“Relaxin’” is one of four albums (the others are Cookin’, Workin’, and Steamin’) done with the Miles Davis Quintet for Prestige. The legendary quintet is remembered as one of the most important and influential bebop groups of all time, featuring Miles Davis on trumpet, John Coltrane on saxophone, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. 

This listen is filled with the sound of bells. In the first track of the record, we’re greeted with the well-known theme “If I Were a Bell,” and throughout the album Red Garland hits the higher octaves on the piano behind soloists, creating the sounds of chimes. Notably, their arrangement of the song Oleo features Red Garland and Philly Joe Jones playing cuban claves in delicate and tinkling imitation of bells. 

These bells aren’t the conspicuous and tolling reminders of time or church, but subtle ornamentations. And these sounds are only made possible through the soft and laid back ambience of the quintet’s playing — truly, in a “Relaxin’” manner as the title suggests. Philly Joe Jones plays very subtly, accenting his special Philly “licks” but otherwise quietly locked in with the bass and letting the melody take the reins. When no more than four people, two people if we minus the bass and drums, are playing most of the time, the horn and the piano take up most of the sound. And this simplicity and quiet atmosphere is akin to the wafting breeze on the lakeside, the chiming bells of houses complementing the tranquility of the day. 

Take a listen to this record, if you want to hear a clear and ringing story to be told. “Relaxin’” is one of the more accessible jazz records because of the upfront simplicity of the arrangement and lyricism. It doesn't contain super-out and avant garde sounds, and tells a singable and memorable melody throughout it’s tracks.