Conception (song)

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"Conception" is a 1950 jazz standard written by George Shearing in the bebop style.^[1] The composition is in the key of Db and is noticeable for its chromatic descending chord sequences. The original score was adapted by Miles Davis in 1950, who created an arrangement that kept Shearing's chord changes and main theme, but replaced the composition's bridge and ending with new melodic material. This arrangement is documented on a February 1950 broadcast recording in New York City featuring Stan Getz, J.J. Johnson, and Art Blakey. Davis recorded this same arrangement in October 1951 for his first LP, The New Sounds (Prestige Records, 1951). Davis also did a complete rewrite of "Conception" in 1950 (creating an entire new main theme) for his Birth of the Cool nonet, giving the composition the title "Deception". Recorded in March 1950, "Deception" retained the rewritten bridge melody from Davis's 1950 "Conception" arrangement, as well as Shearing's original chord progression. Davis's 1954 Blue Note recording "Take Off" also uses the "Conception" chord progression, including Davis's own additions to the form (the pedal point introduction, which reappears as an added six measures to the end of the form), but "Take Off" does not include any of Shearing's original melody, and is credited to Davis.

Shearing's original composition was later recorded by artists such as Bud Powell and Kurt Rosenwinkel. Miles Davis's "Conception" arrangement was frequently played and recorded by Chet Baker.