Kind of Blue: Miles Davis: Amazon.ca: Music

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From Amazon.com essential recording

This is the one jazz record owned by people who don't listen to jazz, and with good reason. The band itself is extraordinary (proof of Miles Davis's masterful casting skills, if not of God's existence), listing John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley on saxophones, Bill Evans (or, on "Freddie Freeloader," Wynton Kelly) on piano, and the crack rhythm unit of Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Coltrane's astringency on tenor is counterpoised to Adderley's funky self on alto, with Davis moderating between them as Bill Evans conjures up a still lake of sound on which they walk. Meanwhile, the rhythm partnership of Cobb and Chambers is prepared to click off time until eternity. It was the key recording of what became modal jazz, a music free of the fixed harmonies and forms of pop songs. In Davis's men's hands it was a weightless music, but one that refused to fade into the background. In retrospect every note seems perfect, and each piece moves inexorably towards its destiny. --John Szwed

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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful

Ordering my Third set Oct 7 2008

By Shaukat A. Husain

Format:Audio CD

I have been waiting with great anticipation for the release of this set. Sony has done a very fine job of the book, the photographs, the CD and the poster. The LP is pressed in clear blue plastic and the mastering is very good. But the pressing is atrociously bad and noisy. Rather shoddy for the price if you compare it with the Blue Note 45 RPM issues by Music Matters. The surface has bubbles that produce distortions and clicks. A lot of collectors will be after the LP rather than the CD and Sony should have done a better job. What a shame!
Amazon.ca has been great in replacing my first set which I mailed back, with another in a matter of days, but the second set has arrive with a gouge in the slipcase and the same problem with the LP. I was told that another replacement could not be sent and I would get full refund. I would have to order another one which I have done in the hope that this one will be OK. I hope someone in Sony marketing reads this and tries to improve the product. The LP is what collectors will want, and one that should be of a very good quality. Who cares about the CD? Well not me and most serious jazz collectors who will buy this set.
To be fair, I will review the third set when I receive it for this is the jazz LP that I want to take to the other side when I die!
jazzwallah

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Kind of Brilliant April 30 2012

By Jerlaw "JJ"" TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

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 lures listeners in with the slow, luxurious bassline and gentle piano chords of "So What." From that moment on, the record never really changes pace -- each tune has a similar relaxed feel, as the music flows easily. Yet Kind of Blue is more than easy listening. 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. All of this doesn't quite explain why seasoned jazz fans return to this record even after they've memorized every nuance. They return because this is an exceptional band -- Miles, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb -- one of the greatest in history, playing at the peak of its power. As Evans said in the original liner notes for the record, the band did not play through any of these pieces prior to recording. Davis laid out the themes before the tape rolled, and then the band improvised. The end results were wondrous and still crackle with vitality. Kind of Blue works on many different levels. It can be played as background music, yet it amply rewards close listening. It is advanced music that is extraordinarily enjoyable. 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.

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Damaged cd's. Jan 15 2012

By Lucius

Format:Audio CD

The cd's don't have cases. They are slipped half way into cardboard, and all three cd's have lines carved into the reading surface. The dvd has two parts mainly : a documentary on Kind of blue (at the beginning ; and the live shooting of The Sound of Miles Davis in 1959 (at the end). The dvd is so damaged that my dvd player can't read the second half. I'm surprised no one has wrote about this, cause every box set must have this problem. The two cd's are damaged in the same way. Too bad the Legacy Edition doesn't contain the dvd... I would've skipped the book etc. So i'll be returning my set. Won't take a chance of loosing money a second time.

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