Track Listing

1. So What
2. Freddie Freeloader
3. Blue In Green
4. All Blues
5. Flamenco Sketches
6. Flamenco Sketches

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37282 in Music
• Released on: 2008-04-07
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
With BIRTH OF THE COOL, Miles Davis distilled a new tonal palette for jazz. As early as 1954, Miles reacted to the escalating chordal complexity of hard bop by fashioning an evocative blues based on a simple scalar pattern ("Swing Spring"). KIND OF BLUE was the ultimate fulfilment of this approach,with Miles providing his collaborators little more than outlines for melodies and simple scales for improvisation. By emphasising the blues and the improvisor's melodic gifts, KIND OF BLUE precipitated a major stylistic development--modal jazz. Charles Mingus had experimented with pedal points throughout the 1950s, and the melodic freedom of Ornette Coleman's Atlantic sides was also predicated on freedom from chord changes. But KIND OF BLUE was to prove the most influential,enduring work of its kind. There was just such a vibe aboutthese 1959 sessions--Miles' lyric genius and burgeoning stardom, the innovative voicings and rarefied touch of pianist Bill Evans, the electrifying presence of Coltrane and Cannonball--that some thirty-plus years after its initial release,KIND OF BLUE is still recognised as Davis' point of departure towards jazz's less-explored regions. Bill Evans' translucent chords and Paul Chambers' famous bass line herald the revolution that is "So What": Davis and Evans' taut, coiled lyricism stands in sharp relief to the saxophonists' labyrinthine elation. The fat, shimmering beat of the classic Evans/Chambers/Cobb rhythm team is an oasis of calm throughout thechildish blues "Freddie Freeloader". Often credited to Davis, "Blue In Green" is an Evans masterpiece, in which the rhythmic oasis becomes a smoky mirage for Davis' minor reverieson muted horn. The waltzing "All Blues" is one of the smoothest, most swinging grooves in the history of jazz, while "Flamenco Sketches" reflects Miles fascination with the earthymelodies and brooding metaphors of the Iberian peninsula...a harbinger of his next masterpiece, SKETCHES OF SPAIN. KINDOF BLUE remains Miles Davis' most evocative piece of musical haiku.

Customer Reviews

Kind Of Blue
Words cannot really do justice to this album. If it catches you just right it is all about the experience and not some intellectual definition. It's a classic for a reason and a great introduction to Miles Davis and jazz in general. Lower the lights, open a bottle of red wine and put this on, it's what jazz is all about!

A milestone
This SACD version of one of the most famous jazz album of all time, is a very good release.
The packaging is the same as the CD version and so the notes and the booklet.
The sound is really good with no significant noise and the instruments are well separated and focused in space.
Not a reference audiophile disc but a very good product.
And the music? well, Miles Davis was one of the biggest artist of twentieth century, if you have a jazz collection you must have this album!
A masterpiece.

I'm kind of blue........
My first listen to a jazz album as it is on everyones 'must have' lists. I very much enjoy the music but have not been able to extract a bass line from my sacd. It is there in a minor way but I thought being jazz with double bass it would be strong but it is not. I know bass reproduction is an ongoing issue for sacd but my other titles don't have the same problem. Not being a hybrid I can't play it in standard cd mode to compare. The surround channels appear non existent but would seem not required with type of music. A very enjoyable listen.