Great Recording Sessions

As the evolution of bebop continued during the 1950s, the next chapter in the Birth of the Cool Legacy was written on the East Coast. The innovative approaches of Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Rogers and other California-based artists were beginning to be challenged by a forward-looking group of composer/performers in New York City whose… Read more

The tentette recordings that Gerry Mulligan (1927-1996) made for Capitol Records in January 1953 were an outgrowth of both the Miles Davis Birth of the Cool sessions of 1949 and 1950, to which he had contributed significantly, and the piano-less quartet featuring trumpeter Chet Baker that had brought the baritone saxophonist his first real recognition.… Read more

About eighteen months after the final Miles Davis Capitol Records nonet session, the next chapter in the “Birth of the Cool Legacy” was written when trumpeter/composer/arranger Shorty Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; 1924-1994) recorded six tracks that were produced by Gene Norman. Taking place on October 8, 1951, the session was Rogers’ first as a leader… Read more

My post on The Miles Davis Birth of the Cool sessions prompted some fascinating emails to the Jazz West Coast Google Group from some really knowledgeable people. I am excerpting some of their comments here. From Gordon Jack (July 19, 2018): When I interviewed Gerry Mulligan for my book Fifties Jazz Talk he told me,… Read more

Trumpeter and 1984 NEA Jazz Master Miles Davis (1926-1991) was a life-long innovator with an uncanny ability to discover and employ talented band members, many of whom would themselves go on to fame and fortune. He was always pushing the envelope and encouraging his sidemen to do the same. As a result, his recordings have substantially… Read more

A Brief Return of Dexter Gordon Nineteen fifty-five was the year that the 12-inch LP became the preferred format for issuing jazz recordings and the beginning of a decade-long period that produced some of the most revered and influential albums in the history of this music. It was also the year in which bebop would… Read more