Cool Jazz

Cool jazz on vinyl: West Coast, Chet Baker and Pacific Jazz

In short: Cool jazz is the relaxed, clear side of modern jazz: less heat than bebop, but fine arrangements, light tones and plenty of space. Its home in the fifties was the US West Coast, with Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper and Bud Shank. The Vinyl Room currently has 300 cool jazz records.

What is cool jazz?

An album gave it its name in retrospect: Miles Davis’ “Birth of the Cool”, recorded in 1949/50 with a nonet around Gil Evans and Gerry Mulligan. In the fifties California became the centre. The Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker played without a piano at all, and Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Shorty Rogers and Chico Hamilton shaped “West Coast jazz”. Their main homes were Pacific Jazz and Contemporary. Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, Dave Brubeck and the Modern Jazz Quartet also stand for this cool, elegant sound.

What to look for

Many cool jazz records first came out as US mono pressings, some still as 10-inch LPs. With Pacific Jazz and Contemporary it pays to check label and catalogue number – and the covers: William Claxton’s photos for Pacific Jazz are collector’s items in their own right. As always, label, catalogue number, runout and cover must match.

From our stock

Pacific Jazz & Contemporary

First pressings

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FAQ

What’s the difference between cool jazz and hard bop? Cool jazz is quieter, cooler and more arranged. Hard bop is earthier, bluesier and louder.

Where does the name cool jazz come from? Partly from Miles Davis’ album “Birth of the Cool”, recorded in 1949/50.

What is West Coast jazz? The Californian variety of cool jazz in the fifties, with musicians such as Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper and Bud Shank.