Ralph Miller and Bill Martin are members of the nonet who will play Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool tonight. "Miles Davis always clamours for doing less, playing fewer notes but playing the better notes," he says in the end, choosing to use just a few well-considered words to capture the essence of it. "The players were playing soft; they weren’t trying to blow you away with sound," Martin explains of the Cool approach. There were still elements of bebop and big-band jazz, but Davis was playing in a much more laid-back and conceptual way, he says. The gigRebirth of the Cool with the Ralph Miller NonetHanover Hall, 65 Hanover St, DunedinTonight (Saturday April 17) 7.30pm-11pm

Source: Otago Daily Times April 16, 2021 17:15 UTC