Kind Of Blue [SACD, Extra tracks]

 

 

Create your own review

This review is for the Vinyl edition - Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue. The quality is so bad, I got it replaced by Amazon 3 times without success: the lp was warped or it had with visible surface defects that result in bad hiss, or in one case both defects were present... In the end I had to I sent it back as this kind of quality is not not acceptable! I realy hope though that there will be a high quality release of this album on vinyl!

This is probably the most revolutionary album in modern jazz, and probably always will be. Miles Davis introduces a new way of improvising, a new way of thinking, and this album will make you find a new way of listening to music.
"So What" is of course a classic. It had a form like no other song at the time. Only two chords: D-7 for 16 bars, Eb-7 for 8 bars, and then 8 bars of D-7 again. No one had done such a thing in jazz before (Coltrane later recorded an up-tempo song with a different melody, but with this very form, called "Impressions"...also worth looking into).
"Freddie Freeloader" is a blues. The melody is played for 24 bars, but what makes this blues different from a normal rock-progression-blues is bar no.11&12. Listen!
Then there is the extremely soft ballad "Blue In Green", which, again has a wierd form; 10 bars that repeat throughout the whole thing with a not-so-logical-but-very-beutiful-chord-progression. It's kind of hard keeping track where the form starts over again, but it doesn't matter when you're listening to musicians like this.
"All Blues", again a classic...well, they all are...this blues is played in 3/4, which hadn't been done a lot in jazz either. Charles Mingus did it in 1959 (the song "Better git it in your soul"), but I don't know if it was Miles or Mingus who first recorded a 3/4-blues. Anyway, they were only a couple of weeks apart (recorded in the same studio)!
"Flamenco Sketches" is a very nice, smooth piece, but rarely played as a cover by other musicians, unlike all the other songs on the album...maybe because it's hard to find it as sheet music, I don't know, and I don't understand why it's never gotten as much attention as the rest of the songs, since it fits in nicely with the feeling of all the other tracks. The bonus track is a second take of the song.
On this album plays (one of my favorite sax-players of all time) John Coltrane, who in 1959, had not YET developed anything revolutionary on his instrument, but still played very nice solos.
Cannonball Adderley plays alto sax. He has a very different way of thinking than Coltrane, when it comes to solo playing. He plays long lines with a lot of variation. Hats off!
Paul Chambers plays bass throughout the record. Listen to the walking bass-line on the first 16 bars of Miles' solo on "So What". Chambers plays a repeated figure with a little variation every time, which sounds like a separate melody underneath the solo; Quite unusual in walking-bass at the time.
I believe this is the first time that Bill Evans recorded with Miles. He was not a very famous piano player at the time, unlike now that he has played on this album. Bill Evans plays on all tracks but "Freddie Freeloader" (Wynton Kelly).
And Miles himself, a genius in modern jazz to say the least...I don't know where I'd start...just listen. Get yourself at least one copy of this album. More highly recommended than any other album by Miles Davis. Now, if you haven't heard this music - do yourself a favour and order this disc. No regrets...

About 6 months ago, I was a newcomer into the ridiculously large realm of Jazz music, and I needed a place to start. So I bought this album hearing from many that it was a classic. Needless to say, they were right!

Miles Davis is a truly amazing trumpet player, and his jazz ensemble doesn't fall short of him either. With people like John Coltrane wailing on sax and Bill Evans' great piano (the first piano break on Freddie Freeloader is my favorite part of the album), its truly a masterpiece. I'll break it down track-by-track.

So What- A good slow piano-bass intro, that eventually moves into an improv section with a catchy tune.

Freddie Freeloader- Almost 12-bar, but jazzed up quite a bit. Just a good swinging song to sit back and relax listening to.

Blue in Green- beautiful horn on this one, whatever it is (I'm not exactly the horn master myself), and good piano playing from Evans. A slow one.

All Blues- A lengthy intro before the improv begins, but nevertheless very good, with a dynamic horn part, sounds like it had a little bit of classical influence.

Flamenco Sketches- A nice closing track, soothing yet articulate, one to fall asleep to.

All in all, this CD has a great song for every kind of mood. And hey, for 10 bucks, its a good price for a classic album you'll treasure for a long time.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 48 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect
This is worth getting just to hear the Coltrane that was cut out of the original.No wonder he is considered Saint John Coltrane. Desert island .

Published 2 months ago by P. S. Paran

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing
i'm not a jazz fan, but i seriously love this album just because the mood it brings to me. soothing, easy, and cool.

Published 21 months ago by Bao Gang Yu

5.0 out of 5 stars review that cd ! LOL
I will not review this CD. If you are looking at it. Just buy it. You know what it is. All has been said before me.

Published on Aug 18 2009 by Tchien Tchien Bouchard

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Blue
This record is sublime. You listen to good music when you are in a particular mood and you have in mind some music that just fits your mood and you simply need to hear it. Read more

Published on July 9 2009 by D Glover

5.0 out of 5 stars This Jazz album gets better and better with time!
I can not say I know anything about Jazz music, although I always loved it due to my parents passion for it, hence I decided to erase my ignorance and start to educate myself... Read more

Published on Jun 27 2007 by Jenny J.J.I.

5.0 out of 5 stars The one that started it...
And I mean that. Over ten years ago, I was younger and knew nothing about jazz at the time. I went to the record shop and decided to invest in my first jazz album. Read more

Published on Feb 6 2005 by William J. Serson

5.0 out of 5 stars This album is the jazz's quintessential !
This album is incredible , amazing . It doesn't happen very often one recording reachs so cosmic heights .
You may consider a simple account about this statement. Read more

Published on July 16 2004 by Hiram Gomez Pardo

2.0 out of 5 stars Worth listening to once.
I wasn't too surprised to see that no-one's reviewed this item yet. I'll admit this is not a good album, but the trumpet player on here (Miles Davis) has an interesting style... Read more

Published on July 13 2004 by omicron

1.0 out of 5 stars Only rated it one star so that everyone will read it
Okay- here goes,
Now, first of all there is NO ONE that can possibly even doubt Davis' ability as a player. Read more

Published on Jun 28 2004 by Adam Gross

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Jazz Album Ever?
Kind of Blue is a famous album, the number 1 jazz best seller and - some would say - the best jazz album ever. Read more

Published on Jun 12 2004 by MikeG

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 48 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!