Miles Davis – Birth of the Cool

Of all the innovations Miles Davis played a key role in, this is certainly one of my favorites—the birth of the cool. These seminal nonet recordings mark the first of many Gil Evans-Miles Davis collaborations, and as far as I’m concerned, everything they did together was pure gold.

Gil Evans was a textural and architectural sonic genius, and Miles’ voice was the perfect one to define the top layer.

It’s essentially impossible to overrate the importance of these recordings, so why bother? Just accept their magnificence, and revel in their cool lethality.