The Re-Birth Octet

“Chris Coull and the Rebirth Octet’s rendition of Miles Davis’ 1957 album ‘Birth of the Cool’ is far from just a note-for-note recreation.” Ivan Hewett – Daily Telegraph.

Reproducing and reinterpreting the music of Miles Davis’ now classic album “Birth Of The Cool”, the group features some unusual instrumentation rarely seen in modern jazz (French horn, Tuba). The music consists of innovative arrangements influenced by classical music techniques such as polyphony, which at the time marked a major development in post-bebop jazz. As the title suggests, these recordings are considered seminal in the history of cool jazz. Given the group’s size and unusual line up, the music is rarely, if ever heard live. The original arrangements have been carefully transcribed and arranged for this project, lengthening the original 3-4 minute tunes (for the 78rpm records of the day) into extended pieces of music that showcase the group’s broad array of Sussex’s jazz talent. The original recordings exclusively featured the trumpet of Miles Davis, but in this reimagining we have used the pieces as vehicles for improvisation, focusing in turn on each member.

Some of Sussex’s most well-known jazz players including award winning saxophonists Andy Panayi (alto) and Bob McKay (baritone), a rhythm section of George Trebar (Double Bass) and Joe Edwards, (drums) and Gil Evan’s unconventional brass section; the renowned Jim Rattigan (French horn), Mike Pilley (trombone), Gabriel Garrick (sousaphone) and of course Chris Coull (trumpet); also the arranger and musical director.