Miles Davis' Birth Of The Cool Tribute At Yoshi's San Francisco - Pictures, Review

Last Monday we had the pleasure of stopping in at Yoshi's San Francisco to catch the birthday tribute to Miles Davis' record The Birth Of The Cool, and we have to say we're glad we did. Never mind the fact that there was a legitimate nonet (yes, that's nine people), but the show was great as well. The material from the record was fantastic - "Move" sent chills up our spine when it started. While the band didn't play the whole record, or in order, they certainly played enough choice cuts to leave us satisfied. On top of Miles' material, the band played some original tunes that were completely solid and fit in perfectly with the set.

Clocking in at around an hour and a half, and just a single set, the show was a little shorter than we expected. That being said, we were glad to have gotten out of the house. Not only to hear the tunes from Birth Of The Cool, but also to check out the new facility at Yoshi's San Francisco for the first time. We have to say we were honestly impressed. The venue has fantastic sound quality, a great vibe, and enough space to make the table layout intimate but adequately spacious. Rest assured that we'll be back again soon.



More photos at the HAD Archive

Yoshi's Presenting Local Birth Of The Cool Tribute

Here at HAD, we're more than willing to accept that we aren't exactly jazz aficionados. To be expert in the catalogs of most major jazz artists is a monstrous undertaking. To be frank, part of our fear is getting too immersed in jazz, and summarily bankrupting ourselves with record purchases. The cost of rare vinyl alone is enough to scare small children!

That being said, we certainly do enjoy the art form, and we're more than happy to dip our toe in the lake on a regular basis. When we do, we tend to have "go to" records and artists - one such combo is Miles Davis' Birth Of The Cool. Specifically, the reissue The Complete Birth Of The Cool. Besides being one of our first loved jazz records, the reissue also features a live take on the record that really gets our blood flowing. Moreover, the recordings are considered seminal in the development of "cool", or west coast, jazz. In short, if you harbor even a mild appreciation of jazz and don't own this disc, you should.

So, that being said, this news has us pretty excited: In honor of Miles' birthday on May 25th Yoshi's San Francisco is hosting a Birth Of The Cool tribute featuring nine (same as the original record) local musicians: Marcus Shelby, Mike Olmos, Erik Jekabson, Joe Cohen, Adam Theis, Adam Shulman, Jeff Marrs, Sheldon Brown and Mike Rinta will pay tribute to the original record, and we couldn't be more excited. We have no idea exactly what the tribute will consist of, but if it even somewhat catches the flavor of the original masterpiece, that will be enough for us. Tickets are on-sale now.