Kind of Blue
Encyclopedia
Kind of Blue is a studio album
by American jazz
musician Miles Davis
, released August 17, 1959, on Columbia Records
in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place at Columbia's 30th Street Studio
in New York City on March 2 and April 22, 1959. The sessions featured Davis's ensemble sextet, which consisted of pianist Bill Evans
(Wynton Kelly
on one track), drummer Jimmy Cobb
, bassist Paul Chambers
, and saxophonists John Coltrane
and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. After the entry of Bill Evans into his sextet, Davis followed up on the modal
experimentations of Milestones (1958) and 1958 Miles (1958) by basing the album entirely on modality
, in contrast to his earlier work with the hard bop
style of jazz.
Though precise figures have been disputed, Kind of Blue has been described by many music writers not only as Davis's best-selling album, but as the best-selling jazz record of all time. On October 7, 2008, it was certified quadruple platinum
in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA). It has been regarded by many critics as the greatest jazz album of all time and Davis's masterpiece. The album's influence on music, including jazz, rock
, and classical music
, has led music writers to acknowledge it as one of the most influential albums ever made. In 2002, it was one of fifty recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress
to be added to the National Recording Registry
. In 2003, the album was ranked number 12 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
.
By late 1958, Davis employed one of the best and most profitable working bands pursuing the hard bop
style. His personnel had become stable: alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, tenor saxophonist John Coltrane
, pianist Bill Evans
, long-serving bassist Paul Chambers
, and drummer Jimmy Cobb
. His band played a mixture of pop standards and bebop
originals by Charlie Parker
, Thelonious Monk
, Dizzy Gillespie
, and Tadd Dameron
. As with all bebop-based jazz, Davis's groups improvised
on the chord
changes of a given song. Davis was one of many jazz musicians growing dissatisfied with bebop, and saw its increasingly complex chord changes as hindering creativity.
In 1953, the pianist George Russell published his Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization
,Library of Congress Catalog Record available atlccn.loc.gov/unk84111092.
Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization website located atwww.lydianchromaticconcept.com.
Author George Russell’s website located atwww.georgerussell.com which offered an alternative to the practice of improvisation based on chords and chord changes. Abandoning the traditional major and minor key
relationships of classical music
, Russell developed a new formulation using scales
, or a series of scales, for improvisations: This approach led the way to "modal
" in jazz. Influenced by Russell's ideas, Davis implemented his first modal composition with the title track of his studio album Milestones (1958), and his first sessions with Bill Evans, 1958 Miles. Satisfied with the results, Davis prepared an entire album based on modality. Pianist Bill Evans, who had studied with Russell but recently departed from Davis's sextet to pursue his own career, was drafted back into the new recording project, the sessions that would become Kind of Blue.
' 30th Street Studio
in New York City
, on March 2 for the tracks "So What
", "Freddie Freeloader
", and "Blue in Green
", composing side one of the original LP
, and April 22 for the tracks "All Blues
", and "Flamenco Sketches
", making up side two. Production was handled by Teo Macero
, who had produced Davis's previous two LPs, and Irving Townsend
.
As was Miles Davis's penchant, he 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, Davis 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. Only "Flamenco Sketches" yielded a complete take on the first try. That take, not the master, was issued in 1997 as a bonus alternate track. The five master takes issued, however, were the only other complete takes; an insert for the ending to "Freddie Freeloader" was recorded, but was not used for release or on the issues of Kind of Blue prior to the 1997 reissue. Pianist Wynton Kelly may not have been happy to see the man he replaced, Bill Evans, back in his old seat. Perhaps to assuage the pianist's feelings, and also to take advantage of Kelly's superior skills as both bluesman and accompanist, Davis had Kelly play instead of Evans on the album's most blues-oriented number, "Freddie Freeloader". The live album Miles Davis at Newport documents this band. However, the Newport Jazz Festival
recording on July 3, 1958 reflects the band in its hard bop conception, the presence of a Bill Evans only six weeks into his brief tenure in the Davis band notwithstanding, rather than the modal approach of Kind of Blue.
in contrast to Davis's earlier work with the hard bop
style of jazz and its complex chord progression
and improvisation. The entire album was composed as a series of modal sketches, in which each performer was given a set of scales that defined the parameters of their improvisation and style. This style was in contrast to more typical means of composing, such as providing musicians with a complete score
or, as was more common for improvisational jazz, providing the musicians with a chord progression
or series of harmonies
.
Modal jazz of this type was not unique to this album. Davis himself had previously used the same method on his 1958 Milestones album, the' 58 Sessions, and Porgy and Bess
(1958), on which he used modal influences for collaborator Gil Evans
's third stream
compositions. Also, the original concept and method had been developed in 1953 by pianist and writer George Russell. Davis saw Russell's methods of composition as a means of getting away from the dense chord-laden compositions of his time, which Davis had labeled "thick". Modal composition, with its reliance on scales and modes, represented, as Davis called it, "a return to melody." In a 1958 interview with Nat Hentoff
of The Jazz Review
, Davis elaborated on this form of composition in contrast to the simple chord progression predominant in bebop, stating "No chords ... gives you a lot more freedom and space to hear things. When you go this way, you can go on forever. You don't have to worry about changes and you can do more with the [melody] line. It becomes a challenge to see how melodically innovative you can be. When you're based on chords, you know at the end of 32 bars that the chords have run out and there's nothing to do but repeat what you've just done—with variations. I think a movement in jazz is beginning away from the conventional string of chords... there will be fewer chords but infinite possibilities as to what to do with them."
" is a standard twelve-bar blues form. "Blue in Green
" consists of a ten-measure cycle following a short four-measure introduction. "All Blues
" is a twelve-bar blues form in 6/8 time. "Flamenco Sketches
" consists of five scales, which are each played "as long as the soloist wishes until he has completed the series".
Liner notes list Davis as writer of all compositions, but many scholars and fans believe that Bill Evans wrote part or the whole of "Blue in Green" and "Flamenco Sketches". Bill Evans assumed co-credit with Davis for "Blue in Green" when recording it on his Portrait in Jazz
album. The Davis estate acknowledged Evans' authorship in 2002. The practice of a band leader's appropriating authorship of a song written by a sideman occurred frequently in the jazz world, as legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker did so to Davis when Parker took a songwriting credit for the tune "Donna Lee
", written by Davis while employed as a sideman in Charlie Parker's quintet in the late 1940s. The composition later became a popular jazz standard
. Another example is the introduction to "So What", attributed to Gil Evans, which is closely based on the opening measures of French composer Claude Debussy
's Voiles
(1910), the second prelude
from his first collection of preludes.
in the United States, in both mono
and stereo
format. Since then, Kind of Blue has often been regarded as Davis's greatest work
; it is his most acclaimed album, and has been cited as the best-selling jazz record released, despite later claims attributing the achievement to Davis's first official gold
record Bitches Brew
(1969). Music writer Chris Morris cited Kind of Blue as "the distillation of Davis's art." Kind of Blue has also been noted as one of the most influential albums in the history of jazz. One reviewer has called it a "defining moment of twentieth century music." Several of the songs from the album have become jazz standards. Kind of Blue is consistently ranked among the greatest albums of all time. In a review of the album, Allmusic-senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine
stated:
In 1958, however, the arrival of Ornette Coleman
on the jazz scene via his fall residency at the Five Spot
club, consolidated by the release of his The Shape of Jazz to Come
LP the same year, muted the initial impact of Kind of Blue, a happenstance that irritated Davis greatly. Though Davis and Coleman both offered alternatives to the rigid rules of bebop, Davis would never reconcile himself to Coleman's free jazz
innovations, although he would incorporate musicians amenable to Coleman's ideas with his great quintet of the mid-1960s, and offer his own version of "free" playing with his jazz fusion
outfits in the 1970s. The influence of Kind of Blue did build, and all of the sidemen from the album went on to achieve success on their own. Evans formed his influential jazz trio with bassist Scott LaFaro
and drummer Paul Motian
; "Cannonball" Adderley fronted popular bands with his brother Nat
; Kelly, Chambers and Cobb continued as a touring unit, recording under Kelly's name as well as in support of Coltrane and Wes Montgomery
, among others; and Coltrane went on to become one of the most revered and innovative of all jazz musicians. Even more than Davis, Coltrane took the modal approach and ran with it during his career as a leader in the 1960s, leavening his music with Coleman's ideas as the decade progressed.
have been influenced by it, while critics have written about it as one of the most influential albums of all time. Many improvisatory rock musicians of the 1960s referred to Kind of Blue for inspiration, along with other Davis albums, as well as Coltrane's modal records My Favorite Things
(1961) and A Love Supreme
(1965). Guitarist Duane Allman
of the Allman Brothers Band
said his soloing on songs such as "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
" "comes from Miles and Coltrane, and particularly Kind of Blue. I've listened to that album so many times that for the past couple of years, I haven't hardly listened to anything else." Pink Floyd
keyboardist Richard Wright
has said that the chord progressions on the album influenced the structure of the introductory chords to the song "Breathe
" on their landmark opus The Dark Side of the Moon
(1973). In his book Kind of Blue: The Making of a Miles Davis Masterpiece, writer Ashley Kahn
wrote "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". Producer 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". Pianist Chick Corea
, one of Miles' acolytes, was also struck by its majesty, later stating "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."
One significant aspect of Kind of Blue is that the entire record, not just one track, was revolutionary. Gary Burton noted this occurrence, stating "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." Along with The Dave Brubeck Quartet
's Time Out
(1959) and Coltrane's Giant Steps
(1960), Kind of Blue has often been recommended by music writers as an introductory jazz album, for similar reasons: the music on both records is very melodic, and the relaxed quality of the songs makes the improvisation
easy for listeners to follow, without sacrificing artistry or experimentation. Upon the release of the 50th anniversary collector's edition of the album, a columnist for All About Jazz
stated "Kind of Blue heralded the arrival of a revolutionary new American music, a post-bebop modal jazz structured around simple scales and melodic improvisation. Trumpeter/band leader/composer Miles Davis assembled a sextet of legendary players to create a sublime atmospheric masterpiece. Fifty years after its release, Kind of Blue continues to transport listeners to a realm all its own while inspiring musicians to create to new sounds—from acoustic jazz to post-modern ambient—in every genre imaginable." Later in an interview, renowned hip hop artist and rapper Q-Tip
reaffirmed the album's reputation and influence when discussing the significance of Kind of Blue, stating "It's like the Bible
—you just have one in your house."
to be added to the National Recording Registry
. In selecting the album as number 12 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
, Rolling Stone magazine stated "This painterly masterpiece is one of the most important, influential and popular albums in jazz". On December 16, 2009, the United States House of Representatives
passed a resolution honoring the fiftieth anniversary of Kind of Blue and "reaffirming jazz as a national treasure".
(see content section for more information). Only six complete takes of the five tunes on the album exist:
Reissue bonus track
Tracks 1, 2 and 3 (side one on the original vinyl release) recorded March 2, 1959; tracks 4 and 5 (side two) recorded April 22, 1959. All tracks recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studio
, New York City
.
box set reissue of Miles Davis's studio album Kind of Blue, released September 30, 2008 on Columbia Records and distributed through Legacy Records. Contrary to the edition's title, the release precedes the album's fiftieth anniversary of either recording date or original issue date.
The collector's edition features the original Kind of Blue album in its entirety with the "Flamenco Sketches" alternate take, the rare "Freddie Freeloader" false start, and a selection of in-the-studio dialog from the Kind of Blue sessions on the first disc. The second disc features rare musical material from the classic sextet's recording sessions, including the May 26, 1958 session, which was previously available on The Complete Columbia Recordings: 1955–1961
and 1958 Miles. Also included on the second disc is the first authorized release of an extended live performance of "So What" from the 1960 Den Haag Concert.
The third disc, a DVD, features a documentary
on the conception and recording of Kind of Blue. In addition, the DVD features the "Robert Herridge Theater: The Sound of Miles Davis" television program, which originally aired on April 2, 1959 and starred Miles Davis and John Coltrane. In the box-set packaging, a vinyl LP copy of Kind of Blue, a poster, and an LP-sized 60-page hardbound book are also included.
Kind of Blue was originally released as a 12-inch vinyl record
, in both stereo and mono
. There have been several reissues of Kind of Blue, including additional printings throughout the vinyl era. On some editions, the label switched the order for the two tracks on side two, "All Blues" and "Flamenco Sketches". The record has been remastered many times during the compact disc era, including the 1986 Columbia Jazz Masterpieces reissue and, most notably, the 1992 remastering that corrected the speed for side one, which had been issued slightly off-pitch
originally, and the 1997 issue that added the alternate take of "Flamenco Sketches". In 2005, a DualDisc
release included the original album, a digital remastering in 5.1 Surround Sound
and LPCM Stereo
, and a 25-minute documentary Made in Heaven about the making and influence of Kind of Blue. "Kind Of Blue" has also been re-released on a rare 24-carat gold CD collectors version.
The album was also released on many other formats many of which are only to be found second hand.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, released August 17, 1959, on Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place at Columbia's 30th Street Studio
CBS 30th Street Studio
CBS 30th Street Studio, also known as Columbia 30th Street Studio, and nicknamed "The Church", was an American recording studio operated by Columbia Records from 1949 to 1981 located at 207 East 30th Street, between Second and Third Avenues in Manhattan, New York City...
in New York City on March 2 and April 22, 1959. The sessions featured Davis's ensemble sextet, which consisted of pianist Bill Evans
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
(Wynton Kelly
Wynton Kelly
Wynton Kelly was a Jamaican-born jazz pianist, who spent his career in the United States. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959-1962.-Biography:...
on one track), drummer Jimmy Cobb
Jimmy Cobb
-External links:* - includes full discography* * * * * * *...
, bassist Paul Chambers
Paul Chambers
Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. was a jazz bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, his importance in the development of jazz bass can be measured not only by the length and breadth of his work in this short period but also his impeccable time, intonation, and virtuosic...
, and saxophonists John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. After the entry of Bill Evans into his sextet, Davis followed up on the modal
Modal jazz
Modal jazz is jazz that uses musical modes rather than chord progressions as a harmonic framework. Originating in the late 1950s and 1960s, modal jazz is characterized by Miles Davis's "Milestones" Kind of Blue and John Coltrane's classic quartet from 1960–64. Other important performers include...
experimentations of Milestones (1958) and 1958 Miles (1958) by basing the album entirely on modality
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
, in contrast to his earlier work with the hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
style of jazz.
Though precise figures have been disputed, Kind of Blue has been described by many music writers not only as Davis's best-selling album, but as the best-selling jazz record of all time. On October 7, 2008, it was certified quadruple platinum
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA). It has been regarded by many critics as the greatest jazz album of all time and Davis's masterpiece. The album's influence on music, including jazz, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, and classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, has led music writers to acknowledge it as one of the most influential albums ever made. In 2002, it was one of fifty recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
to be added to the National Recording Registry
National Recording Registry
The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, which created the National Recording...
. In 2003, the album was ranked number 12 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
Background
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
style. His personnel had become stable: alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, tenor saxophonist John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, pianist Bill Evans
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
, long-serving bassist Paul Chambers
Paul Chambers
Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. was a jazz bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, his importance in the development of jazz bass can be measured not only by the length and breadth of his work in this short period but also his impeccable time, intonation, and virtuosic...
, and drummer Jimmy Cobb
Jimmy Cobb
-External links:* - includes full discography* * * * * * *...
. His band played a mixture of pop standards and bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
originals by Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, and Tadd Dameron
Tadd Dameron
Tadley Ewing Peake "Tadd" Dameron was an American jazz composer, arranger and pianist. Saxophonist Dexter Gordon called Dameron the "romanticist" of the bop movement, while reviewer Scott Yanow writes that Dameron was the "definitive arranger/composer of the bop era".-Biography:Born in Cleveland,...
. As with all bebop-based jazz, Davis's groups improvised
Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians...
on the chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
changes of a given song. Davis was one of many jazz musicians growing dissatisfied with bebop, and saw its increasingly complex chord changes as hindering creativity.
In 1953, the pianist George Russell published his Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization
Lydian chromatic concept of tonal organization
The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization was written by George Russell and is the founding text of the Lydian Chromatic Concept , or Lydian Chromatic Theory . The work postulates that all music is based on the tonal gravity of the Lydian mode.-Deriving Lydian:Russell believed that...
,Library of Congress Catalog Record available atlccn.loc.gov/unk84111092.
Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization website located atwww.lydianchromaticconcept.com.
Author George Russell’s website located atwww.georgerussell.com which offered an alternative to the practice of improvisation based on chords and chord changes. Abandoning the traditional major and minor key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
relationships of classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, Russell developed a new formulation using scales
Musical scale
In music, a scale is a sequence of musical notes in ascending and descending order. Most commonly, especially in the context of the common practice period, the notes of a scale will belong to a single key, thus providing material for or being used to conveniently represent part or all of a musical...
, or a series of scales, for improvisations: This approach led the way to "modal
Modal jazz
Modal jazz is jazz that uses musical modes rather than chord progressions as a harmonic framework. Originating in the late 1950s and 1960s, modal jazz is characterized by Miles Davis's "Milestones" Kind of Blue and John Coltrane's classic quartet from 1960–64. Other important performers include...
" in jazz. Influenced by Russell's ideas, Davis implemented his first modal composition with the title track of his studio album Milestones (1958), and his first sessions with Bill Evans, 1958 Miles. Satisfied with the results, Davis prepared an entire album based on modality. Pianist Bill Evans, who had studied with Russell but recently departed from Davis's sextet to pursue his own career, was drafted back into the new recording project, the sessions that would become Kind of Blue.
Recording
Kind of Blue was recorded in two sessions at Columbia RecordsColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
' 30th Street Studio
CBS 30th Street Studio
CBS 30th Street Studio, also known as Columbia 30th Street Studio, and nicknamed "The Church", was an American recording studio operated by Columbia Records from 1949 to 1981 located at 207 East 30th Street, between Second and Third Avenues in Manhattan, New York City...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, on March 2 for the tracks "So What
So What (composition)
"So What" is the first track on the 1959 Miles Davis album Kind of Blue.-History:"So What" is one of the best known examples of modal jazz, set in the Dorian mode and consisting of 16 bars of D Dorian, followed by eight bars of E Dorian and another eight of D Dorian...
", "Freddie Freeloader
Freddie Freeloader
"Freddie Freeloader" is a composition by Miles Davis and is the second track on his album Kind of Blue. The piece takes the form of a twelve-bar blues in B-flat, but the chord over the final two bars of each chorus is an A-flat7, not the traditional B-flat7 followed by either F7 for a turnaround or...
", and "Blue in Green
Blue in Green
"Blue in Green" is the third track on Miles Davis' 1959 album, Kind of Blue. One of two ballads on the LP , "Blue in Green"'s melody is very modal, incorporating the presence of the dorian, mixolydian, and lydian modes...
", composing side one of the original LP
LP record
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
, and April 22 for the tracks "All Blues
All Blues
"All Blues" is a jazz composition by Miles Davis first appearing on the influential 1959 album Kind of Blue.It is a 12 bar blues in 6/4; the chord sequence is that of a basic blues and made up entirely of 7th chords, with a ♭VI in the turnaround instead of just the usual V chord...
", and "Flamenco Sketches
Flamenco Sketches
"Flamenco Sketches" is a jazz composition written by American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Bill Evans. It is the fifth track on Davis' 1959 album Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz record of all time, and an innovative experiment in modal jazz...
", making up side two. Production was handled by Teo Macero
Teo Macero
Teo Macero , born Attilio Joseph Macero, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer...
, who had produced Davis's previous two LPs, and Irving Townsend
Irving Townsend
Irving Townsend was an American record producer and author. He is most famous for having produced, in March 1959, the Miles Davis album Kind of Blue, which at #12, is the highest-ranked jazz album on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and according to the RIAA, is the best-selling...
.
As was Miles Davis's penchant, he 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, Davis 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. Only "Flamenco Sketches" yielded a complete take on the first try. That take, not the master, was issued in 1997 as a bonus alternate track. The five master takes issued, however, were the only other complete takes; an insert for the ending to "Freddie Freeloader" was recorded, but was not used for release or on the issues of Kind of Blue prior to the 1997 reissue. Pianist Wynton Kelly may not have been happy to see the man he replaced, Bill Evans, back in his old seat. Perhaps to assuage the pianist's feelings, and also to take advantage of Kelly's superior skills as both bluesman and accompanist, Davis had Kelly play instead of Evans on the album's most blues-oriented number, "Freddie Freeloader". The live album Miles Davis at Newport documents this band. However, the Newport Jazz Festival
Newport Jazz Festival
The Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It was established in 1954 by socialite Elaine Lorillard, who, together with husband Louis Lorillard, financed the festival for many years. The couple hired jazz impresario George Wein to organize the...
recording on July 3, 1958 reflects the band in its hard bop conception, the presence of a Bill Evans only six weeks into his brief tenure in the Davis band notwithstanding, rather than the modal approach of Kind of Blue.
Composition
Kind of Blue is based entirely on modalityMusical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
in contrast to Davis's earlier work with the hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
style of jazz and its complex chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
and improvisation. The entire album was composed as a series of modal sketches, in which each performer was given a set of scales that defined the parameters of their improvisation and style. This style was in contrast to more typical means of composing, such as providing musicians with a complete score
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
or, as was more common for improvisational jazz, providing the musicians with a chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
or series of harmonies
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
.
Modal jazz of this type was not unique to this album. Davis himself had previously used the same method on his 1958 Milestones album, the
Porgy and Bess (Miles Davis album)
Porgy and Bess is a studio album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1958 on Columbia Records. The album features arrangements by Davis and collaborator Gil Evans from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. The album was recorded in four sessions on July 22, July 29, August 4, and August 18,...
(1958), on which he used modal influences for collaborator Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
's third stream
Third stream
Third Stream is a term coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller, within a lecture at Brandeis University, to describe a musical genre which is a synthesis of classical music and jazz...
compositions. Also, the original concept and method had been developed in 1953 by pianist and writer George Russell. Davis saw Russell's methods of composition as a means of getting away from the dense chord-laden compositions of his time, which Davis had labeled "thick". Modal composition, with its reliance on scales and modes, represented, as Davis called it, "a return to melody." In a 1958 interview with Nat Hentoff
Nat Hentoff
Nathan Irving "Nat" Hentoff is an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media and writes regularly on jazz and country music for The Wall Street Journal....
of The Jazz Review
The Jazz Review
The Jazz Review was a magazine which was founded by Nat Hentoff, Martin Williams, and Hsio Wen Shih, in New York City in 1958. It was published until 1961...
, Davis elaborated on this form of composition in contrast to the simple chord progression predominant in bebop, stating "No chords ... gives you a lot more freedom and space to hear things. When you go this way, you can go on forever. You don't have to worry about changes and you can do more with the [melody] line. It becomes a challenge to see how melodically innovative you can be. When you're based on chords, you know at the end of 32 bars that the chords have run out and there's nothing to do but repeat what you've just done—with variations. I think a movement in jazz is beginning away from the conventional string of chords... there will be fewer chords but infinite possibilities as to what to do with them."
Content
As noted by Bill Evans in the LP liner notes, "Miles conceived these settings only hours before the recording dates." Evans continues with an introduction concerning the modes used in each composition on the album. "So What" consists of a mode based on two scales: sixteen measures of the first, followed by eight measures of the second, and then eight again of the first. "Freddie FreeloaderFreddie Freeloader
"Freddie Freeloader" is a composition by Miles Davis and is the second track on his album Kind of Blue. The piece takes the form of a twelve-bar blues in B-flat, but the chord over the final two bars of each chorus is an A-flat7, not the traditional B-flat7 followed by either F7 for a turnaround or...
" is a standard twelve-bar blues form. "Blue in Green
Blue in Green
"Blue in Green" is the third track on Miles Davis' 1959 album, Kind of Blue. One of two ballads on the LP , "Blue in Green"'s melody is very modal, incorporating the presence of the dorian, mixolydian, and lydian modes...
" consists of a ten-measure cycle following a short four-measure introduction. "All Blues
All Blues
"All Blues" is a jazz composition by Miles Davis first appearing on the influential 1959 album Kind of Blue.It is a 12 bar blues in 6/4; the chord sequence is that of a basic blues and made up entirely of 7th chords, with a ♭VI in the turnaround instead of just the usual V chord...
" is a twelve-bar blues form in 6/8 time. "Flamenco Sketches
Flamenco Sketches
"Flamenco Sketches" is a jazz composition written by American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Bill Evans. It is the fifth track on Davis' 1959 album Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz record of all time, and an innovative experiment in modal jazz...
" consists of five scales, which are each played "as long as the soloist wishes until he has completed the series".
Liner notes list Davis as writer of all compositions, but many scholars and fans believe that Bill Evans wrote part or the whole of "Blue in Green" and "Flamenco Sketches". Bill Evans assumed co-credit with Davis for "Blue in Green" when recording it on his Portrait in Jazz
Portrait in Jazz
Portrait in Jazz is an album by American jazz pianist Bill Evans, released in 1960.-History:Eight months after his successful collaboration with Miles Davis on the album Kind of Blue, Evans recorded Portrait in Jazz with a new group that helped change the direction of modern jazz.Most noticeably,...
album. The Davis estate acknowledged Evans' authorship in 2002. The practice of a band leader's appropriating authorship of a song written by a sideman occurred frequently in the jazz world, as legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker did so to Davis when Parker took a songwriting credit for the tune "Donna Lee
Donna Lee
"Donna Lee" is a bebop jazz standard composed by Miles Davis. It was written in A flat and is based on the chord changes of the traditional jazz standard " Indiana". One unusual feature of the tune is that it begins with a half-bar rest...
", written by Davis while employed as a sideman in Charlie Parker's quintet in the late 1940s. The composition later became a popular jazz standard
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
. Another example is the introduction to "So What", attributed to Gil Evans, which is closely based on the opening measures of French composer Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
's Voiles
Voiles
Voiles, a composition for solo piano, is the 2nd piece of Claude Debussy's first book of preludes. The title of the piece may mean either veils or sails; both connotations were intended by Debussy. Except for some mild localized chromaticism and a short pentatonic passage, the entire piece uses...
(1910), the second prelude
Preludes (Debussy)
Claude Debussy's Préludes are two sets of pieces for solo piano. They are divided into two separate livres, or books, of twelve preludes each. Unlike previous collections of preludes, like those of JS Bach and Chopin, Debussy's do not follow a strict pattern of key signatures.Each book was written...
from his first collection of preludes.
Jazz scene
Kind of Blue was released August 17, 1959, on Columbia RecordsColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in the United States, in both mono
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
and stereo
STEREO
STEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
format. Since then, Kind of Blue has often been regarded as Davis's greatest work
Masterpiece
Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....
; it is his most acclaimed album, and has been cited as the best-selling jazz record released, despite later claims attributing the achievement to Davis's first official gold
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
record Bitches Brew
Bitches Brew
Bitches Brew is a studio double album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in April 1970 on Columbia Records. The album continued his experimentation with electric instruments previously featured on his critically acclaimed In a Silent Way album...
(1969). Music writer Chris Morris cited Kind of Blue as "the distillation of Davis's art." Kind of Blue has also been noted as one of the most influential albums in the history of jazz. One reviewer has called it a "defining moment of twentieth century music." Several of the songs from the album have become jazz standards. Kind of Blue is consistently ranked among the greatest albums of all time. In a review of the album, Allmusic-senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
stated:
In 1958, however, the arrival of Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
on the jazz scene via his fall residency at the Five Spot
Five Spot
The Five Spot Café was a jazz club located at 5 Cooper Square in the Bowery neighbourhood of New York City.-History:In 1937, Salvatore Termini purchased what was then known as the Bowery Café, a working-class bar located under the Third Avenue El. In 1946, two of Termini's sons, Joe and Ignatze ...
club, consolidated by the release of his The Shape of Jazz to Come
The Shape of Jazz to Come
The Shape of Jazz to Come is an influential album by Ornette Coleman. It was his debut album for Atlantic Records who released it in late 1959....
LP the same year, muted the initial impact of Kind of Blue, a happenstance that irritated Davis greatly. Though Davis and Coleman both offered alternatives to the rigid rules of bebop, Davis would never reconcile himself to Coleman's free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
innovations, although he would incorporate musicians amenable to Coleman's ideas with his great quintet of the mid-1960s, and offer his own version of "free" playing with his jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
outfits in the 1970s. The influence of Kind of Blue did build, and all of the sidemen from the album went on to achieve success on their own. Evans formed his influential jazz trio with bassist Scott LaFaro
Scott LaFaro
Rocco Scott LaFaro was an influential jazz bassist, perhaps best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio.-Biography:...
and drummer Paul Motian
Paul Motian
Stephen Paul Motian was an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction.He first came to prominence in the late 1950s in the piano trio of Bill Evans, and later led several groups...
; "Cannonball" Adderley fronted popular bands with his brother Nat
Nat Adderley
Nathaniel Adderley was an American jazz cornet and trumpet player who played in the hard bop and soul jazz genres. He was the brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley....
; Kelly, Chambers and Cobb continued as a touring unit, recording under Kelly's name as well as in support of Coltrane and Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
, among others; and Coltrane went on to become one of the most revered and innovative of all jazz musicians. Even more than Davis, Coltrane took the modal approach and ran with it during his career as a leader in the 1960s, leavening his music with Coleman's ideas as the decade progressed.
Impact on music
The album's influence has reached beyond jazz, as musicians of such genres as rock and classicalClassical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
have been influenced by it, while critics have written about it as one of the most influential albums of all time. Many improvisatory rock musicians of the 1960s referred to Kind of Blue for inspiration, along with other Davis albums, as well as Coltrane's modal records My Favorite Things
My Favorite Things (album)
My Favorite Things is the seventh album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1961 on Atlantic Records, catalogue SD-1361. It was the first album to feature Coltrane's playing on soprano saxophone, and yielded a commercial breakthrough in the form of a hit single that gained popularity in...
(1961) and A Love Supreme
A Love Supreme
A Love Supreme is a studio album recorded by John Coltrane's quartet in December 1964 and released by Impulse! Records in February 1965...
(1965). Guitarist Duane Allman
Duane Allman
Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
of the Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
said his soloing on songs such as "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
"In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" is a jazz-influenced instrumental composed by Dickey Betts that became one of the best-known works ever recorded by The Allman Brothers Band, especially the version on their 1971 live album At Fillmore East.-Overview:...
" "comes from Miles and Coltrane, and particularly Kind of Blue. I've listened to that album so many times that for the past couple of years, I haven't hardly listened to anything else." Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
keyboardist Richard Wright
Richard Wright (musician)
Richard William Wright was an English pianist, keyboardist and songwriter, best known for his career with Pink Floyd. Wright's richly textured keyboard layers were a vital ingredient and a distinctive characteristic of Pink Floyd's sound...
has said that the chord progressions on the album influenced the structure of the introductory chords to the song "Breathe
Breathe (Pink Floyd song)
"Breathe" is a song by progressive rock band Pink Floyd and appears on their album The Dark Side of the Moon.-Authorship and composition:...
" on their landmark opus The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
(1973). In his book Kind of Blue: The Making of a Miles Davis Masterpiece, writer Ashley Kahn
Ashley Kahn
Ashley Kahn is an American music historian, journalist, and producer. He is also an adjunct professor at New York University, teaching various courses for the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music in NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and at 92nd Street Y in Manhattan.His most critically acclaimed...
wrote "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". Producer Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, 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". Pianist Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, one of Miles' acolytes, was also struck by its majesty, later stating "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."
One significant aspect of Kind of Blue is that the entire record, not just one track, was revolutionary. Gary Burton noted this occurrence, stating "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." Along with The Dave Brubeck Quartet
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
The Dave Brubeck Quartet is an American jazz quartet, founded in 1951 by Dave Brubeck and originally featuring Paul Desmond on saxophone and Brubeck on piano...
's Time Out
Time Out (album)
Time Out is a jazz album by The Dave Brubeck Quartet, released in 1959 on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 1397. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City, it is based upon the use of time signatures that were unusual for jazz such as 9/8 and 5/4. The album is a subtle blend of cool...
(1959) and Coltrane's Giant Steps
Giant Steps
-Personnel:* John Coltrane — tenor saxophone* Tommy Flanagan — piano* Wynton Kelly — piano on "Naima"* Paul Chambers — bass* Art Taylor — drums* Jimmy Cobb — drums on "Naima"* Cedar Walton — piano on "Giant Steps' and Naima" alternate versions...
(1960), Kind of Blue has often been recommended by music writers as an introductory jazz album, for similar reasons: the music on both records is very melodic, and the relaxed quality of the songs makes the improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
easy for listeners to follow, without sacrificing artistry or experimentation. Upon the release of the 50th anniversary collector's edition of the album, a columnist for All About Jazz
All About Jazz
All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...
stated "Kind of Blue heralded the arrival of a revolutionary new American music, a post-bebop modal jazz structured around simple scales and melodic improvisation. Trumpeter/band leader/composer Miles Davis assembled a sextet of legendary players to create a sublime atmospheric masterpiece. Fifty years after its release, Kind of Blue continues to transport listeners to a realm all its own while inspiring musicians to create to new sounds—from acoustic jazz to post-modern ambient—in every genre imaginable." Later in an interview, renowned hip hop artist and rapper Q-Tip
Q-Tip (rapper)
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest...
reaffirmed the album's reputation and influence when discussing the significance of Kind of Blue, stating "It's like the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
—you just have one in your house."
Accolades
Kind of Blue has been cited by writers and music critics as the greatest jazz album of all time and has been ranked at or near the top of numerous "best album" lists in disparate genres. In 2002, Kind of Blue was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of CongressLibrary of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
to be added to the National Recording Registry
National Recording Registry
The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, which created the National Recording...
. In selecting the album as number 12 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
, Rolling Stone magazine stated "This painterly masterpiece is one of the most important, influential and popular albums in jazz". On December 16, 2009, the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
passed a resolution honoring the fiftieth anniversary of Kind of Blue and "reaffirming jazz as a national treasure".
Track listing
All songs composed by Miles DavisMiles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
(see content section for more information). Only six complete takes of the five tunes on the album exist:
- "So WhatSo What (composition)"So What" is the first track on the 1959 Miles Davis album Kind of Blue.-History:"So What" is one of the best known examples of modal jazz, set in the Dorian mode and consisting of 16 bars of D Dorian, followed by eight bars of E Dorian and another eight of D Dorian...
" – 9:22 - "Freddie FreeloaderFreddie Freeloader"Freddie Freeloader" is a composition by Miles Davis and is the second track on his album Kind of Blue. The piece takes the form of a twelve-bar blues in B-flat, but the chord over the final two bars of each chorus is an A-flat7, not the traditional B-flat7 followed by either F7 for a turnaround or...
" – 9:46 - "Blue in GreenBlue in Green"Blue in Green" is the third track on Miles Davis' 1959 album, Kind of Blue. One of two ballads on the LP , "Blue in Green"'s melody is very modal, incorporating the presence of the dorian, mixolydian, and lydian modes...
" – 5:37 - "All BluesAll Blues"All Blues" is a jazz composition by Miles Davis first appearing on the influential 1959 album Kind of Blue.It is a 12 bar blues in 6/4; the chord sequence is that of a basic blues and made up entirely of 7th chords, with a ♭VI in the turnaround instead of just the usual V chord...
" – 11:33 - "Flamenco SketchesFlamenco Sketches"Flamenco Sketches" is a jazz composition written by American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Bill Evans. It is the fifth track on Davis' 1959 album Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz record of all time, and an innovative experiment in modal jazz...
" – 9:26
Reissue bonus track
- "Flamenco Sketches" (Alternate take) – 9:32
Tracks 1, 2 and 3 (side one on the original vinyl release) recorded March 2, 1959; tracks 4 and 5 (side two) recorded April 22, 1959. All tracks recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studio
CBS 30th Street Studio
CBS 30th Street Studio, also known as Columbia 30th Street Studio, and nicknamed "The Church", was an American recording studio operated by Columbia Records from 1949 to 1981 located at 207 East 30th Street, between Second and Third Avenues in Manhattan, New York City...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Collector's edition
Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition is a two-discCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
box set reissue of Miles Davis's studio album Kind of Blue, released September 30, 2008 on Columbia Records and distributed through Legacy Records. Contrary to the edition's title, the release precedes the album's fiftieth anniversary of either recording date or original issue date.
The collector's edition features the original Kind of Blue album in its entirety with the "Flamenco Sketches" alternate take, the rare "Freddie Freeloader" false start, and a selection of in-the-studio dialog from the Kind of Blue sessions on the first disc. The second disc features rare musical material from the classic sextet's recording sessions, including the May 26, 1958 session, which was previously available on The Complete Columbia Recordings: 1955–1961
The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis with John Coltrane
The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis with John Coltrane is a box set by jazz musicians Miles Davis and John Coltrane. It is the first box set in a series of eight from Columbia/Legacy compiling Davis's work for Columbia Records...
and 1958 Miles. Also included on the second disc is the first authorized release of an extended live performance of "So What" from the 1960 Den Haag Concert.
The third disc, a DVD, features a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
on the conception and recording of Kind of Blue. In addition, the DVD features the "Robert Herridge Theater: The Sound of Miles Davis" television program, which originally aired on April 2, 1959 and starred Miles Davis and John Coltrane. In the box-set packaging, a vinyl LP copy of Kind of Blue, a poster, and an LP-sized 60-page hardbound book are also included.
Disc one
- "So What" – 9:25
- "Freddie Freeloader" – 9:49
- "Blue in Green" – 5:37
- "All Blues" – 11:35
- "Flamenco Sketches" – 9:26
- "Flamenco Sketches" (alternate take) – 9:33
- "Freddie Freeloader" (studio sequence) – 0:53
- "Freddie Freeloader" (false start) – 1:27
- "Freddie Freeloader" (studio sequence 2) – 1:30
- "So What" (studio sequence) – 1:55
- "So What" (studio sequence 2) – 0:13
- "Blue in Green" (studio sequence) – 1:58
- "Flamenco Sketches" (studio sketches) – 0:45
- "Flamenco Sketches" (studio sketches 2) – 1:12
- "All Blues" (studio sketches) – 0:18
Disc two
- "On Green Dolphin Street" (Bronislaw KaperBronislaw KaperBronisław Kaper was a Polish film composer who scored films and musical theater in Germany, France, and the USA. The American immigration authorities misspelled his name as Bronislau Kaper...
, Ned WashingtonNed WashingtonNed Washington was an American lyricist.-Biography:Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962...
) – 9:50 - "Fran-Dance" (Davis) – 5:49
- "Stella by StarlightStella By Starlight"Stella by Starlight" is a jazz standard written by Victor Young and featured in The Uninvited, a 1944 film released by Paramount Pictures. Originally played in the film as an instrumental theme song without lyrics, it was turned over to Ned Washington, who wrote the lyrics for it in 1946...
" (Victor YoungVictor YoungVictor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
, Washington) – 4:46 - "Love for Sale" (Cole PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
) – 11:49 - "Fran-Dance" (alternate take) – 5:53
- "So What" (live) – 17:29
Musicians
- Miles DavisMiles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
– trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, band leader - Julian "Cannonball" Adderley – altoAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, except on "Blue in Green" - Paul ChambersPaul ChambersPaul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. was a jazz bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, his importance in the development of jazz bass can be measured not only by the length and breadth of his work in this short period but also his impeccable time, intonation, and virtuosic...
– double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Jimmy CobbJimmy Cobb-External links:* - includes full discography* * * * * * *...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - John ColtraneJohn ColtraneJohn William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
– tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Bill EvansBill EvansWilliam John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
(except "Freddie Freeloader"), liner notesLiner notesLiner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:... - Wynton KellyWynton KellyWynton Kelly was a Jamaican-born jazz pianist, who spent his career in the United States. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959-1962.-Biography:...
– piano on "Freddie Freeloader"
Production
- Michael Cuscuna – reissue productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Don Hunstein – photography
- Teo MaceroTeo MaceroTeo Macero , born Attilio Joseph Macero, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer...
– production - Jay Maisel – cover photoRecord sleeveA record sleeve is the outer covering of a vinyl recording. The sleeve is technically the paper covering that is closest in contact to the surface of the recording, as in "dust sleeve", "liner" and "album liner". The term has come to be synonymous with "record jacket" and "album jacket", which is...
- Fred PlautFred PlautFrederick "Fred" Plaut was a recording engineer and amateur photographer. He was employed by Columbia Records during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, eventually becoming the label's chief engineer...
– recording engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Irving TownsendIrving TownsendIrving Townsend was an American record producer and author. He is most famous for having produced, in March 1959, the Miles Davis album Kind of Blue, which at #12, is the highest-ranked jazz album on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and according to the RIAA, is the best-selling...
– production - Mark Wilder – remix engineer
- Nat HentoffNat HentoffNathan Irving "Nat" Hentoff is an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media and writes regularly on jazz and country music for The Wall Street Journal....
– liner notes
Chart positions
Billboard Music Charts (North America)- 1977: Jazz Albums – #37
- 1987: Top Jazz Albums – #10
- 2001: Top Internet Albums – #14
Certifications
| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia | Platinum |
| United Kingdom | Gold |
| United States | 4× Platinum |
Release history
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, in both stereo and mono
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
. There have been several reissues of Kind of Blue, including additional printings throughout the vinyl era. On some editions, the label switched the order for the two tracks on side two, "All Blues" and "Flamenco Sketches". The record has been remastered many times during the compact disc era, including the 1986 Columbia Jazz Masterpieces reissue and, most notably, the 1992 remastering that corrected the speed for side one, which had been issued slightly off-pitch
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
originally, and the 1997 issue that added the alternate take of "Flamenco Sketches". In 2005, a DualDisc
DualDisc
DualDisc was a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and later under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America...
release included the original album, a digital remastering in 5.1 Surround Sound
Surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
and LPCM Stereo
LPCM
Linear pulse-code modulation is a method of encoding audio information digitally. The term also refers collectively to formats using this method of encoding...
, and a 25-minute documentary Made in Heaven about the making and influence of Kind of Blue. "Kind Of Blue" has also been re-released on a rare 24-carat gold CD collectors version.
The album was also released on many other formats many of which are only to be found second hand.
- Two-track open-reel tape (US only), Columbia GCB 60, from which "Freddie Freeloader" and "Flamenco Sketches" were omitted to keep cost down. This release was on the market less than a year and was discontinued some time after July 1961, after Sketches of Spain had been released as four-track only. Sonically most often better than the four-track counterpart that replaced it. The reports that the two-track version was the only one to be issued at correct speed for the tracks off the first album side are false. None issued were at the correct speed.
- Four-track open-reel tape (US only), Columbia CQ 379, as the complete five-track album. This release replaced the two-track release and remained in the Columbia catalog for a few years. Some tracks are available on other reel tapes issued current at the time of or following the original release of the album, as by Various Artists. None issued were at the correct speed. "All Blues" is included on the Greatest Hits album.
- Armed Forces Radio & Television Service 16-inch transcription discs. Note these are monophonic and the side marked "Flamenco Sketches" actually holds "All Blues". None issued were at the correct speed.
- Philips Compact Cassette. Both as the original album prior to the Jazz Masterpiece remaster, and as the 1987 Jazz Masterpiece remaster. Neither are at the correct speed.
- MiniDisc, Columbia CM 40579 (US). Only as the master prior to 1997, but not as the Jazz Masterpiece remaster. This was unavailable by the end of the 1990s when production of Jazz Masterpiece series had ceased. None issued were at the correct speed.
External links
- ModalJazz.com
- Miles Davis: 'Kind of Blue' program in National Public Radio's Jazz ProfilesJazz ProfilesJazz Profiles is an American radio show produced by NPR and hosted by jazz singer Nancy Wilson. It features hour long retrospectives on the lives of famous jazz musicians, or sometimes on famous albums such as Miles Davis' Kind of Blue...
series - 'Kind of Blue' at MILESTONES:A Miles Davis Collector's Site