The Gil Evans Orchestra - Out Of The Cool (1961)

Here's something that sounds particularly good in a sweltering summer.  Coming hot on the heels of Gil Evans' Sketches Of Spain collaboration with Miles Davis, Out Of The Cool was one of the first batch of LPs released on the new Impulse! label.  

 

Trading some of the tightly-written arrangements that were Evans' stock in trade for a slightly looser, more rhythmic groove, the album hits cooking temperature right away with the 15-minute La Nevada, the insistent rhythm an ideal base for soloing.  A pair of refreshed standards follow, with a lovely trombone-led Where Flamingos Fly then a languid Bilbao Song.  An extended take on George Russell's Stratusphunk highlights more great solos over a walking strut, and the album closes on a pensive note with another Evans composition, Sunken Treasure.

link

pw: sgtg

Arrangements by Gil Evans at SGTG:

Miles Davis: Miles Ahead, Sketches Of Spain, Quiet Nights

Astrud Gilberto: Look To The Rainbow