Miles Davis

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 the definitive jazz album (and the best-selling title in jazz history), 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, and 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, John Coltrane, Bill Evans (with Wynton Kelly subbing on "Freddie Freeloader"), Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb -- one of the greatest bands 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.

The 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition of Kind of Blue is a pared down version of the Kind of Blue 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition, that was released by Sony in September of 2008. The earlier version contained both of the CDs included here, a deluxe DVD, and an LP in an extravagant -- and limited -- package. For those who've purchased some other edition of Kind of Blue over the last decade, the debate over whether to purchase this one will come down to how big a jazz fan you are. There have been numerous editions of this set issued on CD. This one is definitive -- insofar as we know -- in that it not only contains the album in gloriously warm remastered sound, it also features the complete studio sessions with a total of over two hours of false starts, alternate takes, dialogue, and studio sequences. All of this is on disc one. Disc two contains five tunes recorded in the studio by this sextet ten months earlier (May 26, 1958) that were not featured on Kind of Blue. The other bonus cut is a walloping 17-and-a-half minute live version of "So What," recorded by Miles with Coltrane, Wynton Kelly, Chambers, and Cobb at a gig in Holland in 1960. This track has only appeared on bootlegs in the past and this is its first authorized release. If you are content with simply owning Kind of Blue without all the other documented material, go no further. If you purchased the Collector's Edition this will offer you nothing you don't already have in better form. If, however, you found yourself not rich enough to purchase that edition and would still love to own the complete studio session of a documented jazz classic, this is the way to go. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Thom Jurek, All Music Guide