Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Jim Motavalli wrote in the New Haven Advocate: "Giants walk the earth, and some of them have brought their horns to the New Haven Jazz Festival over the years. Trumpet player Freddie Hubbard, overcoming reputed health problems, was so scorching that the grass had to be replanted. After going dark for a year, the New Haven Jazz Festival is back. Although there are still several imported guest stars, the core of the festival is local, and that's a good thing. Recent developments have given New Haven jazz ample reason to strut its stuff. Playing on Saturday night is the New Haven Jazz Orchestra, headed by New Haven-based trombonist and arranger Drake Smith. The orchestra was launched in 2006, Smith says, and had a long-running gig at the now-defunct Blues Pizza in Hamden. 'We're looking for a permanent home now,' he says. … Smith is a huge fan of the jazz arranging of Gil Evans, particularly on such Miles Davis albums as Birth of the Cool. 'There was so much great stuff being done in the 1950s,' he says" ("Jazz Returns to the Green: After a Hiatus, the Jazz Fest Is Back, and Local!," 8/7/08).