Genre: World Music Sub Genre: Mambo Release Date: 07/02/2000 Original Release Year: 1958 Label / Distributor: Blue Note / EMI Studio / Live: Studio Stereo: Mono Format: Performer

So dubbed because these three sessions -- two from early 1949, one from March 1950 -- are where the sound known as cool jazz essentially formed, 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. Indeed, the most remarkable thing about these sessions -- arranged by Gil Evansand featuring such heavy-hitters as Kai Winding, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, and Max Roach-- is that they sound intimate, as the nonet never pushes too hard, never sounds like the work of nine musicians. Furthermore, the group keeps things short and concise (probably the result of the running time of singles, but the results are the same), which keeps the focus on the tones and tunes. 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

"SABU" L.MARTINEZ,conga,bongo and vocal ARSENIO RODRIGUEZ,conga,guitar and vocal RAUL "CAESAR" TRAVIESO,conga and vocal ISRAEL MOISES "QUIQUE" TRAVIESO,conga RAY "MOSQUITO" ROMERO,conga EVARISTO BARO,bass WILLIE CAPO,vocal SARAH BARO,vocal Recording engineer:RUDY VAN GELDER

Brilliant Corners is a studio album by American jazz musician Thelonious Monk. It was his third album for Riverside Records and the first, for this label, to include his own compositions. The complex title track required over a dozen takes in the studio, and is considered one of his most difficult compositions