by Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Miles Davis List Price:$11.00 Our Price:$7.00 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Product Details
Media: Audio CD
Release Date: Tuesday, March 25, 1997
Label: Sony
Average Customer Review: 0 Based on 0 reviews.
Sales Rank: 196
Tracks
1.
Flamenco Sketches [Alternate Take][*]
2.
Flamenco Sketches (Alternate Take)
3.
Flamenco Sketches
4.
All Blues
5.
Blue in Green
6.
Freddie Freeloader
7.
So What
Editorial Review
This is the one jazz record owned by people who don't listen to jazz, and with good reason. The band itself is extraordinary (proof of Miles Davis's masterful casting skills, if not of God's existence), listing John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley on saxophones, Bill Evans (or, on "Freddie Freeloader," Wynton Kelly) on piano, and the crack rhythm unit of Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Coltrane's astringency on tenor is counterpoised to Adderley's funky self on alto, with Davis moderating between them as Bill Evans conjures up a still lake of sound on which they walk. Meanwhile, the rhythm partnership of Cobb and Chambers is prepared to click off time until eternity. It was the key recording of what became modal jazz, a music free of the fixed harmonies and forms of pop songs. In Davis's men's hands it was a weightless music, but one that refused to fade into the background. In retrospect every note seems perfect, and each piece moves inexorably towards its destiny. --John Szwed
Top Customer Reviews
Rating:
5 Your CD colletion is kinda blue if you don't own this! (5+)
If your idea of the perfect jazz record is Kenny G's Duotones, then don't bother reading this cause it talks about the REAL thing.Well this is THE jazz album to start off with. I'm sure you've all heard that before, but, it's quite true. From Freddie Freeloader to All Blues, we are constantly reminded of what a genius time it was for jazz in that period. Just look at the all-star line-up on here, Cannonball, Coltrane, Bill - simply amazing! This is a disc that everyone has heard before at some point in their life whether they were aware or not. The saying that this is the most influential jazz record may be true, I tend to think its the most rewarding. This re-release version is superb! It contains an alternative version of "Flamenco Sketches" and original photo package to boot. the sound is by far the best this recording has ever seen. This is a recording the word masterpiece is reserved for. An absolute must own!If this is your first jump into real jazz might I suggest, Cannonball Adderly's "Somethin Else" or Coltrane's "Love Supreme", both make excellent companions to "Kind of Blue".
Rating:
5 What an amazing introduction to jazz
I could sing praise forever, for it is a truly magnificent recording, but it might fall on ears unconvinced. I promise you can buy this album and enjoy it, regardless of your interests in music. So much of Davis's musical legacy is woven into all forms of music, it's impossible to appreciate the impact of albums such as this. After comparing it to the original version released by Columbia on CD (as opposed to this remaster), it's safe to say that the timing issues and sound quality are much improved, when compared to a parallel listening to vinyl. The only negative thing I can think of is the alternate take on Flamenco Sketches that ends the album. It seems a little rough, and disrupts the mood created by the original set; I imagine it was introduced by Columbia in order to make the album more marketable, but I think it could have been safely let off.If you do listen to this album and find it enjoyable (and you will), some other music you may find enjoyable is Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain, Bill Evans' Sunday at the Village Vanguard, and Cyrus Chestnut's Nut.
Rating:
5 The pinnacle in Jazz
As Picasso's "Guernica" is to art, and Dante's "The Divine Comedy" is to literature, so is Miles "Kind of Blue" to jazz. Let's just face the facts: it is the height of musical perfection, the pinnacle of improvisational genius --played at a time when giants wallked among us -- and, as many others have said, the ultimate standard in improvisational music. Loved by countless rockers as well as jazz musicians, it doesn't get much better than this historical milestone. It has exiliarated the senses, soothed the soul and sweetened the lives of millions for over 40 years. Can any real music listener be without it?
Rating:
5 Are ya kidding!?
Boy, you better be kidding if you say you don't own or like this one. It's probably the most revolutionary album in modern jazz, and probably always will be. Miles Davis introduces a new way of imrovising, a new way of thinking, and this album will make you find a new way of listening to music. "So What" is of course a classic. It had a form like no other song by then. Only two chords: D-7 for 16 bars, the Eb-7 for 8 bars, and then 8 bars of D-7 again. No one had done such a thing in jazz before (Coltrane later recorded a more up-tempo song with a different melody, but with this very form, called "Impressions"...also worth looking into). "Freddie Freeloader" is a blues, but not any kind of blues, the melody is played for 24 bars, and what makes this blues different from a normal rock-progression-blues is bar no.11&12. Listen! Then there is the extremely soft ballad "Blue In Green", which, again has a wierd form. There's 10 bars, that repeat throughout the whole thing with a not-so-logical-but-very-very-beutiful-chord-progression. It's kind of hard keeping track where the form starts over again, but it doesn't matter when you're listening to musicians like this. "All Blues"...again a classic (well, they all are), but this blues is played in 3/4, which had not been done a lot in jazz either. Charles Mingus did it in 1959 (the song "Better git it in your soul"), but I don't know if it was Miles or Mingus who first recorded a 3/4-blues. Anyway, they were only a couple of weeks apart, even recorded in the same studio! "Flamenco Sketches"...a very nice, smooth piece, but rarely played as a cover by other musicians (unlike all the other songs on the album)...maybe because it's hard to find it as sheet music, I don't know, and I don't understand why it's never gotten as much attention as the rest of the songs, because it's suites with the feeling of all the other tracks.On this album plays (one of my favorite sax-players of all time) John Coltrane, who in 1959, had not YET developed anything r
Rating:
5 Lily gilding.
Saying more about this album than has been said is simply gilding the lily. This is an important jazz album. It's not, however, the only jazz album nor necessarily the most important album that Miles made--you might also want to try "'Round About Midnight" and "Milestones" and see if you like them enough to move to the great quintet sides with Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Ron Carter, and Wayne Shorter. Start here if you will; having this disc in your collection is mandatory, particularly if you want to be perceived as hip. "Kind of Blue" is a great album, but not an end all. The greatness in the album is in part in the modal innovations introduced by pianist Bill Evans. The Evans-Davis collaborations have been discussed at length. Evans plays on "So What?" "Blue in Green," "All Blues," and "Flamenco Sketches." This neither diminishes nor compromises the importance of John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly. Coltrane was developing his unique style; Adderly's connection to blues roots balanced the quartet--the personnel define the music, and the music was innovative.
Rating:
3 The best jazz album for some people
There is a serious flaw in claiming any album is the best. It encourages people not to diversify their listening patterns and thereby stunts musical growth.This album is important historically but I suspect a majority of people that bought "Kind of Blue" would prefer listening to Miles Davis on either one of the albums "Somethin'Else" or "Sketches of Spain". I am basing this on various people I have talked with over the years that had in addition bought one of the other two Miles Davis albums.Those that are new to jazz I would suggest you buy "Kind of Blue" or one of the other two mentioned. Then additionally, buy the two albums "16 Most Requested Songs" by Louis Armstrong and "The Black Saint & Sinner Lady" by Charles Mingus.This suggestion is based on exposing the ear to more diversity in jazz. The Armstrong trumpet will express many emotions and the blues will be less melancholy and possess more dynamics than Miles Davis on "Kind of Blue". The Mingus album will have more changing tembre, rhythm, pitch, dynamics and a greater fusion of the idioms that make up jazz. For many people this can make jazz more stimulating and a greater intellectual experience.
Rating:
5 the SACD version of the best Jazz CD of all time
Having listened to the SACD version on a high resolution stereo, all I can say is 20 years ago when we started buying CD's, we were sold a load of bull - "perfect sound forever"??? This recording will show you what has been missing from conventional CD's. Compare this SACD with the CD version, there is much more bits!!! from 16 to 24 samples on the y axis, from 44k to 196k on the x axis. It sounds like real music. It sounds like the LP - I can't tell the difference from the LP, but its worlds better than the CD version, more precise, more accurate, highs are sweet and non fatigueing, bass is detailed but not muddy, much higher dynamic range; midrange is effortless and smooth. Image is more three dimensional, yes three dimensional, without using non-musical midfi gimmicks like "surround sound" or 5 channel. What we hear on the CD version, on all CD's, is a fuzzy approximation, like a thick blanket over the speaker. Like a black and white picture in a newspaper made up of dots. And you and I have gotten used to this distortion for 20 years.But, and this is important, I'm sorry to say if you have the same speakers and stereo you had twenty years ago, you will probably not hear most of the music that's really there. Huge improvments have been made in hi fi in the last twenty years. A quality hi fi stereo reproduces sound in three dimension space with two speakers because it accurately reproduces the soundstage around the instruments and the players in the recording studio! LP's had the real sound, and this sounds as good as the LP. Or the master tape. Wonderful music. hear it for the first time. I know I did.
Rating:
5 Kind of Great
I bought this album because I have recently started listening to jazz and someone told me this is the jazz album to own and they were right. This album is simply great. Recorded on April 22, 1959 unrehearsed and in on take, this album combines the some of the greatest jazz musicians of all time in one fabulous CD. Miles is great of course, but he is joined by John Coltrane on sax, Bill Evans on piano, Cannonball on sax as well, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums.I love this CD because it is one of the few jazz CDs I have listened to where I feel every note is rightly chosen and that it all works well together. The improvisation is great and these are truly artists who work well with each other. I highly recommend getting one of the most recent re-releases of this CD as well, many of the original audio problems have been fixed and all of the musical instruments sound a thousand times better.This album is much more traditional jazz than some of Miles later stuff, which makes sense since in some ways it defines jazz. It is truly amazing that Miles was able to take jazz and play with it as he wanted, this CD sounds different in many ways than something like Birth of the Cool but they are both great. If you like this CD I would also recommend Coltrane's Love Supreme which is very similar in its flavor.Overall I highly recommend this CD to anyone who wants to know what the greatest jazz artists sounded like at a time when they were performing there absolutely best.
Rating:
5 Just buy it!
This is one of those albums that requires absolutely no thought whatsoever. It is a work of pure genius by a bunch of improvising musicians at the height of their powers. This is probably the album that has turned more people onto jazz than any other. Never a bad thing... I'm listening to it as I write this (as I have done every few days ever since I first bought it 20 years ago) and every note sounds as perfect now as it did then. Except that the remastering has done wonders for the sound quality, so it actually sounds a lot better than it did then. The instruments all have real definition now.As for the performances - Miles was never better on both muted and open horn - the muted horn on "Blue in Green'" and "Flamenco Sketches" is particularly beautiful. His open horn playing on "So what" and "Freddie Freeloader" is stunning in its openness and clarity of expression. Coltrane's solos are simply awesome. I also own much of his recorded output, and this ranks with the absolute best of it. He takes amazing risks - really hangs it all out - and yet every note is perfect. The inventiveness combined with the technical mastery is mind-blowing. Adderley is funky and equally inventive. This album caused me to seek out much more of his material. His solos are masterpieces of conciseness and melodic invention. He, as with the others, can be heard really thinking on his feet, and never putting a foot wrong. Evans is the still point around which this universe revolves. His solos are stunning. Great economy and expressiveness rolled into one. The rhythm section swings effortlessly, driving the point home in the best way possible.All in all, a piece of heaven. The more I hear it, the more I like it - still - after 20 years.Buy it. You will NEVER EVER regret it. It may change the way you listen forever, as it has with me.
Rating:
1 Only rated it one star so that everyone will read it
Okay- here goes,Now, first of all there is NO ONE that can possibly even doubt Davis' ability as a player. You listen to ANY OTHER trumpet player then listen to him and you will right a way be able to tell how he has his own unique voice whenever he plays his instrument. It is so different than anyone else, and his soundis INCREDIBLY hard to reproduce, most trumpet players can only dream of having a sound and dynamic control like his. Being able to play stuff like this that isn't just fast lound and flashy, and keep it MUSICAL is true genius. You listen to anything on this cd and it is all GENIUS. It really takes a true genius to come up with the stuff he does. After hearing the album Davis makes it extremely clear the mood he was trying to convey to us because thats what music is....a language and he definately says something with this album. No matter if you like it or not, NO ONE can disagree thathe does not get what he wants to say said through this album, because Jazz truly is a great artform- where someone like him can actually do something like this and say so much through music. So honestly, whether you as an individual likes it or not does not matter, because this album besides being hailed as the greatest jazz album of all time, and just plain being insanely amazing, is a true statement of Davis' genius, and this album is truly the greatest piece of art and mastery ever to be created, even though some may not like the music- he gets what he wants said.
Rating:
5 The pinnacle of jazz expression . . .
This collection carries well-deserved accolades as the premium expression of the American jazz idiom. Miles Davis was the unquestioned giant of jazz, reaching heights of performance quality unmatched by his contemporaries and unsurpassed since. His pre-eminence stems from an aspect of his delivery rarely discussed, but surely present. Where the earlier forms of jazz too often reflected "bistro" origins derived from Harlem, Paris or Kansas City, Davis added a new element to this musical form. In clubs, some fine improvisation took place, giving jazz the "life" that made it so attractive. Davis went a step further, bringing a level of musical discipline to his compositions and interpretations that set him apart from his predecessors and contemporaries. This album is the finest expression of that additional step he took in offering us the pinnacle of jazz performances.It is difficult to envision what it's like for someone in today's generation to comprehend the value of this CD. Over forty years have passed since the original release with many new forms of music introduced. Yet the impact of Miles on modern music cannot be overstated. Surely it's an indication of his accomplishments that this album brought together such giant figures as Adderly, Coltrane and Evans. They were big names when this album was made, but were boosted by the increased knowledge of their talents as this album gained increased recognition. To hear it again, however, is far more than simply an historical journey. It's a pilgrimage to some of the most valuable music to emerge from the last century. That it remains readily available is full testimony of its value. We can rejoice that Miles' reputation and the attention given Kind of Blue over the years has led to a production quality that almost matches the music and performer offering it to us. Keep this music alive. Buy it and pass it to your children. They will thank you in their hearts.
Rating:
5 Both classic and historic
KIND OF BLUE (1959) has a stark, hushed, understated, but very heady nature, a staggering difference from the previous year's MILESTONES. KIND OF BLUE went on to become a mega-classic, historic and trend setting. It introduced modal tunes to jazz, which provide much more space for improvising on each chord compared to conventional jazz tunes and standards. Consider "So What," which opens the album. There are but two chords, D minor 7th and E-flat minor 7th, and there are spots were 24 bars pass, all on the D minor 7th. This allows the soloist to--as Miles put it--stay in the mode. The song initiated a wave of influence and inspired a host of modal tunes, including John Coltrane's "Impressions" (built on the same chords and structure). "So What" also has the very rare instance of the melody being played by the bassist (but this was Paul Chambers; check out his Blue Note album BASS ON TOP from 1957). For those who don't know, the late Bill Evans is a jazz-piano icon. This brilliant innovator contributed two compositions here: "Blue In Green" and "Flamenco Sketches." Bill's hypnotic vamps and harmonically rich voicings add to the heady atmosphere that Miles typically created with his sparse, cerebral style.It's difficult to pick out high points; the whole album is on such a high level. Coltrane, Adderley, Evans...these guys could play. The solos throughout are haunting and magical. All of the compositions exhibit unusual and sometimes subtle characteristics, like the altered blues changes in "Freddie Freeloader" (on which Wynton Kelly plays piano) and the 10-bar, "A"-section-only form of "Blue In Green." In "All Blues," pay special attention to the harmonic treatment during the last eight bars of its 24-bar blues-waltz structure. You don't have to be a music student to recognize the unique magic or the mood-inducing power that pervades this album. With players of this caliber, the music making is magnificent and amazing. The talent and importance of these truly monumental musicians cannot be stressed enough. And,
Rating:
5 This album is the jazz's quintessential !
This album is incredible , amazing . It doesn't happen very often one recording reachs so cosmic heights .You may consider a simple account about this statement.Think in I love Paris (Michel Legrand)(see my review) . In this case Davis is present in the recording session , and we are just talking about the supreme jewel of the instrumental music in any time . I mean , if I love Paris (made in 1954) reached this status (years before A kind of blue) , you must agree with me that Miles Davis owned the magic playing , moreover, the poetic level (and when I talk about poetry , I mean the greek sense of the term , which is creation ).Specifically , Davis was a very illustrated man , with a strong introspective approach . The notes are there , but the scope is the difference , the velvet touch , the exact expressiveness and the precise instant in what the note must sound vibrato or languish . Davis played music as he would be making a film, writing a book or painting , his trumpet was a brush , a pen or a script according the case .Notice for instance the Davis sound . I mean Davis was original because he goes to the origin , and transforms the notes , making them "sing" . There are other examples in jazz such as Stan Getz in the saxophone , Wes Montgomery in the guitar or Bill Evans in the piano .In Davis there was a deep sense of the expression and the wholeness meaning about jazz represents : this sense of freedom , and also a wide spectre of changing sensations , loneliness , happiness , sadness , anguish , desperation or seduction . This gradual sense of the tonal color about every note he played , you may find in the classical music giants , like Casals in the cello playing the Bach suites , Sandor Vegh conducting Mozart or Furtwangler conducting Beethoven or Bruckner , or Lipatti playing Chopin waltz . The sense of the expression and the real presence of commitment to achieve one specific sound and no other one.A Kind of Blue will be a reference standard not only for many years but also centuries . I have not any kind of doubt about that.
Rating:
5 Do I even have to say?
I don't feel I even need to explain why this album is a must-have, but I will anyway. Anyone who doesn't have it either has no appreciation for great music or is just a moron. From the modal beauty of "So What" to classic blues tunes like "Freddie Freeloader" and "All Blues", this classic will be listened to until the day the sun explodes. This album is not simply great because of Miles though. John Coltrane reaches heights on this recording that he had never reached before. His solos are so intricate and complex and still soulful. This album also was a large turning point in Coltrane's life, because he made Giant Steps under the influence of Kind Of Blue. And how about Cannonball Adderley? One of the greatest alto saxophonists to ever live, a technical wizard. There aren't too many saxophonists who could hold their own with Coltrane on record or in live performance. Just ask Sonny Rollins (who is also a GREAT player). Bill Evans is swinging in an eloquent, sophisticated way. His sound on piano always amazed me, and it works magnificently here. Paul Chambers set the tone for the rhythm. His beautiful, fat sound kept everything going well. And Jimmy Cobb, a wonderful drummer, was another anchor in this group, always helping keep the beat steady and cool. Of course, Miles was the leader and this album is some of his best playing ever. His beautiful muted work on "Blue In Green" and "Flamenco Sketches" is enough to bring tears to your eyes. There are no fast tunes on this set, they range from mid-tempo to ballads. This album had an extreme impact on my life. I recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
5 The only CD you'll really ever need
This is so simple. If you like jazz, you probablly already own this album. If you kinda like jazz, buy this album. If you don't like jazz, well buy this album.Seriously though, this is my second favorite favorite albums. (My most favorite is Joe Pass' Virtuoso, but hey, I'm a guitarist.) If you haven't really heard jazz and you want to see if you like it, pick up this, and maybe Coltrane's Blue 'Trane or Giant Steps. The music on here is all amazing. The band is the best band ever assembled. Each musician is one of the best in the planet at their instrument. Bill Evans is my favorite piano player, and guess what, Wynton Kelly is one of my other favorites and he's on there for a song too!!! Coltrane, Adderly Cobb, there all masters! I have listen to this album at least a couple thousand times. I have only found ONE flaw. ONE! In Flaminco Sketches, the volume gets a little louder, around, oh, I'd say the 2:30 mark. Thats it. I can't find anything wrong with the playing. Usually, when I'm listening to a record, I say, oh this might sound better, or I would of done this. But I can't with this album. This album is heaven, cuz god must be a Miles fan.
Rating:
5 The Best Jazz Album Ever?
Kind of Blue is a famous album, the number 1 jazz best seller and - some would say - the best jazz album ever. This particular CD edition is the one to have because it has as a bonus an alternate take of "Flamenco Sketches" and more importantly, as the liner note points out, the 20-bit re-mastering gives the music a greater depth and richness of tone. Also all the tracks now play at the correct pitch - unlike previous versions on LP, tape or CD - so musicians can play along with the music if they want to.The album is famous partly for the way in which it combined modal harmonies (the use of scales rather than conventional chord sequences) with more traditional structures, giving the improvising soloist a greater range and freedom in his solos. This in itself marked a new phase in Miles's continually developing music, although the implications of the music were probably exploited most fully by John Coltrane in his subsequent work after leaving Miles's group. The fairly slow pace of the pieces on this album enabled Coltrane to play with a degree more relaxation (if that's an appropriate word) than was often the case in previous recordings with Miles. He solos with typical probing intensity on the medium tempo tracks and with a kind of dignified tenderness on the slow pieces, "Flamenco Sketches" and "Blue in Green". There's a school of thought which holds that Cannonball Adderley, even if he is a technically accomplished musician playing at his best here, is 'the weakest link' in this group, unable to make anything genuinely his own out of his glib Charlie Parker clichés. On the other hand, Miles Davis obviously thought him worth employing on what he seems to have regarded as an important project. Decide for yourself. Miles himself sounds majestic and confident throughout, subtly varying his tone and making typically creative use of space in his melodic lines. He had often been at his most inspired when playing on blues-based themes at a steady walking pace which gave him the time to think ahead, to 'place' his phrases and to shape his solos, as he does here on "All Blues", "Freddie Freeloader" and (although it's not a blues) "So What". On "Flamenco Sketches" his tightly muted trumpet gives his playing a sense of controlled passion that anticipates some of his work on the Sketches of Spain album. On the lovely ballad "Blue in Green" his use of the mute conveys more of a wistful, piercing lyricism. Of central importance to the music is pianist Bill Evans. The eight months he had previously spent with the group (Miles had invited him back for Kind of Blue) convinced Miles that he was the right man for the album he had in mind. Not only was Evans closely involved in the evolution of the music, but also his calm, poised, impressionistic playing - behind the soloists and in his own finely wrought solos - is enormously important in sustaining the mood of each piece. Listen to the cryptic way in which his simple cadences on "So What" and his shimmering trills on "All Blues" establish the mood of those pieces from their opening bars. And who else could have 'orchestrated' the haunting "Blue in Green" with such glowing lyricism? On "Freddie Freeloader", the one piece on which Evans doesn't play, Wynton Kelly's lively, funkier playing gives a different kind of pleasure. Underneath all this interesting work by the soloists there is the calm, disciplined drumming of Jimmy Cobb and the rock steady beat of the magnificent Paul Chambers on bass.
Rating:
5 Innovative, yet timeless
...The merits of "Kind of Blue" have been hashed and rehashed, so I have but one thing to add: if you are a jazz novice, you are likely to play this CD and wonder what the fuss is about. The modal structure is familiar to anyone with a background in Western culture, and the musicianship, although first-rate, isn't geared to impress, but to envelope. (Davis, Coltrane, Adderley, Evans, Chambers, and Cobb -- what, they couldn't find Louis Armstrong?) Consider, though, that you're hearing these incredible sounds from the perspective of over 40 years of history passed. In 1959, "Kind of Blue" was a muted thunderbolt striking deep into the heart of what had become a stagnant art form. The fact that "Kind of Blue" sounds like what most of us would now call "traditional acoustic jazz" is a testament to its importance. And that it continues to captivate so many is a testament to its timelessness. In other words, "Kind of Blue" is the rare masterpiece that represents a stark historical transition within a musical form, yet remains accessible and inspiring to new generations, including those who don't ordinarily listen to jazz. This CD won't beat you over the head, but it is likely to worm its way into your subconsciousness in the most appealing way.
Rating:
5 It put a spell on me
So many great reviews were written about this landmark recording, yet each brings the unique personal experience and is valuable. Every time I listen to Flamenco Sketches, for the past 13 years, I get the same thrill of anticipation whenever the soloist (each one in his turn) moves from one mode to another. The move to the minor mode is crushingly emotional to me and brought tears to my eyes more than once. Miles Davis solo entrance on both "All blues" and "so what" is the pinnacle of musicianship. His tone is full and sharp, and his timing is what makes me so moved. I listen to this perfect album only when I know I will do nothing else but sit still and let myself be immersed by the beautiful music. This Cd convinced me once and for all that chords and chord changes are not essential to good Jazz, and the modal ideas can be just as stimulating and effective. I join everyone in recommending this true masterpiece to all.
Rating:
5 This album is the jazz's quintessential !
This album is incredible , amazing . It doesn't happen very often one recording reachs so cosmic heights .You may consider a simple account about this statement.Think in I love Paris (Michel Legrand)(see my review) . In this case Davis is present in the recording session , and we are just talking about the supreme jewel of the instrumental music in any time . I mean , if I love Paris (made in 1954) reached this status (years before A kind of blue) , you must agree with me that Miles Davis owned the magic playing , moreover, the poetic level (and when I talk about poetry , I mean the greek sense of the term , which is creation ).Specifically , Davis was a very illustrated man , with a strong introspective approach . The notes are there , but the scope is the difference , the velvet touch , the exact expressiveness and the precise instant in what the note must sound vibrato or languish . Davis played music as he would be making a film, writing a book or painting , his trumpet was a brush , a pen or a script according the case .Notice for instance the Davis sound . I mean Davis was original because he goes to the origin , and transforms the notes , making them "sing" . There are other examples in jazz such as Stan Getz in the saxophone , Wes Montgomery in the guitar or Bill Evans in the piano .In Davis there was a deep sense of the expression and the wholeness meaning about jazz represents : this sense of freedom , and also a wide spectre of changing sensations , loneliness , happiness , sadness , anguish , desperation or seduction . This gradual sense of the tonal color about every note he played , you may find in the classical music giants , like Casals in the cello playing the Bach suites , Sandor Vegh conducting Mozart or Furtwangler conducting Beethoven or Bruckner , or Lipatti playing Chopin waltz . The sense of the expression and the real presence of commitment to achieve one specific sound and no other one.A Kind of Blue will be a reference standard not only for many years but also centuries . I have not any kind of doubt about that.
Rating:
5 THIS IS THE BIG ONE!
This is probably the most revolutionary album in modern jazz, and probably always will be. Miles Davis introduces a new way of improvising, a new way of thinking, and this album will make you find a new way of listening to music. "So What" is of course a classic. It had a form like no other song at the time. Only two chords: D-7 for 16 bars, Eb-7 for 8 bars, and then 8 bars of D-7 again. No one had done such a thing in jazz before (Coltrane later recorded an up-tempo song with a different melody, but with this very form, called "Impressions"...also worth looking into). "Freddie Freeloader" is a blues. The melody is played for 24 bars, but what makes this blues different from a normal rock-progression-blues is bar no.11&12. Listen! Then there is the extremely soft ballad "Blue In Green", which, again has a wierd form; 10 bars that repeat throughout the whole thing with a not-so-logical-but-very-beutiful-chord-progression. It's kind of hard keeping track where the form starts over again, but it doesn't matter when you're listening to musicians like this."All Blues", again a classic...well, they all are...this blues is played in 3/4, which hadn't been done a lot in jazz either. Charles Mingus did it in 1959 (the song "Better git it in your soul"), but I don't know if it was Miles or Mingus who first recorded a 3/4-blues. Anyway, they were only a couple of weeks apart (recorded in the same studio)!"Flamenco Sketches" is a very nice, smooth piece, but rarely played as a cover by other musicians, unlike all the other songs on the album...maybe because it's hard to find it as sheet music, I don't know, and I don't understand why it's never gotten as much attention as the rest of the songs, since it fits in nicely with the feeling of all the other tracks. The bonus track is a second take of the song.On this album plays (one of my favorite sax-players of all time) John Coltrane, who in 1959, had not YET developed anything revolutionary on his instrument, but still played very nice solos.Cannonball Adderley plays alto sax. He has a very different way of thinking than Coltrane, when it comes to solo playing. He plays long lines with a lot of variation. Hats off!Paul Chambers plays bass throughout the record. Listen to the walking bass-line on the first 16 bars of Miles' solo on "So What". Chambers plays a repeated figure with a little variation every time, which sounds like a separate melody underneath the solo; Quite unusual in walking-bass at the time.I believe this is the first time that Bill Evans recorded with Miles. He was not a very famous piano player at the time, unlike now that he has played on this album. Bill Evans plays on all tracks but "Freddie Freeloader" (Wynton Kelly).And Miles himself, a genius in modern jazz to say the least...I don't know where I'd start...just listen. Get yourself at least one copy of this album. More highly recommended than any other album by Miles Davis. Now, if you haven't heard this music - do yourself a favour and order this disc. No regrets...
Rating:
5 This Is THE Jazz album
This album is probably the most flawless Jazz masterpiece ever released. Miles must have been one hellova talent scout to get John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley together on this classic Album.What makes this album so great? Firstly the artists are some of the most influential artists in the Jazz World. Secondly, this is not just an ordinary jazz album. By using modes instead of chord structures to base improvisation, Miles gave his sidemen (and himself) the artistic freedom to express themeselves. You will hear on this album Miles's signature emotional playing, John Coltrane's reflective and haunting style and Adderley's cheery personality seeping into his music. The tracks chosen are perfect, with So What probably being the best cut, altough they are all lovely. This album is no where near as hard as some of Miles's later work, and so will appeal to more people. The best thing about this album is that every single not just belongs where it is, and it sounds as fresh as anything released today. The sound quality of the CD reissue is fantastic (except for the slight tape hiss) and it feels like the musicians are right in front of you. Even if you don't like jazz, get this; you may change your mind. This is truly the work of a musician's musician.
Rating:
5 Miles Revelation!!
Admittedly, I was a latecomer to the genius of Miles Davis. On several occasions, I was told of the level of greatness in his music. Kind Of Blue was the first album I heard - thanks to two family members who might have been trying to tell me something; I received the album twice, on the same Christmas Day! Is this the epitome of cool/love ballad jazz? Complex enough to feel the aesthetic, modal harmonies- Concise enough to blend into the accessible rhythm. The clarity is powerful enough to validate that these notes, initially written down on scraps of paper and subsequently distributed to each established musician. Delicately chosen, Miles was always secure in knowing what type of sound he wanted. I listen to 'All Blues' and love the fact that the song is quite the odyssey, performing a complete three-sixty, ending up right where we started. As are all the tunes a myriad of the melancholy, (Blue In Green) across the gamut, displaying the bouncy-hip style of, "Freddie Freeloader" named after a real-life character. Miles Davis crossed definitive boundaries purposely, creating a timeless sound.
Rating:
5 Music for the ages
I've must have listened to this recording many times over the last thirty years and I've never gotten bored with it. This recording can be enjoyed by casual jazz fans and jazz fanatics and musician types like myself.The music is very "accessible" as opposed to the heavy hard bop that turn non-jazzers off. Yet, for all its accesibility, the music swings from the first beat of the crash cymbal that starts "So What" to the cool "All Blues". The haiku-like "Blue in Green" is the closest to a Jazz tone poem I've ever heard before or since. If i were to characterize this recording with one word it would be "understatement"(maybe that's two words).The personnel: Miles Davis,trumpet;John Coltrane,ten. sax;Cannonball Adderly,alto sax;Paul Chambers, bass; Wynton Kelly and Bill Evans on piano; J. Cobb on drums, have all been freed from the strictures of chord fragments and progressions to create and develop any improvistional idea they could dream up. This was some revolutionary stuff in the pop song dominated hard bop repertoire of that era. With the exception of "Blue in Green" all the tunes are based on modal scales. Which freed the musicians to play anything they wanted within that scale.Coltrane is superb. It's one of his last dates with Miles before recording exclusively as a leader. His ideas are muted, inventive and never tired. Cannonball complemented the horn section with bright,exuberant and rapid fire phrasing. Miles' "less is more" approach to playing on all of the tunes tie the whole album together into a seamless masterpiece, yes masterpiece. The spaces between his notes are as much of the music as the notes played. If you are a musician and want to play with the CD, I would suggest you purchase versions that correct for the original pressing being recorded at a slightly faster speed than the music was actually performed. This resulted in the tones being a half step higher resulting in slightly sharper tones. If your ear won't or can't detect that, it really doesn't matter which version you pick up just as long as you add this to your collection. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
5 The place to start for Jazz.
About 6 months ago, I was a newcomer into the ridiculously large realm of Jazz music, and I needed a place to start. So I bought this album hearing from many that it was a classic. Needless to say, they were right!Miles Davis is a truly amazing trumpet player, and his jazz ensemble doesn't fall short of him either. With people like John Coltrane wailing on sax and Bill Evans' great piano (the first piano break on Freddie Freeloader is my favorite part of the album), its truly a masterpiece. I'll break it down track-by-track.So What- A good slow piano-bass intro, that eventually moves into an improv section with a catchy tune.Freddie Freeloader- Almost 12-bar, but jazzed up quite a bit. Just a good swinging song to sit back and relax listening to.Blue in Green- beautiful horn on this one, whatever it is (I'm not exactly the horn master myself), and good piano playing from Evans. A slow one.All Blues- A lengthy intro before the improv begins, but nevertheless very good, with a dynamic horn part, sounds like it had a little bit of classical influence.Flamenco Sketches- A nice closing track, soothing yet articulate, one to fall asleep to.All in all, this CD has a great song for every kind of mood. And hey, for 10 bucks, its a good price for a classic album you'll treasure for a long time.
Rating:
5 Fresher than Ever!
Jazz historians know this date: April 22, 1959, the date on which Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Julian "Cannonball" Adderly, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, and James Cobb recorded the watershed "Kind of Blue" album. That this CD represents yet another re-issue of this landmark recording is appropriate at a time when renewed interest in jazz is especially keen. There are, of course, many fans who never left this uniquely American art form. Yet, as Rock N' Roll and the subsequent British Invansion swept up the counter-culture that birthed modern jazz in its inception, jazz very nearly lost its pre-imminent voice among that larger audience. It is not just that the technical problems which beset earlier releases of "Kind of Blue" have been admirably solved and addressed in this CD, it is a recording to "come back" to. As in live sessions and in the original recording sessions, Miles' phrasing is full-throated (not tinny or off-key) and spontaneously brilliant in the absolute richness of the musical ideas they represent. Likewise, witness Coltrane and Adderly who dazzle with seemingly infinite improvisational motifs seamless in their gestaltic wholeness. Then there is Bill Evans; what can be said of such genius and vituosity that his notes are precisely "right" yet never fail to delight or surprise? If you are one of those who momentarily left jazz, "Come back" to this CD. Listen yet again for the first time. At a time when Rock is sounding tired and long in the tooth, Miles and crew have never sounded fresher or newer.
