This is a particularly strong set from trumpeter Kenny Dorham, for it has the debut versions of "Lotus Flower," "Minor Holiday," and "La Villa," three of his most rewarding compositions. The first half of the set is Afro-Cuban in nature due to the inclusion of Carlos "Potato" Valdes' conga; also on the four songs (plus a previously unreleased alternate take of "Minor's Holiday") are trombonist J.J. Johnson, Hank Mobley on tenor, baritonist Cecil Payne, pianist Horace Silver, bassist Oscar Pettiford, and drummer Art Blakey. The final four numbers (including a "new" song added to the CD reissue, "K.D.'s Cab Ride") are more straight-ahead in nature and drop out Valdes and Johnson while substituting Percy Heath for Pettiford. In both cases, Dorham has an all-star group of young hard boppers eager to play his challenging and memorable originals. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide (From Amazon.ca)

The first important leader date from one of jazz's most seminal figures and farsighted practitioners. Having made his reputation in large measure from playing with bop giant Charlie Parker, Davis confounded expectations when he embraced the "cool" arranging style of Gil Evans, an arranger for Claude Thornhill's band. Evans, who was employing unique voicings by adding French horns and tuba to Thornhill's instrumentations, also emphasized a diminished use of vibrato in both reeds and brass, producing a drier, "cool" sound. Two of Evans's arrangements, "Boplicity" and "Moon Dreams," appear on the album. Also involved are baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, who contributed such outstanding tunes as "Jeru" and "Venus de Milo," and Modern Jazz Quartet pianist John Lewis. The result is a date that has withstood the tests of time, fashion, and Davis's own extraordinary growth as a performer. An enhanced set, The Complete Birth of the Cool features previously bootlegged live recordings of the nonet at the Royal Roos in New York in 1948. Although the sound quality is far from perfect, the performances are remarkable, and worth the additional expense for the serious fan. --Fred Goodman (From Amazon.com)

Recorded after Gil Evans provided the orchestral clouds through which Miles Davis blew on such classics as Sketches of Spain, Porgy and Bess, and Miles Ahead, Out of the Cool is a starburst. Evans's title makes clear that this is a path away from the legendary 1949 Birth of the Cool, opening as it does with an obsessive (if calmly so) vamp that pulses for two minutes with maracas rattling before all the orchestra's instruments enter. Built on a repeating four-bar figure, "La Nevada" goes on to peg Evans as a fully realized orchestra player, one who uses the color palette of over a dozen distinct voices as his instrument. As a pianist Evans manages startling spareness, making dramatic miniature figures and then comping through the orchestra's skein with ritual regularity. Looking at the provenance of these tunes, one realizes Evans's true scope of knowledge: he moves from Kurt Weill's "Bilbao Song" to the Lydian (as in George Russell) modal structure of "Stratusphunk" to close the session with a regally charted take on Horace Silver's "Sister Sadie." Note how trumpeter Johnny Coles steps up as a main soloist, and follow the harmonic topography. It's a rare treat. --Andrew Bartlett (From Amazon.com)