Right out of the gate this is a vital and exciting album! I know that 'Kind of Blue' is seen as Miles' masterpiece, but my favourite of his oeuvre has always been "Birth of the Cool" (with an honourable mention going to "ESP").
Although this was released as an album in 1957, the 3 sessions that gave 'birth' to this material had actually taken place in 1949 and 1950. Miles had been playing in Charlie Parker's band, taking the place of Dizzy who'd gotten tired of Bird's unprofessionalism, alcoholism and drug use. Miles could never really match Diz for sheer technical proficiency and speed; his strengths lie more in melody and musical exploration... both of which feature here.
Miles got together with the arranger Gil Evans who was hosting musical meetings and sessions at his apartment. With his growing reputation as a jazz arranger he was a great asset in Miles' search for a new sound.
What you get here is a nice mix with the speed and virtuosity displayed in bebop, but generally with a richer texture and a greater focus on melody. Where bebop was frequently stripped down to allow room for the soloists to 'spread their wings' "Birth of the Cool has almost more of an almost orchestral feel in places, like the beautiful, slightly eerie harmonies of "moon dreams" which nicely offset the perky bebop of the opener "Jeru". The interplay between soloists and the rest of the band is brilliant, much more complimentary melodic interplay than in a standard bebop sound (it should be noted by the way that I love bebop, so I'm not looking to slag it off, only to highlight the differences between this music and what had come before).
As an initial solo artistic statement, this is pretty damned strong... too bad that it went generally unnoticed until Miles had earned greater fame, and the West Coast jazz movement had gained popularity.
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