COMPOSERS: Gerry Mulligan
LABELS: GRP Records
PERFORMER: Gerry Mulligan
CATALOGUE NO: GRD-9679 DDD
It is sometimes necessary for a musician to re-examine his own past in order to break new ground, but I'm not sure why Gerry Mulligan has re-recorded these 40-year-old tracks.
The results are pleasant enough, with some superb solos by Wallace Roney and altoist Phil Woods (replacing Miles Davis and Lee Konitz from the original sessions). But what is missing is the tremendous dynamism of Birth of the Cool (now available on CD, EMI CDP 928622).
Miles was a mere 22 years old, Mulligan and Konitz a year younger - but their pioneering spirit is unrepeatable when following an old trail.