Jeru - Miles Davis Nonet

The exhale through the nose that joins the beginning of a smile. The air transfer that facilitates the transition from un to connected — the elemental inspiration. Cool is the only thing I've ever wanted to be. Before beauty, before success, before achievement—there is cool. For better or worse, it’s the first quality I scan for in a place, a person, a thing, or a thought. It can be bright or broken, loud or quiet, adored or feared: and is it cool?

That’s why, here in the early days of the playlist project, I’m including Jeru from Birth of the Cool: a thesis on the subject. The Birth of the Cool sessions brought together a nonet of musicians (most of whom were or would become Titans of Cool) who believed that jazz could maybe be something different than it had been: and that it was worth a shot. I'm sure they had other reasons too, I'm not a music historian. At the center was Miles Davis, 22 years old.

Miles once said: “I have to change. It’s like a curse.”

Cool doesn’t get to be comfortable for long, the frantic, corny, clingy heat of normalcy is in eternal pursuit. Cool has to shift. It has to live in the real moment—not the one people wish for, but the one that exists. Birth of the Cool didn’t just move on from bebop; it looked toward what jazz could become if it deprioritized virtuosity, felt a different sort of way.

You can hear that in Jeru, written by Gerry Mulligan. It has a calm swagger, born comfortable. Unfuckwithable.

“I always listen to what I can leave out.” — Miles Davis

Sometimes the coolest thing is not to respond to the uncool. Notice it, be kind to it, step around it, and focus. Diffuse the interesting from the normal and put it on display. Nurture cool flowers—get cool fruits.

Working Definition: Cool is the ability to remain composed, expressive, and distinct in a way that feels unforced and authentic.

This is a playlist I’ll be adding to over time. Each song comes with a journal entry of some kind—what that looks like might shift and morph as I go. I’m going to have fun with these. It’s a celebration of songs that make me feel all kinds of ways.