Music From And Inspired by The Film Birth Of The Cool

The definitive audio companion to the critically-acclaimed new documentary directed and produced by Stanley Nelson, the soundtrack is an essential Miles Davis playlist for seasoned fans and new listeners alike, lovingly curated by the director and paired with short audio excerpts from the film for a unique listening experience.

It was a sad day for cool jazz when Lennie Niehaus made film music - not jazz - his primary focus. From a jazz standpoint, the Los Angeles resident had so much going for him. Niehaus had an attractive tone along the lines of Lee Konitz and early Bud Shank, and he was a talented arranger to boot. Produced by Lester Koenig in L.A. in 1956, Lennie Niehaus, Vol. 5: The Sextet is quite representative of Niehaus' Contemporary output of the 1950s. This album, which Fantasy reissued on CD on its Original Jazz Classics imprint in 2001, finds Niehaus leading a sextet that boasts Bill Perkins on tenor sax and flute, Jimmy Giuffre on baritone sax, Stu Williamson on trumpet and valve trombone, Buddy Clark on upright bass, and Shelly Manne on drums - in other words, the cream of the southern California crop…

The first feature film directed by Jean-Luc Godard and one of the seminal films of the French New Wave, Breathless is story of the love between Michel Poiccard, a small-time hood wanted for killing a cop, and Patricia Franchini, an American who sells the International Herald Tribune along the boulevards of Paris. Their relationship develops as Michel hides out from a dragnet. Breathless uses the famous techniques of the French New Wave: location shooting, improvised dialogue, and a loose narrative form. In addition Godard uses his characteristic jump cuts, deliberate "mismatches" between shots, and references to the history of cinema, art, and music. Much of the film's vigor comes from collisions between popular and high culture: Godard shows us pinups and portraits of women by Picasso and Renoir, and the soundtrack includes both Mozart's clarinet concerto and snippets of French pop radio.

Lennie Niehaus - Volume 5: The Sextet (1956) {Contemporary-Victor Japan Mini LP VICJ-41700 20bit K2 rel 2006}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 153 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 91 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 78 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956, 2006 Contemporary Records / Victor Japan | Mini LP | VICJ-41700 | 20bit K2 remaster
Jazz / Cool / Bop / Saxophone

It was a sad day for cool jazz when Lennie Niehaus made film music – not jazz – his primary focus. From a jazz standpoint, the Los Angeles resident had so much going for him. Niehaus had an attractive tone along the lines of Lee Konitz and early Bud Shank, and he was a talented arranger to boot. Produced by Lester Koenig in L.A. in 1956, Lennie Niehaus, Vol. 5: The Sextet is quite representative of Niehaus' Contemporary output of the 1950s. This album finds Niehaus leading a sextet that boasts Bill Perkins on tenor sax and flute, Jimmy Giuffre on baritone sax, Stu Williamson on trumpet and valve trombone, Buddy Clark on upright bass, and Shelly Manne on drums – in other words, the cream of the southern California crop.

Enrico Rava - The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint & Soul Note (2010) {5CD Set CAM Jazz BXS1002 rec 1972-1994}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.35 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 511 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 130 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1972-94, 2010 CAM Jazz / Black Saint / Soul Note | BXS 1002
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Creative / Trumpet

Good news! Five of Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava's Black Saint and Soul Note recordings have been reissued by CAM Jazz in one of those pretty white box sets with each LP reproduced as a separate CD tucked into a miniature record jacket. Born at Trieste in 1939, Rava later attributed his lifelong pursuit of modern jazz to the influence of Miles Davis. One might add Don Cherry and Freddie Hubbard to that equation, along with maybe Richard Williams and Lee Morgan. In order to fully comprehend what he was up to from the '70s onward, it is important to consider the artistic company that Rava kept during the ‘60s. Take a moment, for example, to ponder the blended influences of Chet Baker and Gato Barbieri.