| Back to Genre | The Story Of |
 |
|
 |
Rating: Excellent |
Kind of Blue isn't just an artistic highlight for Miles Davis; it's an album that towers above its peers, widely considered the definitive jazz album. In short, it's the Citizen Kane of jazz, a work of greatness that's innovative and entertaining. That might not make it the best jazz album ever made, but it certainly sets a universally recognized standard of excellence.
Why does Kind of Blue possess such a mystique? Perhaps it's because this music never flaunts its genius. It lures listeners in with the slow, luxurious bass line and soft piano chords of "So What." From that point on, the record never really shifts tempo, each track having a similarly relaxed feel because the music flows easily. Yet Kind of Blue is more than just easy listening. It's the epitome of modal jazz tonality, and the solos are built on chords, not keys, giving the music a subtly shifting quality. All of this doesn't explain why die-hard jazz fans return to this record even after memorizing every nuance. They return because this is an exceptional band—Miles, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderly, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, and Wynton Kelly, one of the greatest in history, playing at the height of his powers.
As Evans noted in the original liner notes for the album, the band didn't play any of these pieces through before recording. Davis laid out the themes and chords before the band played, and then the band improvised. The end result was prodigious, filled with performances that still crackle with vitality. Few albums in any genre manage to work on so many different levels, but Kind of Blue does. It can be played as background music, but it richly rewards attentive listening. It's music for the advanced listener and exceptionally enjoyable. It might 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 being anything other than a cornerstone of any jazz collection.
= Full Album Play List =
= Track List =
EN
