Birth of the Cool is a compilation album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1957 on Capitol Records. It compiles eleven songs recorded by Davis's nonet for the label over the course of three sessions during 1949 and 1950.

Featuring unusual instrumentation and several notable musicians, the music consisted of innovative arrangements strongly inspired by classical music, and marked a major development in post-bebop jazz. As the title implies, these recordings are considered seminal in the history of cool jazz. The majority of the recordings on the record are under three minutes.

PERSONNEL:

MILES DAVIS, trumpet on all tracks, accompanied by:

SIDE A [1-4]:
KAI WINDING, trombone
JUNIOR COLLINS, flugelhorn
BILL BARBER, tuba
LEE KONITZ, alto sax
GERRY MULLIGAN, baritone sax
AL HAIG, piano
JOE SHULMAN, bass
MAX ROACH, drums
New York, January 21, 1949.

SIDE A [5-7] & SIDE B [1-2]
J.J. JOHNSON, trombone
SANDY SIEGELSTEIN, flugelhorn
BILL BARBER, tuba
LEE KONITZ, alto sax
GERRY MULLIGAN, baritone sax
JOHN LEWIS, piano
AL McKIBBON, bass
MAX ROACH, drums
New York, March 9, 1949.

SIDE B [3-6]
J.J. JOHNSON, trombone
GUNTHER SCHULLER, flugelhorn
BILL BARBER, tuba
LEE KONITZ, alto sax
GERY MULLIGAN, baritone sax
JOHN LEWIS, piano
AL McKIBBON, bass
MAX ROACH, drums
New Yoork, March 9, 1950

SIDE A:

01. JERU
02. MOVE
03. GODCHILD
04. BUDO
05. VENUS DE MILO
06. ROUGE

SIDE B:

01. BOPLICITY
02. ISRAEL
03. DECEPTION
04. ROCKER
05. MOONDREAMS
06. DARN THAT DREAM