Number 12: Kind of Blue

Album: Kind of Blue

Artist: Miles Davis

Year: 1959

DISCLAIMER: Although I have a large admiration and appreciation for jazz, I really know nothing about it. Therefore, anything I could say about this record is terribly uniformed and wouldn't do this album justice.

Information: Miles had started becoming upset after his realization that bebop was hindering creativity, so he started experimented with new, more loose and free versions of jazz. Miles Davis then released two jazz albums that had begun experimentation with modality. Unlike the two experimental albums, Kind of Blue was Miles' full immersion into the new genre. Miles and his band didn't rehearse any material to be recorded and he only gave his performers sketches of scales and melody lines to improvise upon. He then gave them brief instructions on the songs and they then played them.

Is it Great? I certainly enjoy it.

Here's a review I find suitable: Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album, a universally acknowledged standard of excellence. Why does Kind of Blue posses [sic] such a mystique? Perhaps because this music never flaunts its genius. It lures listeners in with the slow, luxurious bassline [sic] and gentle piano chords of "So What." From that moment on, the record never really changes pace -- each tune has a similar relaxed feel, as the music flows easily. Yet Kind of Blue is more than easy listening. It's the pinnacle of modal jazz -- tonality and solos build from the overall key, not chord changes, giving the music a subtly shifting quality. All of this doesn't quite explain why seasoned jazz fans return to this record even after they've memorized every nuance. They return because this is an exceptional band -- Miles, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb -- one of the greatest in history, playing at the peak of its power. As Evans said in the original liner notes for the record, the band did not play through any of these pieces prior to recording. Davis laid out the themes before the tape rolled, and then the band improvised. The end results were wondrous and still crackle with vitality. Kind of Blue works on many different levels. It can be played as background music, yet it amply rewards close listening. It is advanced music that is extraordinarily enjoyable. It may be a stretch to say that if you don't like Kind of Blue, you don't like jazz -- but it's hard to imagine it as anything other than a cornerstone of any jazz collection. (source)