VINYL FORMAT. The Birth of the Cool remains one of the defining, pivotal moments in jazz. This is where the elasticity of bop was married with skillful, big-band arrangements and a relaxed, subdued mood that made it all seem easy, even at its most intricate. After all, there's a reason why this music was called cool; it has a hip, detached elegance, never getting too hot, even as the rhythms skip and jump. The virtuosity led to relaxing, stylish mood music as the end result — the very thing that came to define West Coast or "cool" jazz — but this music is so inventive, it remains alluring even after its influence has been thoroughly absorbed into the mainstream
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