(From 5/11/2019) If someone asked me to pick just one album to be stranded on an island with, I would say without hesitation – “Kind of Blue“.
It has been regarded by many critics as the greatest jazz record, Miles’ masterpiece, and one of the best albums of all time. Its influence on music, including jazz, rock, and classical genres, has led writers to also deem it one of the most influential albums ever recorded. The album was one of fifty recordings chosen in 2002 by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry, and in 2003 it was ranked number 12 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Though precise figures have been disputed, Kind of Blue has often been named the best-selling jazz record of all time.
It was recorded in 1959 and features Davis’ ensemble sextet consisting of saxophonists John Coltrane and Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, pianist Bill Evans, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb.
Miles called for almost no rehearsal and the musicians had little idea what they were to record. As described in the original liner notes by pianist Bill Evans, Davis had only given the band sketches of scales and melody lines on which to improvise. Once the musicians were assembled, Miles gave brief instructions for each piece and then set to taping the sextet in studio. While the results were impressive with so little preparation, the persistent legend that the entire album was recorded in one pass is untrue. For years, I was under that misconception.
Even if you’re not really into jazz, you’ve probably heard this classic before. Either way…pour yourself a class of whiskey, sit back, and enjoy!
Reminder… You can click in the lower right of a YouTube video to make it full screen. Also, you can use the Posts menu item to filter news posts to a specific category – e.g. Music Videos – to just show those. Enjoy!
