want to revisit it again sometime. Favorite: Jeru

I can definitely understand why Miles Davis was so influential to Jazz. I can recognize how he has influenced even some rap artists I listen to. The opening track is stunning with what he can do on the trumpet. I like the fast, snappy pace of most of the tracks. I feel like this is something that should be listened to on vinyl; digital doesn't do it justice. You need to feel it. The trombone solo in Deception makes me miss playing trombone myself. I don't listen to jazz much because there's just so much of it and I don't know where to start, so this was very helpful. I love the genre so much and have been tapping my foot throughout the whole album. It's very noticeable that there is emotion in the songs; Miles Davis portrays it so well.

Excellent, but not my favorite Miles Davis album

Classic album, lots of good stuff. Though not very accessable for non jazz fans.

Good jazz

Relaxing, sounds like an old French film soundtrack.

I really know nothing about jazz. I know I like it live more than on record, and while I own some notable jazz CDs, it's all about catching some killer riffs and solos here and there as opposed to studying the compositions and having any real understanding of the history or the significance of anything I'm listening to. So with Miles Davis, I know he's a pioneer, legend, visionary, difficult personality, brilliant player, but that's not because I listen to a lot of his music or know anything about how he changed the form over the course of his storied career. I appreciated the short compositions on this album, it made it easy to stay with a tune through it's duration, and I was struck by how every player seemed to be as accomplished as the next — no one instrument stood out as the focus or the virtuoso among the ensemble. I later read that these sessions were actually recorded in 1949-50, though not released until 1957, and are credited with ushering in a new style of jazz, called cool jazz. That all makes sense having listened to the album, and I guess I'm a fan of cool jazz. A three? Four? I'm going with a four-star as I can see me teeing this album up again and getting more familiar with it.

Damn, we've been on a roll lately! The release date on this album is deceptive. These tunes were recorded in '49 and '50 in three different sessions, and these recordings were considered pretty odd at the time. It's not quite big band, not quite small combo, not quite bebop, not quite cool. It's something else entirely. ("Something else entirely" pretty much describes all of Miles's landmark recordings.) I dig this stuff, but it's definitely not my favorite of Miles's albums. For one thing, it doesn't showcase any of the individual musicians here particularly well. I mean, it's got Max Roach, one of the great drummers of all time, on 2/3 of these tunes, but you'd never know it. (For that, you'd need to check out any of the recordings he did with Clifford Brown and Sonny Rollins.) If you're not particularly knowledgeable about jazz, I don't know that this album is an especially good introduction to the genre. (Then again, there are so many different kinds of jazz, it's hard to know what would be, except maybe Miles's own "Kind of Blue.") Having said all of that, this is quality music and several of these went on to become jazz standards, so it's a good album to listen to if you become a fan of the genre. It also became massively influential with many of these guys becoming giants of the Cool Jazz movement. This is music that rewards intense listening but also works great in the background. 4.5/5

Favorite songs: jeru, moon dreams, deception, rocker, Israel

Always an interesting listen with Davis.

Not going to lie, Boblicity is one of my all-time favorite jazz tunes. This album was a staple when I went through a jazz phase in high school, in part to being in jazz band. I used to love playing Boblicity in my spare time; I even got pretty decent at it on Bass Trombone. Really good album, but Miles Davis isn't for everyone. There are very similar ticks that Miles uses in pretty much every song. You start to notice it, such that now I can pretty much identify a classic-era Miles Davis song from a mile away. Miles got SUPER offbeat and experimental later in life, but this classic compilations is a great introduction to how Miles became the \"cool\". 4.5/5.

Couldn't name a Miles Davis track, but I know several albums and this one doesn't disappoint. Felt more up beat than Kind of Blue, but that makes sense even just from the titles. Great listen

Cool cool jazz

I wish I had more time to listen to this more than once. What I heard was excellent.

I'm not too crazy about the combination of a larger ensemble and shorter compositions, though the solos are nice. It's hard for me to get a handle on how influential this was. The west coast sound of the late fifties sounded similar, and this is quite different from the sound that Miles and Dizzy and Charlie Parker were putting out in the late forties. It's disappointing that 1001 doesn't pay tribute to either of those two guys who were a huge influence, but that may have something to do with availability of long play releases, etc. It's interesting that Miles would leave them and round up a bunch of white guys for his next recordings. Between a 3 and a 4 for me.

first miles davis listen! and first listen! not really my kind of thing to listen to on its own but just having it on in the background while coding/having dinner was undeniably cool. again, not really my thing but im a bit more curious about jazz now. just a bit.

Lively jazz, pleasant background listening with enough going on to keep interest!

Great jazz album! Very upbeat compared to King of Blue.

8/10. Pretty fun little listen

Solid jazz album, didn’t feel super thematic or anything but it was nice to listen to. 8/10

Decent jazz album, enjoyed it, pretty chill no singing

This was blooming lovely

081022 12:19 4

Very early Miles, I like this era.

Отличный джаз для прогулки теплым летним вечером. Высочайшее исполнительское мастерство. Moon Dreams - шедевр. 7 из 10.

Smooooth

Für mich besser zu hören als viel anderer Jazz! Toll

Großer Titel und voll eingelöst. Kind of Blue finde ich noch bluer

Ég fílaði þessa plötu mjög vel. Hressilegur jazz, skemmtileg lög.

JAZZ CRUDO

Will listen again for sure. Stuff like this needs to be familiar for me before I can really rate it.

great, classic jazz as always. great to study to, I'll be listening to it for my exams for sure.

Much more rhythmically driven than what I remembered. It's crazy to witness how that guy was ahead of its time at such an early stage of its career. He would release a lot more challenging records in the future but this one's too cool to be ignored.

Now that's my kind of jazz (see what I did there?). Awesome vibes to chill to.

I'm not the biggest Jazz connoisseur, but I'm rarely disapoint when I listen to a classic album, especially when it come to Miles Davis.

A wonderfully flowing jazz album that can be played at any time of the day or the night, it will always be good. For me, it's not a jazz essential, but definitely a must for any Miles Davis fans.

Amazing album. Considering the time it was recorded, it is a ground breaker. Opening the jazz to new sounds and styles. It really transport me to an incredible peace on mind.

**5/18/2022 - ALBUM #111** https://open.spotify.com/album/3wG8DcAJVgr7sbWNvKanzS?si=VUbVk0vsSq-0NBq-Brktcg Today's Album: "Birth Of The Cool" by Miles Davis - Miles Davis is just one of those names you hear all the time if you've ever been part of a jazz band, and it's for damn good reason. His jazz arrangements are some of the cleanest, most stylish, and smoothest sounding in my opinion. Plus, his trumpet playing; what could I possibly say about his trumpet playing other than he will probably always sit as one of the top 10 best trumpet players of all time. The production on this album is absolutely stellar for being from the late 50s and it really gives me a perspective of just what was possible back then sonically. The band are really all in tune with each other while still maintaining this very loose feel to each track. There are some minor biffs and cracks from both the saxophones and trumpets, but I actually think it adds a really live feel to it and the mistakes feel simply human. Not every track stands out as an absolute banger or anything, but every good Jazz album will have downtime to add to the flow of the project and this record does it very well. Overall, this is a really great album and it deserves to be in anyone's background-music rotation. There's a reason Miles Davis's music is so celebrated and this album displays exactly what that is. Listen to this one if you like some nice Jazz to have on in the background and don't care too much about, "perfection" in the performances. Highlights: Move, Jeru, Venus De Milo, Budo, Boplicity, Rocker, Isreal, Score: 7.5/10 Great trumpet-focused jazz

i think the album's title defines it, no? it's beautiful, and so smooth. the trumpet, the drums... it's magnificent! this is good to listen to at the end of the day, or during the work day! i quite enjoyed it. perhaps the only draw back of the album is "darn that dream"! when the vocals begin, it's quite shocking for an otherwise entirely instrumental album.

Good album, still need more listens to fully appreciate the compositions

Who knew Miles Davis released music in 1957? Looking at discography, his 1st album was in 1951. Just did not know it was that old. Great background jazz. Nothing like what is cut nowadays, but found to be soothing and top notch. B

5/03/22

I could listen to this all day.

A dense and energetic album, that has added to my snowballing desire to delve more deeply into the world of Jazz. Two things stand out to my extremely untrained jazz-listening ears. The musical agility of each performer is incredible. My hands and lungs ache just thinking about the endurance and precision of movement and breath involved to play these parts. This stands out clearly in the tracks 'Move', 'Budo' and more subtly in 'Israel'. The band is cohesive and perfectly aligned with one another. Their level of collective coordination, even amongst the most frenetic parts of the songs, reveals their dedication to the craft. I can't really point to anyone track as showcasing this more than any other, as I feel like it's evident at all points, in all tracks.

I listened to it while working and totally enjoyed it. Honestly, hearing Anita talk and rave about it and how unique it is among jazz albums elevated it in my mind.

Ömmm… yeah de va

Cool album… ehehehehe

Får mig att villa dansa !

icy 🥶

I mean. This is a turning point album, hugely influential- the ‘birth’ of something new. It’s not perfect, it feels a little out together. But it’s bloody cool.

very quality!! Jazz is very impressive, both in the skill needed to play it, and in the imagination required to compose it

first listen i originally missed this complication of his early work, killer stuff

Birth of the Cool by Miles Davis (1957) This is a fine album by Miles Davis. But it isn’t the familiar Miles Davis of Kind of Blue (1959) or Bitches Brew (1970). This is the early Miles Davis of 1949-1950 (although it wasn’t released until 1957, by which time Davis was already developing way beyond). On this album, instead of hearing Davis’ familiar trumpet leading small and sparingly arranged jazz combo, we get jazz arrangements for nonet (nine-piece band), including the standard instruments of trumpet, drums, bass, piano, two saxophones (alto & baritone), and trombone, but also the rather unexpected tuba and French horn. Nasty critics would have you think this was due to Davis’ inability to keep up with Dizzy Gillespie. Poo. Please note that the title of this album is not “The Birth of Cool”. It is “Birth of the Cool”. And there’s a big difference. Davis would not be so pretentious as to claim that his distinct and original compositional style was the first to be described as “cool” (in our conventional sense). Rather, the album title describes jazz that stays in the ‘cool’ range of the ‘musical color’ spectrum—violets, blues and greens—avoiding the fiery and bombastic reds, oranges, and yellows of ‘hot’ jazz like big band, swing, and bebop. This ‘birth of the cool’ had a long period of living gestation in the mode of unresolved chords and tensionless harmonies from Impressionist composers like Fanelli, Sibelius, Respighi, Ravel, and Debussy (although this last one would deny it). Also, this music sounds more like soft pastels and less like bold and vivid primary colors. More like Claude Monet and less like Joan Miró (Do an internet search of images for these two painters to see what I mean—it can’t adequately be described in words). That said, this music is highly intelligent and extraordinarily well done, even if the idiosyncratic tuba and French horn sound out of place to twenty-first century ears. It is compositionally complex, of course, but it avoids the extremes in range and dynamics, staying within the ‘comfort zone’ of each performer, even to point of having horn players ‘underblow’ to achieve mood and orchestral blend. The overall effect is casual and comfortable. Steady tempos here are best followed by tapping forefinger to thumb rather than trying to use your feet. Keep focused on the melodic lines, leaving chord changes to the experts (not me, anyway). If you’re curious to follow the chord progressions, listen to the piano on this record. That’s its basic function. Flaws are evident, of course, including flubbed notes and some intonation struggles within such a disparate ensemble. And overall, there seems to be a lack of variety, but that shouldn’t prevent an honestly enjoyable experience. Please listen to this one! 4/5

A classic!

Awesome album

Great late 50s era jazz sound

Best jazz so far maybe! Really good!!

Birth of Cool indeed. Miles Davis fucks.

great

Best Song: Moon Dreams. Although I usually prefer my jazz upbeat, this song is the absolute definition of cool. Worst Song: Venus De Milo. A just okay track sandwiched between two far better ones. Overall: Sometimes an album title just fits. This whole album is undeniably cool, suffused with a sort of suave but understated confidence. This is lean back, pour a stiff drink type jazz.

First time of listening and a little embarrassment for not having listened to it before. So Miles went from Be-Bop to Cool Jazz in this one recording, it is amazing how smooth the nonet are across all the tracks, like they have been playing together forever. Loved "Moon Dreams" "Deception" "Godchild" and "Boplicity". It is amazing how modern and relevant these tunes sound today. It just goes to show how ahead of their times Miles and Gerry Mulligan et al were in the late 40's Early 50's. Yup this is one that is justifiably on the list I think. Cool Cats indeed!

Not his best but damn good. 4 🌟

Figo mi è piaciuto.

Look I get it, it miles fuckin Davis, but I cant say that I would listen to any of these songs

yes it was cool

-"Boplicity" is a great song title -I'm still not smart enough to analyze jazz

4/5. Bumpin jazz album, some fire Davis

Love the low reviews from people hearing *this* phase of Miles Davis and going “whoa, mister wacky jazz, you’re going way over my head with this!”

Quite enjoyable. No individual track stood out to me, but it was a smooth and relaxing ride the whole way through. For me, at least, it's more the kind of music that's meant to be enjoyed in the background as you do something else, rather than something you listen to just for the pleasure of it; for that reason, I thought about giving it a 3, but I think it's juuuuuust good enough it can sneak its way in as a 4/5.

Nothing wrong with a little Miles Davis, and this album doesn't disappoint. Jazzy in a way that makes you want to listen to it again, although I don't feel compelled to immediately repeat it. Feels like a 4-star album to me.

Definitely cool but does this imply there was nothing cool before this was recorded in 1949? Products introduced in 1948: Cheetos, Cheez Doodles, Dial(soap), Frisbee, Fudge, LP record, Nesquik, Reddi-wip, and wagon wheels. Is Miles trying to say Cheetos aren't cool? you tell me

То что надо)

Very pleasant. Songs are the perfect length, lots of interesting musical themes and patterns. Solid 7/10.

Miles is a wizard with his brass horn 😩

Family Guy outro music. Cool indeed.

This is sneaky. I spent the first half doing something while listening and thought it was just ok. Unemotional, smoove jaz. But this kind of music rewards attention. Way better if you focus on it.

Heard it already. Good jazz.

59 Birth of The Cool - Miles Davis 12 tracks. I've listened to a lot of rubbish recently & while I'm no Jazz connoisseur, this was just what I needed today. Music that could just transport you away. It's dated, but in a good way. I'm not sure how you could not like this. 4/5

Groovy

Lovely jazz. None of the songs stuck out to me in particular, but excellent study music.

Just... Good, cool jazz

My god what an album. I do appreciate that this is not the most experimental Miles Davis album, and it's just some good normal jazz. I'm not that into the world yet and this is a good starting point I think. Great album.

Jazz, for me, is more dependent more on the setting in which I hear it, than the music itself. Could I sit and just listen to this? No. Would this be great to create a certain atmosphere or mood. Yes. Would it be great to listen to live. Definitely.

Smooth sounds and legendary talent.

Escuchar a Miles Davis siempre me da pa'rriba, incluso aunque llegue a sonar triste, que no es el caso acá. De todas formas, no soy un gran fan del jazz, entonces esto me agrada, pero no se queda tanto conmigo. 9/10

Rating: 7/10

The tracks really flow well together. Miles playing is very upbeat with great melody. It’s also extremely easy to listen to. I love records you can throw on and listen to while cleaning. It makes it so each time you hear the record, you hear something new and continue to fall in love with it. Four stars because I only listened to it once through.

Very soothing. I love how, on the surface, it sounds like they're just jamming with no formal direction yet there's an arch to each song that shows that there's a designed direction which each instrument is following.

Great!

Very pleasant. My mom categorizes all Jazz into three buckets. "Hot", "Cool", and "What Time Does the Tune Start". I guess this is where "Cool" came from! Fave track - hmmm, not sure any single tracks stood out to me - just enjoyed the album as a whole. "Israel", maybe?

Should be like best album ever, right? Sure. It didn’t hook me in, but I get it. And I get its place. I’ll listen again of course, it’ll hit one day.

Short, sharp, and straight ahead. Understated and restrained, but music that still swings. Recorded over the course of a year in 1949 and early 1950, but not released in this format until 1957, 'Birth Of The Cool' still sounds fresh today. Whilst not quite as ground-breaking as what would come later for Miles, it’s still brilliantly played, totally hummable and full of great hooks.

А ведь чем дальше десятилетие – тем тщательнее отсев. Так понимаю, с середины века до нас доходят совсем монументальные для своего времени вещи. Без всякого репетативного душнилова, его ради снобов и травокуров позже придумали. Посему немудрено, что у 50-ых как эпохи такой высокий рейтинг. Да, пусть там не много найдётся того, что в 2к21 срезонирует с актуальной действительностью. Но почти всё может вызвать приятные ассоциации с временами и местами, где никогда не бывал, но которые отпечатались в культурном коде благодаря массовой культуре. Да, долгая экскурсия может поднадоесть, но несколько часов наедине с музыкой тех лет оставляют светлое впечатление. Так и в случае с этим альбомом. Треки, ради которых в какой-нибудь Мафии стал бы ехать в машине с радио, а не пользоваться быстрым перемещением. Треки, которые и сам бы, возможно, выбрал в качестве саундтрека для произведения о тех годах. Посоветовал бы другому, спроси кто «Чел, ты вроде немало музла знаешь, чё-нить из джазца подкинешь?». Я бы, конечно, троллинга ради сначала вбросил бы альбом Queen – Jazz, но потом бы ответил серьёзно. В общем, хорошие треки.

kaef

pretty good stuff

This isn't the "let's get high and listen to Miles" album I'm familiar with. Loved this one, guessing a further deep dive into Miles Davis is in my future.

real jazz

Ei parasta Milesiä

A good listen, no complaints. Enjoyable although I had it on in the background and know little about Jazz, so I wouldn't be able to distinguish the songs from each other. I will say I wouldn't mind returning to this for some relaxing laidback tunes.

It’s crazy how much this album dominated jazz as a sound. This now sounds like the baseline of jazz, the starting point- almost passé in the sense that it so thoroughly overtook the jazz sound

beautiful

this was so good

Very nice, owe it more listens

Miles is, indeed, cool.

very snazzy!!

It's a good listen and an early piece of success for Miles Davis before creating his jazz opus.

Smooth miles

Jazz ! I quite enjoy it, But I feel like this sort of songs need the right atmosphere and place, otherwise it is music for musicians or "elevator/Lift music", which is a waste for the latter. In short, full of flavours and a good happy loose feeling / freedom going on. 4 stars

Nice compilation that shows a talented and young Davis. I liked it. It has a nice mix of energetic and smooth.

As the album name suggests, Miles Davis is the king of cool. I very much enjoyed this album, the vocals on the last studio track came out of nowhere and surprised me in a great fashion. As an extremely uncultured soul, this kind of cigar smoking, smooth jazz actually gives me nostalgic Tom and Jerry vibes from my youth. I kind of wish it didn't and kind of glad it does. Anyway, I love how relaxed I feel listening, cheers Miles.

Miles changing the face of be-bop and jazz. As you do. BT: Move, Jeru, Rouge

Brilliant album, thoroughly enjoyed having it on while I worked. I would have liked a few more tracks with vocals on it but other than that, loved it.

Exactly what it says on the tin 😎 Exceptional listen, sounding somewhere between big band/swing and bop with it's frankly extensive list of performers on here (16 in rotation, to be exact). Although released in 1957, recordings were from 1949 and 1950 which was years before Davis would begin forming his quintets, so the songs can get a little busy at times. I'd reckon this is an overall easy listen though, and pulling all these singles together on the one album is certainly appreciated. This here is jazz 101, so don't skip your fundamentals

I always find jazz enjoyable, but I'm no expert.

jazzy!

Wonderful, enjoyable, classic. favorite track: venus de milo

muy agradable

Nice riffing. Proper foot tapper and finger clicker

jaaaaaaazz.

Great!

Fun album. Requires a certain mood but i'm in to it.

Probably the first jazz album I’ve sat down and listened to all at once. Need to that more often

Tres bon album jazz. J’aimais beaucoup le jazz modal de davis mais jamais je m.tais penche sur ca periode cool jazz. J’ai adore 4.90

Not as compelling as other Miles Davis records

Definite toe tapping going on

I have a soft spot for this kind of music. This may not be the real birth of cool, but it certainly is cool music, and great for programming concentration.

FINALLY another good jazz album

Super lekkere jazz, genieten

Finalmente um jazz! Um pouquinho mais calmo que o bepop do Parker, Achei as faixas muito parecidas, mas acho q era a intenção do album

Great jazz album

Experimental jazz is not what you want for coffeehouse vibes, it's too interesting to relegate to the background. This album has urgency that demands the full attention of the listener. If you can't provide that for these 32 minutes, move along and listen to something else.

Overall solid classic jazz. Good, but can't judge more than that.

The west coast hasn’t sounded this good since…

a great snowy playlist

It's neat to come back to this album after listening to more of Miles's middle and later career stuff. It has a more traditional sound (not that folks would have said that at the time), but you can hear how much flavor Miles brings. 4/5

Guter Jazz

As good as I recall.

Great jazz

Cool

2/19 Real cool. Standout Tracks: Moon Dreams, Budo, Deception, Boplicity

Hm, dejansko sm pozabila, da sm že dobila Milesa. Ker tole ful ni zame. Enkrat sm ga že poslušala dons - can't tell you a thing about it. Zj se zarad tega silim še enkrat. Ampak. Hrbet me boli, zmatrana sem, raj bi začela chill večer. In jazz ain't a part of it. To ni žanr, ki bi ga znala cenit.

One of the problems with not being into jazz is that bad jazz and good jazz all sounds the same to me. Is this album good? Is this album bad? It is what it is and that's all I have to say about it 2.5/5

Peaceful jazz

Mediocre jazz record. Nothing too memorable about it but nothing terrible

Bepop not my thing, but Miles is Miles.

Moody, thoughtful. Good art, but doesn't necessarily speak to me.

Of all jazz this is my favorite type. That being said, at the same time it is still jazz. Pleasant to listen to in this case but nothing to really grab my attention full on, and I couldn’t remember a thing I listened to. Improvisation and this type of solo instrumentals are impressive but don’t lend themselves to really sticking in my mind.

This is actually a real nice time. I much prefer this kind of chill jazz, where you can just gently appreciate it. My Miles Davis rankings have been all over the place, so I was glad this was one of the better ones. 3.5 rounded down.

Birth of Cool is a good Miles Davis album. Not my favorite but definitely solid. No one can jam quite like him.

It's nice and easy to listen to, but I prefer when his tracks are longer and there's a bit more variation/experimentation. 6/10

Enjoyed this a lot. Clearly much "straighter" than his later work but the talent is there and it breezed past.

First listen. This is so close to “Kind of Blue” but I just love that album so much more.

groovy

Jazz isn’t my thing, but I was in the right mood for it today. A fun and pleasant listen. I even found myself listening to it again over the weekend. I guess if I had to pick a jazz album, this would be it.

This feels so relaxing and calming. The music is very cohesive, but I'm not the biggest fan of jazz. It would be great dinner party music, or just background music. But it's not my style. I was disappointed that only the final track had lyrics because the vocals were beautiful, smooth, full and rich. If there was a full album of that, I would rate it higher. I think I'm beginning to like Miles Davis though.

While I enjoy the contributions of jazz into my favorite musical genres and artists, I’m just not a huge fan of it in its own category. I will still give it a 3 though because it’s not terrible.

"Cool" indeed, but it's hard to come back to this once you've heard Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew. This is like Pablo Honey.

I really struggle to rate Jazz on this list. I really like Jazz whenever it comes up and I'll never say no to turning some on, but I'm just not likely to play Jazz very much on my own. I feel positive towards it, but never ecstatic. Anyways, this is obviously very good Jazz, but it feels very run-of-the-mill. Not Miles's fault, as this style was obviously copied a lot later, but it's not doing too much for me now. The second half is definitely better than the first Favorite Songs: Deception, Rocker

Nothing really stood out to me, but they were some nice tunes. It was comforting, like the radio in Fallout.

This is some very nice background music. I enjoy the general sound. It feels like this is a good baseline from which to understand where Davis goes next... and perhaps jazz in general. Its status as a compilation doesn't alter anything for me -- but perhaps "Kind of Blue" could have stood in for this.

***A good easy listening instrumental album

it will certainly gonna be born somewhere around here, good music, but i'm not gonna go seeking it out. 3/5

Blind album. Cool emoji for sure 😎 but not something I'd seek out everyday. This is one of those albums I am glad is on the project for me to go out of my way and try.

Nothing that really grabbed me.

This was chill and a perfect relaxing listen on the way home from a late and long rehearsal. Easy listening. A true 3.5.

Pretty cool.

good jazz

Solid cool jazz.

Not as memorable as his others on the list Will I listen to again: 40%

I had this hardest time Trying to rate this. I enjoyed it but I know Miles has way better records than this. It’s good but maybe little to old school jazz. Kept reminding me of being in a Ballroom. I was tempted between a 3.5’and 4. Gonna have to go with 3.5 since again this was good but not enough to get to the 4

This was a nice, background listen. Nothing at all unappealing. Just not something I’m going to throw on for fun. Obviously these are all very talented artists and musicians. And I don’t dislike jazz, and I’ve enjoyed the jazz I’ve heard on this journey so far. Just not gonna be my favorite thing

I don't know what to say

kind of a downer after listening to bitches brew this week, different on almost every level, and while this one is more accessible, I think I lack the knowledge and context of the music of the moment to fully understand its importance There are some jams that grab you from the first moment, where the musicians flex their virtuosity by exchanging phrases and improvising over dissonant harmonies at a very high tempo, and there are others where i dony quite understand where they are trying to go

classy, short, easy listen good

Good, quite fantastic as background music

Didn't Quite Grab Me I went into this album knowing Miles Davis is a jazz legend. And honestly? The music is nice. It's smooth, it's well-played, it's got that cool vibe (wow just like the album name no way! /s). But personally, I really cannot see myself relistening to this. It's fun background music for a vacation or a fancy dinner, but otherwise it's not interesting enough to hold my attention. The biggest problem is that jazz, to me, tends to melt into the background and disappear. It's really hard to give it full attention. Nothing here is bad (jazz rarely dips below a 3/10 for me) but nothing really sticks either. Except for "Jeru," which actually has a memorable motif. The rest just kind of blend together. "Move" – Crazy how upbeat this album starts compared to the the majority of it. This really feels like it would play on a cruise departure or something like that. It feels like the start of an adventure. Despite that, it's very smooth and in just 2.5 minutes we're done. 5/10. "Jeru" – Reminds me of the music from Tom and Jerry lol, this whole album does I mean. It's nice but I also feel like the music will start to meld together a bit. I like Jazz with like a "chorus" if that makes sense (a strong repeated motif). Wow this one gets really good towards the end. The 2:52 motif is great. 6-7/10. "Moon Dreams" – Suuuuper slow start even for this album. Very sleepy. Night walk vibe. Wow it almost builds to something really really nice at 1:30. And then it feels like everything crashes down. It's nice, in a way. 5-6/10. "Venus De Milo" – Very chill but kind of forgettable because of that. Again, I can't bring myself to say that any of this is bad. Jazz is rlly subjective to me... some songs stick, some don't. But none are unlistenable. 4-5/10. "Budo" – These songs are so short. Blink and they're gone. 4/10. "Deception" – Ooh I like this one. Very chill. Well, the start was strong. Jazz melts into the background and disappears, to me, so it's really hard to give full attention. 4-5/10. "Godchild" – I could see myself on like a cruise ship listening to this. Very nice. 5/10. "Boplicity" – This one is sweet and nice. Making me sleepy. 4-5/10. "Rocker" – I like that this one is a bit more upbeat but it's kind of veering toward Christmas vibes. 4-5/10. "Israel" – Booooo, I get it's not Davis' piece but boooooo. Musically it's decent but kind of feels dull compared to the rest. 1/10 just for the name. "Rouge" – Really good and it feels rather diverse instrumentally. Several different instruments get their own solos and they all have fun. 6/10. This album is historically important. I get that. It changed jazz. But for me, it's just background music. It's nice, it's pleasant, it's well-played! But it doesn't grab me. "Jeru" is the only real standout. The rest is cruise ship music. Rating: 6/10

Lyder for vildt i forhold til hvor tidligt det er optaget! Lækkert lyt

Really nice record! 3+

Jaaaaaazzz. Nice.

love miles

Tried to appreciate jazz in my younger years, but it didn't take. I can appreciate the musicianship, but I love a song with a melody, and it just seems too meandering for my ears.

It takes some serious chutzpah to title your album “Birth of the Cool,” something Miles Davis has never lacked, and yet it’s pretty damn cool (sorry). Musically, it feels complex and challenging, with less emphasis on melody or swing than on unconventional instruments and arrangements. While I respect it for its cultural significant in opening new doors for the form (and for the album title), it’s not the first release I’d go to when I want to hear some jazz.

me gusta. da muchas vibes de los ángeles, ca. las primeras dos canciones tuvieron un ritmo rápido que me fascinó 10/10, moon dreams se siente como estar enamorado. budo da vibes de canción de cuphead. lowkey no puedo distinguir mucho en que se diferencian las canciones de jazz, mas que nada lo hago por el ritmo. así que si me gusta una, me gustan todas… muy buen álbum, no se me hizo aburrido. eso sí, me faltó la letra, es más de mi gusto personal eso. rouge me gustó por el piano. si escucharía el álbum x las mañanas

Niet slecht

5 - AVERAGE

נחמד להקשיב לאלבום שלם של jazz

3.5

Birth of the Cool? Death of My Attention Span! Total background music, but I put it on twice, so that's a good sign ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Det är jazz. Säkert extremt revolutionerande och nytänkande när det släpptes, och det är trevligt att ha på i bakgrunden, men för ett otränat öra låter det som jazz, rätt och slätt.

There are much more engaging Miles Davis records

Hmmm I dunno, it's not bad or anything. Infact I think it's some of the best light jazz that I've listened to. I just don't think I'm a jazz guy

It’s definitely cool, I’ll give it that.

I need to listen to this one a few more times

Date: 07/14/2026 Artist: Miles Davis Album: Birth Of The Cool Year: 1957 Style: Vinyl, LP, Album, Compilation, Mono Number: 192 Familiarity: Aware (2) Rating: 3 Before: ======= Wow, two Miles Davis in a row. Yesterday I had Birth Of The Cool which liked a decent amount and gave a 4. I see there are 4 albums from him on the list and by policy only 3 are allowed so at least one of them is going to get a low rating for suitability. Maybe this one as I see it is a compilation which is discouraged, also by policy, though that one has not been formalized, yet. And I do make exception, for instance Stereolab has several compilations and I would consider them for this list as in my opinion they work as a cohesive whole. During: ======= I'm 8 tracks in on Birth Of The Cool now and I'd have to say that it's definately working as a cohesive whole as in it pretty much all sounds the same to me, but that's how jazz is, imo. I did give Kind of Blue a 4 but will probably give this one a 3. After : ======= Yep, I was over it by the end, and it's only 32 and half minutes long. It would be fine as background music in the right setting.

If peeing your pants is cool then call me Miles Davis.

I didn't realize I hadn't heard this one before, and we don't have it! It's definitely more traditional and upbeat than Kind of Blue

FACILE E PIACEVOLE DA ASCOLTARE. NON RIESCE A SFUGGIRE DAL GIRONE DELLA MUSICA DI SOTTOFONDO. LE TRACCE SONO TUTTE SUFFICIENTI (FORSE PERCHE' SONO TUTTE UGUALI) MA NULLA DI PIU'. MI PIACE VEDERE L'ALBUM COME UN'UNICA CANZONE. SE FOSSI UN MUSICISTA LO ASCOLTEREI CON UN'ALTRA PROSPETTIVA. E CUCINIAMO QUESTO PIATTO ALLA RATATOUILLE. E GUARDIAMOCI QUESTO FILM VELOCIZZATO IN BIANCO E NERO. E CENIAMO IN QUESTO LOCALE CHIC. 3/5

A cool jazz album, doesn’t need to be much more than that. Didn’t hang around a long time, didn’t complicate things, just came inc was great and left. Loved the composition and the bright sound. Miles Davis one of the great jazz trumpeters of all time and this is a strong compilation album of his.

Compared to other groundbreaking Miles Davis' albums, this is not cool at all...

Lovely jazz when the mood hits.

I like Jazz, but I don't love it. It is chill lounge music, that sounds mostly the same to me. This is no exception to that. This one is especially stereotypical.

Chill and smooth cool jazz to relax to, as expected. It's probably the least individually remarkable out of the Miles Davis albums I've listened to, but the vibes are still great. Nice in the background but not a whole lot to unpack.

miles davis before he was miles davis i guess.

c'est bien mais ptn les transitions entre les sons sont cata, sinon en no brain à écouter c'est chill

Chillaxinjazzin Would go crazy if I had a book and wasn't on a bus

cant go wrong with a bit of jazz, good vibes and great mood. reminded me of the Sam and max soundtrack, i enjoyed chilling to it :))

I'm obviously an idiot because no matter how much I listen to Miles Davis, no matter how much I try and appreciate, it all turns into background music. I get that this is genius, but I just can't 'get' it. Sorry Miles.

Not really my type of jazz, just seems like it doesn't go anywhere or move me

Completely inoffensive, nice background jazz. Can't compare to an album that makes me feel something though 6.5 / 10

Good background music for cooking or a dinner party. Can’t say that it’s my favorite jazz record ever, and I’d be rating on just the name alone if I gave it higher than a 3/5. But a good record.

Had a couple songs I really liked, namely ‘Moondreams’ ‘Venus de Milo’ and ‘Godchild’ I’m really not that big into jazz and usually enjoy a more softer melody when I am listening to it, so the trumpet can be too loud for me at times. Still the record is bright and fun, I enjoyed having it in the background while making lunch!

This isn't kind of blue, it's disjointed by comparison due to it being a compilation across many years but it's still good music but not a great album

ah jazz I simply do not connect with you I believe that once you were an innovative sound radically different from other music around. but now you have become elevator music back ground music for a waiting room you all sound the same to me 3/5

Dude needs to learn how to break his songs up

Fun and jazzy, not as weird as I would have liked

A little underwhelming overall but still a nice listen

A good jazz album. A great album title.

I wish I liked this more. I can tell the musicians are talented, but I just wasn’t moved. The funny thing is after the album finished a song (It Never Entered My Mind) by the Mikes Davis Quintet came on that I liked a lot better.

There's nothing about this that I don't like. It's clearly great music. I saved it to my library. It doesn't affect me nearly as profoundly as it is supposed to, according to Objective Truths About Music.

I don't feel like I have the familiarity to really appreciate this style of music. Pleasant to listen to, but not deeply engaging.

Jazz is not the type of music that I would actively seek out, so in that regard, listening to this album is precisely the sort of experience I am looking for by working through these 1001 albums. Aside from vocal jazz (such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald), I have yet to find a jazz album that has truly blown my socks off - and this record continues that run. "Birth Of The Cool" is a compilation album that brings together tracks originally recorded over three sessions in 1949 and 1950, initially released in the 10-inch 78-rpm format. Because of this, the tracks are all brief, lasting around three minutes each. While it is a pleasant enough listen, it does not stir the soul or really engage me in any meaningful way. Three stars. Side one 1 "Move" (3/5) 2 "Jeru" (3/5) 3 "Moon Dreams" (3/5) 4 "Venus De Milo" (3/5) 5 "Budo" (3/5) 6 "Deception" (3/5) Side two 1 "Godchild" (3/5) 2 "Boplicity" (3/5) 3 "Rocker" (3/5) 4 "Israel" (3/5) 5 "Rouge" (3/5) 6 "Darn That Dream" (3/5) Total - 36 Average - 3 361/1001 192/361 albums reviewed were new to me.

Great but so many better miles Davis albums

Eh bah, je me fais chier. Peut-être que je n’aime pas ce bon vieux miles C’est jamais désagréable pour autant, les mélodies me plaisent même plutôt 6/10

Miles Davis has "Miles" better but this is still decent, first three songs do kind of carry but I enjoyed most of this. Very chill jazz

i liked it. good morning background music. i enjoyed it more than "Bitches Brew"

The definition of smooth jazz. Thoroughly enjoyed

I can easily admit that this is a pretty great jazz record, but I think it’s taught me something about the limits of what recorded music I actually enjoy listening to. Birth Of The Cool is, of course, a pretty remarkable achievement when you consider that its recordings date back as far as 1949, and it’s fantastic that recording technology had gotten to the point where we can hear such high-fidelity reproduction of music that old. And being from 1949, this is still relatively ‘grounded’ jazz that doesn’t stray too far from its dance roots, however ambitious it was for the time…you can definitely still bob your head to it! I think my issue is that its heavily improvisational approach loses a lot when recorded, at least for me; the magic of improvisation is in coming up with all this music in the moment, which I think is vastly better appreciated in a live performance, where it’s being created right in front of you. So…as a document of some truly genius-level improvisation & soloing laid over great jazz grooves, this record is fantastic, but I don’t feel it translates to a gut-level ‘entertaining’ record.

Nice

album #79 a very lovely album to listen to. i like how in each song the lead instruments sound like they are singing :) beautifully smooth and majorly influential. thanks for the horns! ಄ favourite track(s): moon dreams, venus de milo ಄ least favourite track(s): (fuck) israel ಄ album rating: ★★★.5☆☆ ಄ number of albums left to review: 1,010 ಄ number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 38 (+1 Birth of The Cool) ಄ albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 16 ಄ albums from the list I won't include on my list: 63

enjoyable

it's not bad but not my vibe ig. im not a fan of jazz music

It's fine and listenable. It's not for me to understand what sets this apart from the oceans of jazz. I'm not going to give stars for whatever incumbent cultural cache because it would be dishonest. The album just kind of went by but was an enjoyable listen.

Jazz typically not my go to listen. Overall sounded good and was an listen through.

First listen

Cool but not my style yet

After putting this album on, every once in a while a track would come on that pricked up my ear and piqued my curiosity. It was inevitably the Thelonious Monk or Bill Evans song that Youtube had served up to me after the album ended.

Alright.

Jazz but chill and not weird. Has a song called Israel

A jazzy little number, quite a bit of pep in this one a good background listen and I liked pretty much every song apart from ‘moon dream’. It’s a classic jazz album by one of the greats but not one my favourite jazz albums, ‘Boplicity’ was a standout for me.

Doesn't feel like his best, but still enjoyable listen

I mean, yeah. It's pretty standard jazz. I've never heard anything by Miles Davis I actively disliked, and that's no exception here. But I'm surprised that this is one of the four on the list. I don't feel it's nearly as noteworthy as the other three (In A Silent Way, Kind of Blue, Bitches Brew) and I'd rather have it swapped out with something like...I dunno, Get Up With It? Or maybe that Agharta live album? That'd be nice.

Ta bien, me dió un poco de noni pero no está mal. Está bueno para tocarlo más que escucharlo. Sape

Havent listened to anything like this before. Loved it perfect for dinner parties. Was a bit hectic when trying to cook and it wasn't going exactly to plan though.

I'm not evolved enough, this jazz sounds like other jazz

The first that got better and greater with each album.

Sounds like jazz to me. If I were smarter, maybe it'd blow me away, but I am dumb, so it just sounds like jazz. Prefer Bitches Brew or Kind of Blue, really.

Quite fun. Very cool indeed

I like this a good bit. Didn’t really move me but I’m not a jazz guy.

Not gonna lie, I can't get my brain around bop, so even thought the talent on this disc is immeasurable, the final product doesn't really resonate with me. Split decison then.

I have no right to review Jazz. I enjoy listening to it but I don't know the difference between Miles Davis, John Coltrane, or Charlie Parker. I liked this though but not as much as another couple of his albums

Best: Move Worst: Darn That Dream Liked songs: 6/11 Light 3 Honestly not much to say about this album. Maybe this is just my inexperience with jazz talking, but it was pretty interesting for the first few songs but the sound quickly got old. It just felt very samey to me the whole time, though there's a decent chance I'm just an idiot who's a big dumb dumb with jazz. Still pretty solid though.

Moon dreams, godchild muy buenas. muy movido para mi gusto de jazz, pero muy buen álbum.

A nice listen. The songs were much shorter than I expected from a jazz album. Jeru, Moon Dream, and Israel were my standouts. 6.6/10

I'd listened to a bit of jazz before this and more because of the list, and I've generally found I don't like it. The notable exception is A Love Supreme, and unfortunately this won't become the second jazz album I like

I am not cray about jazz, but I can definitely see his brilliance and genius.

The average person cannot see music. This album made me immediately visualize colors, primarily blues. Pretty incredible. Love Miles Davis.

Yup, it sounds like jazz

Not super groovy but not super noisy. No complaints here.

This album didn’t make me feel much, so a little different from some of his other efforts. Rating: 5/10 Favorite Song: Moon Dreams

I liked it better than the last one

Not into Jazz but I guess it's good?

Nog fan är det cool, men lite för mjukt och städat för min Miles-smak. Man vill att han ska börja hänga med coltrane, sabba rösten och få smak för heroin. Stark 3a i alla fall!

Not for me Favourite tracks: Moon Dreams

just sad betty davis didn’t make it here but enjoyed this nevertheless

A classic through and through

Busy. Warm. Over far too quickly.

When this popped up, I was excited being familiar with Miles Davis, but not familiar this album. And honestly let with it got the full weekend, I thought I could savor it. But unfortunately, this one left me with a feeling of meh. This is the hundred-notes-a-run Miles and not the patient, thoughtful one. I'd love to give it above a 3, but I just can't

Classic big band jazz. Enjoyed the faster numbers but not such a fan of the slower ones

Not really my txpe of music

Jazz is gonna be a tough sell for me. It's good but it blends in to the background.