Miles Davis from Birth of Cool . . .

George Cables, the band leader and piano player, took the stage first and arranged his music. Then Lonnie Plaxico started working the bass. Vincent Lewis sat down at the drums, and Eric Alexander on sax, Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, and Eddie Henderson on trumpet completed the band. It was Friday night at the Iridium. I went to hear the second set of their tribute to Miles Davis. They opened the set with "So What" from Miles Davis' 1959 album "Kind of Blue." The song opened with a contemplative bass solo, and Lonnie Plaxico was all still, cool, lone wolf up there filling the room with his pulse. Jeremy Pelt's trumpet came in elegant and bright. I love the vulnerable sound of Miles Davis, and on "'Round Midnight" Jeremy captured it. He was haunting. And Eric Alexander burned it up on "81" by Ron Carter with his incredible speed and penetrating sound. This week there is another tribute to Miles Davis at Smoke on Fri., Sat. and Sun. with George Coleman, Eddie Henderson, Harold Maburn, Dwayne Burno and Joe Farnsworth.