Blue Moods isn't as somber as the name would suggest, but it is a nice look into the early inner workings of what cool jazz would eventually be. The opener, "Nature Boy", is most certainly blue, but it's slow pace eventually gives way to more upbeat tracks like "There's No You". The ensemble here is quite good, with Davis on the trumpet, Charles Mingus (whose record label released this record) on the double bass, Elvin Jones manning the kit, Britt Goodman playing trombone, and the secret weapon of the album, Teddy Charles, on the vibraphone. His playing on the vibraphone gives some swell personality to what is already a pretty good cool jazz album, especially on the two aforementioned songs, which are definitely a couple of early cool jazz classics. In all, with a short twenty-six minute runtime, Blue Moods marks itself as a precursor to the cool jazz movement, and a good album in Miles Davis' early discography.
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