Birth Of The Cool (Rudy Van Gelder Edition)

酷派爵士乐(Cool Jazz) 一般而言指1949-1950年间，由小喇叭手迈尔士戴维斯(Miles Davis)  所领导的九重奏为Capitol唱片公司灌录的专辑《Birth of the Cool》所代表的乐风，它的诞  生使主流爵士乐风，从咆哮乐风的"热"，转向另一个反方向酷派乐风的"冷"，这是一种180度大  逆转的历史性发展。酷派爵士乐代表一种内敛自省的情感，它是一种轻柔、清凉与抒情的含蓄  情愫；它的音色不如一般铜管器那样亮丽夺目，取而代之的是柔和优美。若说咆哮乐是代表热  情奔放，那么酷派爵士乐就是内敛自省。简而言之，酷派爵士乐是对咆哮乐的反抗与检讨，同  时也唤醒美国西岸一些白人乐手的自觉运动，形成一股新兴的爵士乐潮流-西岸酷派爵士乐  (West Coast Cool Jazz)。而酷派爵士最着名的作品，即是迈尔士戴维斯五重奏的「KIND OF  BLUE」。    1947年推出"Birth of The Cool"一直以来都是大部份Miles迷公认的第一张应该拥有的专  辑。这又当然视乎您对老迈产生兴趣时的周遭环境所发生之变数如何。如果是混合乐乐迷  (Fusion Jazz)的话，"Rebirth of The Cool"极有可能是继"Bithches Brew"，"Kind of  Blue"之后理所当然的藏碟。但我一直以为"Birth of The Cool"实际上较诸"Kind Of Blues"更  适合作为老迈入门盘之选。从"Kind of Blue"回到"Cool"可能会出现戏剧性之反高潮效果。    毫无疑问，"Birth of The Cool"是首张以老迈挂名的发行唱片，但我们也不要被那专辑名  称给蒙骗了。一方面此专辑之名字实在是于唱片发行十年后(1957)才被追封的。这实在充分反  映了当时的乐评(特别是纽约地区)对于酷乐(Cool Jazz)的现实态度。要不是Dave Brubeck的一  曲畅销曲"Take Five"在五十年代中期大红大紫，我想他们一定还在说酷乐如何的沉闷消极；一  九五四年中Dave Brubeck登上时代周刊成为封面人物，对于这一群故步自封的家伙，更俨如当  头棒喝。此外"Birth of The Cool"乐风固然是酷、阵型也酷，但唯独老迈一人以众人皆醉我自  醒之态大吹Bebop!!老迈第一次与Claude Thornhill band的白人主脑Gil Evans之世纪碰头在爵  士乐史上无庸置疑极其重要(种族歧视问题对于Miles音乐的影响详见第二章哥伦比亚时期之论  点)，加上以这支Claude Thornhill band中各个咆哮乐(Bebop)反动份子如Gerry Mulligan,  John Lewis, Lee Konitz等参与之九重奏(Nonet)不但取经欧陆，就连所散发的乐风型态都极尽  Scored Music之能事(相对于即兴乐- Improvised Music)。老迈在录音前无疑花了很长的时间  进行编排筹划的工作，而Gil Evans的影响力更是处处可闻。含蓄的布局、恬静的节奏互动、队  员之间取得难得的默契(试想想以火爆性格驰名的老迈，一生中难得跟其他乐师取得音乐上的默  契)，一一将独奏段落化Bop乐之繁以成就乐曲旋律编排之美；一心以各种回异之铜管编排去勾  划出尤如法国印象画派所表现的素色块图案(Pastel Palette)风貌。实在难怪外国乐评在谈  论"Birth of The Cool"一碟时往往要用上Subtle, Subdued,甚至Sublime这一系列通常用作谈  论古典乐的词汇。 "Birth of The Cool"全碟风格实在跟欧陆所谓的Salon Music不遑多让，就  算我们撇开音乐的功能性而集中于音乐性本身而言，轻盈悦耳的旋律固然美丽，但始终音符互  动以至明亮的节奏基础在爵士乐发展上巳经根深蒂固，如果"Birth of The Cool"在当年宣  告"革命成功"，我想爵士乐就难免沦为附庸风雅的背景音向，真真正正达到只可远观而不可褒  玩的"高雅艺术"。    不知是否Miles Davis巳经洞悉其中一切；抑或他在Charles Parker队伍中所见所闻实在刻  骨铭心，他的吹奏无疑保持一贯的Lyrical, 沉静的音色游于中度音域左右，却永远避免一如  Bebop乐中的上高音Attack Mode，但归纳他在"Birth of the Cool"中的音乐编排，队员"Roll  Call"的模式无一不是Dizzy/Parker式最典型的排列。他在"Israel"一曲中的蓝调用语取材虽然  来自Parker，可是其中他以最为简洁的音符却有效带出蓝调色彩(Mood)的语法实在前无古人；  同样地他在"Move"中不独吹奏出有趣准确的和声片段，其中他以听似前进但同时逆行的节奏方  式，在短短的三十秒内抢尽风头，所散发的原创性实可与其师Charles Parker平起平坐。    说实在，我相信对于部份乐手而言，能够玩奏出以上两首Solo者大可光荣引退衣锦还乡  了。但对于刚好二十出头的Miles Davis，好戏尚在后头 by Stephen Thomas Erlewine 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 Evans and 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