Kind of Blue
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| Kind of Blue | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image:MilesDavisKindofBlue.jpg | ||
| Album by Miles Davis | ||
| Released | 1959 | |
| Recorded | March 2 & April 22 1959 | |
| Genre | Jazz | |
| Length | 55:16 (CD reissue) | |
| Label | Columbia | |
| Producer | Irving Townsend | |
| Professional reviews | ||
| Miles Davis chronology | ||
| Porgy and Bess (1958) | Kind of Blue (1959) | Sketches of Spain (1960) |
Kind of Blue is a 1959 album by jazz musician Miles Davis (see 1959 in music).
As was Davis's practice, he called his bandmembers to the recording studio at short notice. The musicians had no idea what they were to record; Davis himself had only a few chords, scales, and melody ideas in mind for each song. Once the musicians were assembled, Davis gave brief instructions for each piece, then set to recording.
With the exception of "Flamenco Sketches", which required a second take (the original is included on the CD reissue), the sextet recorded all the songs to Davis's satisfaction with only one complete take each. Davis would later use similar recording practices, for example on another of his epochal records, Bitches Brew. He thought that giving musicians little notice, little or no rehearsal, and only vague instructions forced them to pay very close attention to their own performances and to the other musicians.
Kind of Blue is notable for its use of modes. While Davis was certainly not the first jazz musician to use modes, the album was recorded and released in an era when the jazz world seemed to be aching for change: big bands had lost most of their audience, and there seemed to be nothing new to say with bebop. It's worth noting that Kind of Blue was recorded in the same year – almost to the same month – as Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come, a revolutionary album that stretched jazz beyond bebop.
Kind of Blue was a startling change for its era, and was almost instantly recognized, both critically and commercially. Though precise figures have been disputed, Kind of Blue has been cited as Davis's best-selling album, and as the best-selling jazz record of all time.
Contents |
Influence
Kind of Blue is not only regarded as one of Davis's masterworks, but one of the most influential albums in the history of jazz. One reviewer has called it "a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album, a universally acknowledged standard of excellence." [1]
Ashley Kahn said in his book, Kind of Blue: The Making of a Miles Davis Masterpiece: "Still acknowledged as the height of hip four decades after it was recorded, Kind of Blue is the premier album of its era, jazz or otherwise. Its vapory piano introduction is universally recognized" (Kahn 16). Quincy Jones, one of Davis' longtime friends, wrote: "That [Kind of Blue] will always be my music, man. I play Kind of Blue every day — it's my orange juice. It still sounds like it was made yesterday" (Kahn 19). Chick Corea, one of Miles' acolytes, was also struck by its majesty. He said: "It's one thing to just play a tune, or play a program of music, but it's another thing to practically create a new language of music, which is what Kind of Blue did" (Kahn 19).
One significant aspect of Kind of Blue is that the entire record, not just one song, was revolutionary. Gary Burton noted this occurrence. "It wasn’t just one tune that was a breakthrough, it was the whole record. When new jazz styles come along, the first few attempts to do it are usually kind of shaky. Early Charlie Parker records were like this. But with Kind of Blue [the sextet] all sound like they’re fully into it" (Kahn 179).
Along with Dave Brubeck's Time Out, Kind of Blue is often recommended as an introductory jazz album, for similar reasons as the Brubeck record: the music is very melodic, and the relaxed "open" quality of the songs makes the improvisation easy for listeners to follow, without sacrificing one iota of brilliance or creativity.
In 1997 Kind of Blue was named the thirteenth greatest album of all time in a Music of the Millennium poll conducted by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian, and Classic FM. In 2003 the TV network VH1 placed it at number sixty-six. VH1's Ashley Kahn has devoted an entire book to the record: Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece (ISBN 0306810670). In 2002, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.
The album's influence reaches beyond jazz. For example, Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright has said that the chord progressions on this album influenced the structure of the introductory chords of their song "Breathe" on the landmark 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon.
Track listing
All compositions were listed as being written by Davis. However, the scholarly consensus is that the introduction to "So What" was written by Gil Evans, and that "Blue in Green" was entirely written by Bill Evans. This was far from an unknown occurrence in the jazz world, and Davis had been on the receiving end of such mistakes himself: while in Charlie Parker's band, Parker received credit for the Davis-penned tune "Donna Lee", which later became a popular jazz standard.
- "So What" –9:22
- "Freddie Freeloader" –9:46
- "Blue in Green" –5:37
- "All Blues" –11:33
- "Flamenco Sketches" –9:26
- Bonus on the CD edition:
- "Flamenco Sketches" (alternative take) –9:32
The album was recorded in two days: March 2 (tracks 1–3) and April 22 (4–6).
Personnel
Image:John Coltrane-Miles Davis-So What-The Sound of Miles Davis.png
- Miles Davis — trumpet, leader
- Julian "Cannonball" Adderley — alto saxophone, except "Blue in Green"
- John Coltrane — tenor saxophone
- Wynton Kelly — piano, only on "Freddie Freeloader"
- Bill Evans — piano, liner notes
- Paul Chambers — bass
- Jimmy Cobb — drums
- Mark Wilder — engineer, remixing
Chart positions
Billboard Music Charts (North America) — album
- 1977: Jazz Albums — 37
- 1987: Top Jazz Albums — 10
- 2001: Top Internet Albums — 14
Releases
There have been several releases of Kind of Blue with various remastering, including a 2005 DualDisc release that included the original album, a digital remastering in 5.1 Surround Sound and LPCM Stereo, as well as a twenty-five-minute documentary, Made in Heaven, which covered the making and influence of Kind of Blue
Books
- Ashley Kahn Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece, foreword by Jimmy Cobb, 2001, Da Capo Press, USA, ISBN 0306810670
See also
fr:Kind of Blue it:Kind of Blue nl:Kind of Blue no:Kind of Blue pl:Kind of Blue fi:Kind of Blue sv:Kind of Blue