In the summer of 1991 Gerry Mulligan decided to revisit Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool recordings.
He discussed it with Miles Davis himself who said he might be interested in participating but sadly Davis died a few months later.
With Wallace Roney (the perfect sound-alike) in the trumpeter's place, baritonist Mulligan got the band's original pianist and tuba player (John Lewis and Bill Barber), used his own bassist (Dean Johnson) and drummer (Ron Vincent), and found able substitutes in altoist Phil Woods (unfortunately Lee Konitz was unavailable to play his old parts), trombonist Dave Bargeron and John Clark on French horn.
This GRP CD brings back the dozen Birth of the Cool recordings of 1949-50 with Mel Torme taking Pancho Hagood's vocal on "Darn That Dream." Although the charts are the same (and it is a particular pleasure to listen to them with the improved recording quality), the solos are all different and in many cases have been lengthened; no need to stick to only three minutes apiece.
This fascinating disc is most highly recommended to veteran jazz collectors who know the original Birth of the Cool records.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IsraelJohnny Carisi | Gerry Mulligan | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 2 | DeceptionJimmy Davis, Miles Davis | Gerry Mulligan | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 3 | MoveDenzil Best | Gerry Mulligan | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | RougeJohn Lewis | Gerry Mulligan | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 5 | RockerGerry Mulligan | Gerry Mulligan | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 6 | GodchildGeorge Wallington | Gerry Mulligan | Play | 04:12 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | Moon DreamsChummy MacGregor, Johnny Mercer | Gerry Mulligan | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 8 | Venus de MiloGerry Mulligan | Gerry Mulligan | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 9 | BudoMiles Davis, Bud Powell | Gerry Mulligan | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 10 | BoplicityCleo Henry | Gerry Mulligan | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 11 | Darn That DreamEddie DeLange, James Van Heusen | Gerry Mulligan | Play | 05:26 | 12 MB | 28 MB |
| 12 | JeruGerry Mulligan | Gerry Mulligan | Play | 04:41 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 50 mins | 115 MB | |||||
| 50 mins | 283 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam ? | Post Production |
| 2 | Adam | Producer |
| 3 | Andy Baltimore | Director, Photography |
| 4 | Billy Barber | Tuba |
| 5 | Dave Bargeron | Trombone |
| 6 | Denzil Best | Composer |
| 7 | Michael Bloom | Liner Notes |
| 8 | Emili Bogin | Assistant Engineer, Design |
| 9 | Johnny Carisi | Arranger, Composer |
| 10 | John Clark | French Horn |
| 11 | Jimmy Davis | Composer |
| 12 | Miles Davis | Composer |
| 13 | Eddie DeLange | Composer |
| 14 | Joseph Doughney | Post Production, Producer |
| 15 | Gil Evans | Arranger |
| 16 | Leonard Feather | Liner Notes |
| 17 | David Gibb | Design |
| 18 | Dave Grusin | Executive Producer, Producer |
| 19 | Cleo Henry | Composer |
| 20 | James Van Heusen | Composer |
| 21 | Dean Johnson | Bass |
| 22 | Scott Johnson | Art Direction, Cover Design, Design |
| 23 | Doreen Kalcich | Assistant Producer, Producer, Production Coordination |
| 24 | Michael Landy | Producer |
| 25 | John Lewis | Arranger, Composer, Guest Artist, Piano |
| 26 | Joe Lopes | Engineer |
| 27 | Joe López | Engineer |
| 28 | Chummy MacGregor | Composer |
| 29 | Sonny Mediana | Design |
| 30 | Johnny Mercer | Composer |
| 31 | Gerry Mulligan | Arranger, Composer, Primary Artist, Producer, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone) |
| 32 | Jay Newland | Engineer |
| 33 | Michael Pollard | Producer, Production Coordination |
| 34 | Bud Powell | Composer |
| 35 | Wallace Roney | Guest Artist, Trumpet |
| 36 | Larry Rosen | Executive Producer, Producer |
| 37 | Andy Ruggirello | Design |
| 38 | Dan Serrano | Design |
| 39 | John Snyder | Producer |
| 40 | Mel Tormé | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 41 | Ron Vincent | Drums |
| 42 | George Wallington | Composer |
| 43 | Phil Woods | Guest Artist, Sax (Alto) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |