Kind of Blue

Kind of Blue is an album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released August 17, 1959 on Columbia Records, in both mono and stereo, CL 1355 and CS 8163.^[1] Recording sessions for the album took place at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City on March 2 and April 22 of 1959.^[2] Following the inclusion of pianist Bill Evans into his sextet, Davis followed up on the modal experimentations of his Milestones album and the '58 Sessions. The album is based entirely on modality in contrast to his earlier work with the hard bop style of jazz and its complex chord progression and improvisation.^[3]

Though precise figures have been disputed, Kind of Blue has been cited as Davis' best-selling album, and as the best-selling jazz record of all time. On October 7, 2008, the album was certified quadruple platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[4] Kind of Blue has also been regarded by many fans and critics as the greatest jazz album of all time and ranks at or near the top of many "best album" lists in disparate genres.^[5][6][7][8] Kind of Blue's influence on music, ranging from genres such as jazz to rock and classical music, has led critics to acknowledge it as one of the most influential albums of all time.^[9][10] In 2002, Kind of Blue was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.^[11] In 2003, the album was ranked number 12 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.^[12] On September 30, 2008, a box set collector's edition of Kind of Blue is set to be released by Columbia/Legacy Records.^[13]

Conception

Background

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, pianists Wynton Kelly and 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.^[14] Davis was one of many jazz musicians growing dissatisfied with bebop, and saw its increasingly complex chord changes as hindering creativity.^[15]

In 1953, pianist George Russell published his Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, which offered an alternative to the practice of improvisation based on chords and chord changes. Abandoning the traditional major and minor key relationships of Western music, Russell developed a new formulation using scales or a series of scales for improvisations; this approach came to be known as modal in jazz.^[16]

Influenced by Russell's ideas and concept, Davis implemented his first modal composition with the title track of his 1958 album Milestones and his first sessions with Bill Evans, the '58 Sessions. Satisfied with the results, Davis prepared an entire album based on modality. Pianist Bill Evans, who had studied with Russell but recently departed from the Davis' sextet to pursue his own career, was successfully drafted back in to the new recording project—the sessions that would engender Kind of Blue.^[17]

Recording

Kind of Blue was recorded in two sessions at Columbia Records' 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 "Flamenco Sketches", "All Blues", making up side two. Production was handled by Teo Macero, who had produced Davis' previous two LP's, and Irving Townsend.

As was Miles Davis' 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, the band had only received sketches of scales and melody lines to improvise and go on from Davis. 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 of the entire album being recorded in one pass is untrue. Only "Flamenco Sketches" yielded a complete take on the first try, that take not the master but 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 issued on the issues of Kind of Blue prior to the 1997 reissue.^[18]

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".^[18] 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.^[19]

Music

Composition

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.^[20] 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, on which Davis used modal influences for collaborater Gil Evans' third stream compositions.^[15] 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,^[15] "a return to melody."^[20] 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:

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.^[15]

—Miles Davis

Content

Opening measures of "So What". ( Listen)

As noted by Bill Evans in the LP liner notes, "Miles conceived these settings only hours before the recording dates."^[21] 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 Freeloader" 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".^[21]

All compositions were listed as being written by Davis, but many scholars and fans believe that Bill Evans wrote part or the whole of "Blue in Green" and "Flamenco Sketches".^[22] Bill Evans himself assumed co-credit, with Davis, for "Blue in Green" when recording it on his Portrait in Jazz album, his authorship acknowledged by the Davis estate in 2002.^[23] This appropriation of publishing by the bandleader was far from an unknown occurrence in the jazz world, Davis having been on the receiving end of such practice himself; while employed as a sideman in Charlie Parker's quintet in the late 1940s, Parker took credit for the Davis-penned tune "Donna Lee,"^[24] which later became a popular jazz standard. Additionally, the introduction to "So What", attributed to Gil Evans, is closely based on the opening measures of Claude Debussy's Voiles, the second prelude from his first collection of preludes.^[25]

Reception and influence

Kind of Blue is often regarded as Davis's greatest work and his most acclaimed album. Music writer Chris Morris cited the album as "the distillation of Davis's art."^[26] Kind of Blue has also been recognized as one of the most influential albums in the history of jazz. One reviewer has called it a "defining moment of twentieth century music."^[27] Several of the songs from the album have become jazz standards. Kind of Blue is consistently ranked among the greatest albums of all time.^[28] In a review of the album, Allmusic.com senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote of the album:

Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album, a universally acknowledged standard of excellence. Why does Kind of Blue posses such a mystique? Perhaps because this music never flaunts its genius... It's the pinnacle of modal jazz — tonality and solos build from the overall key, not chord changes, giving the music a subtly shifting quality... It may 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 as anything other than a cornerstone of any jazz collection.^[29]

—Stephen T. Erlewine

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 impact of Kind of Blue, a happenstance that irritated Davis to no end.^[30] 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.^[31] The influence of the album did build, and all of the sidemen from the album would achieve success on their own. Evans formed his influential jazz trio with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian; "Cannonball" Adderley would front his popular bands with his brother Nat; Kelly, Chambers, and Cobb would continue as a touring unit, recording under Kelly's name as well as in support of Coltrane and Wes Montgomery, among others; Coltrane would go on to become one of the most revered and innovative jazz musicians in history. Even more than Davis, Coltrane took the modal approach and ran with it during his brief career as a leader in the 1960s, leavening his music with Coleman's ideas as the decade progressed.^[32]

The album's influence reaches beyond jazz. Many improvisatory rock musicians of the 1960s referred to this album, along with other Davis albums, or Coltrane's modal records like My Favorite Things or A Love Supreme. Guitarist Duane Allman said his soloing on Allman Brothers Band 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."^[33] Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright has said that the chord progressions on Kind of Blue influenced the structure of the introductory chords of their song "Breathe" on the landmark 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon.^[34]

In his book, Kind of Blue: The Making of a Miles Davis Masterpiece, author Ashley Kahn wrote that "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".^[35] 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".^[35] Pianist Chick Corea, one of Miles' acolytes, was also struck by its majesty. He said: "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."^[36] One significant aspect of Kind of Blue is that the entire record, not just one track, was revolutionary. Gary Burton noted this occurrence:

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.^[37]

—Gary Burton

Along with The Dave Brubeck Quartet's Time Out and Coltrane's Giant Steps, Kind of Blue is often recommended 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.^[38] Upon the release of the 50th anniversary collector's edition of the album, the All About Jazz website reviewed Kind of Blue in retrospect:

Originally released by Columbia Records on August 17, 1959, 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.^[39]

—All About Jazz

Track listing

Only six complete takes of the five tunes on the album exist, indicated by the song numbers.

Side one

Side two

Bonus track

Bonus cut featured on the 1997 compact disc reissue.

Collector's edition

The Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition 3-disc box set features the original 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 two extended live performances of "So What" from the April 9, 1960 Den Haag Concert. The third disc, a DVD, features a documentary on the making of Kind of Blue. The DVD also 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.^[39]

Disc one

Disc two

Chart history

Billboard Music Charts (North America)

• 1977: Jazz Albums – #37
• 1987: Top Jazz Albums – #10
• 2001: Top Internet Albums – #14

Certifications

Personnel

Musicians

• Miles Davis – trumpet, leader
• Julian "Cannonball" Adderley – alto saxophone, except on "Blue in Green"
• John Coltrane – tenor saxophone
• Wynton Kelly – piano, only on "Freddie Freeloader"
• Bill Evans – piano on all, except "Freddie Freeloader", liner notes
• Paul Chambers – bass
• Jimmy Cobb – drums

Additional personnel

• Teo Macero – original recording producer
• Irving Townsend – original recording producer
• Fred Plaut – recording engineer
• Michael Cuscuna – reissue producer
• Mark Wilder – remix engineer
• Jay Maisel – cover photo
• Don Hunstein – photography

Release history

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,^[42] most notably, the 1992 remastering that corrected the speed for side one, which had been issued slightly off-pitch originally, and the 1997 that added the alternate take of "Flamenco Sketches". All releases after the 1997 include the alternate take and are speed-corrected. 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.

• August 17, 1959–Columbia CS 8163, original stereo vinyl LP
• August 17, 1959–Columbia CL 1355, original mono vinyl LP
• 1984–Columbia CK 8163, original compact disc issue
• 1986–Columbia Jazz Masterpiece CK 40579, compact disc, digitally remastered from original master tapes
• December 8, 1992–Columbia CK 64403, Mastersound Gold CD, super-bit mapping, corrected speed. Liner notes: First time original master used for side 1 of a CD issue Original had been misplaced since before 1984 (CK 8163).
• 1997 - Double LP Gatefold edition from Classic Records included two side ones at original and corrected speed and a 45RPM alternate take of Flamenco Sketches
• March 25, 1997–Columbia CK 64935, compact disc, 20-bit remastering, adds alternate track, corrected speed
• August 21, 2001–Columbia CS 64935, SACD, corrected speed
• December 2001–Classic Records CS8163QP, Quiex SV-P 200 gram vinyl, corrected speed, original tracks
• February 8, 2005–Columbia CN 90887, DualDisc, 20-bit remastered standard compact disc side, 5.1 AC3 Surround Sound, LPCM Stereo side, corrected speed
• September 30, 2008–Columbia/Legacy CL 8869733552, box set, original album, previously unreleased material, bonus tracks, vinyl LP, DVD

The album was also released on many other formats many of which are only to be found second hand.

• As a Two Track open reel tape (US only), Columbia GCB 60, by which Freddie Freeloader and Flamenco Sketches are 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 4-Track only. Sonically most often better than the 4-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 at the correct speed.^[43]
• As a 4-Track open reel tape (US only), Columbia CQ 379, as the complete 5 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 at the correct speed.
• As a 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.
• As a 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 prerecorded MiniDiscs had ceased. Sonically pleasing there is an analog warmth to many of the ATRAC encodings, but the format was never widely adopted by the consumer segment. It is rare over magnetic tapes and requires dedicated hardware to use. None issued at the correct speed.

The album was not released on the following formats:

• 8-Track cartridge. Though some of the tracks are available on 8-Track on the Greatest Hits album.
• 4-Track cartridge.
• Quadraphonic vinyl or tape.

Two unofficial CD releases are known to contain the sessions with false starts and studio chatter.

• An unofficial album entitled "The Making of Kind of Blue" features 73 minutes of the album's recording sessions.^[44]
• Another unofficial album is entitled "Another Kind of Blue" features the same sessions.

Notes

References

• Palmer, Robert (1997), "Liner Notes to 1997 Reissue", Kind of Blue (CD), New York, NY: Sony Music Entertainment, Inc./Columbia Records 
• Kahn, Ashley (2001), Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece, foreword by Cobb, Jimmy, Da Capo Press, USA, ISBN 0-306-81067-0 
• Blumenthal, Bob (2001), Liner Notes, Miles Davis at Newport 1958, Columbia/Legacy CK85202 

External links

• ModalJazz.com
• Miles Davis: 'Kind of Blue' program in National Public Radio's Jazz Profiles series