Conception is a 1949 bebop jazz standard written by George Shearing. The tune is in Db and is noted for its chromatic descending chord progressions. Miles Davis adapted Conception in 1950, keeping Shearing's changes and main theme but replacing the bridge and ending with new material; this arrangement was performed on a February 1950 broadcast with Stan Getz, J.J. Johnson, and Art Blakey and later recorded on Davis's 1951 Prestige LP The New Sounds. Davis also created a complete rewrite of the piece as Deception for the Birth of the Cool sessions (1950). The 1954 Blue Note Take Off uses the Conception chord progression but does not include Shearing's original melody. The tune has been recorded by Bud Powell, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Chet Baker, and is widely associated with Miles Davis. Some early sources debated the authorship, suggesting Bud Powell, but most scholars credit Shearing; Powell did not record Conception until 1953. It remains a jazz standard in bebop and post-bop repertoires.
