Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

"Move" is a bebop composition by drummer Denzil Best, best known through its inclusion on Miles Davis's landmark compilation Birth of the Cool. Recorded on January 21, 1949, for Capitol Records, it became one of the defining tracks of the cool jazz movement.

The tune is in B-flat major and follows a 32-bar AABA form, with its chord changes based on Count Basie's "Jumpin' at the Woodside." The melody is a spirited bebop line, but John Lewis's arrangement for the Davis nonet—which included French horn and tuba alongside the conventional jazz front line—transforms its raw bop energy into a polished, texturally rich ensemble sound. Played at an up-tempo swing, the piece exemplifies the cool jazz aesthetic: bebop's harmonic complexity smoothed into flowing, carefully integrated passages where solo and ensemble interweave seamlessly.

The essential recording is the Davis nonet's 1949 Capitol session, featuring Miles Davis (trumpet), Lee Konitz (alto saxophone), Gerry Mulligan (baritone saxophone), Kai Winding (trombone), Al Haig (piano), and Max Roach (drums). A slightly earlier studio recording was made by Fats Navarro for Dial Records in November 1948, presenting the tune in a more straightforward bebop setting.