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An LP a day - for no other reason than I love my records - No.41
Miles Davis. Kind of Blue
There is a really good reason this is the biggest selling jazz album ever. Its both accessible (and at the time) groundbreaking; bringing modal jazz to the mainstream. Just brilliant!
Strandout tracks:
All Bues - from the swirling piano intro, a fabulously atmospheric groove;
So What - often covered, but never bettered.
But really all five tracks are genius by Davis & his stellar band.
@ChrisMayLA6 Fantastic choice!
@ChrisMayLA6 I always say to people, you're only going to own one jazz album it should be this one. Though there are a couple of other gems from 1959 that come close.
What I find fascinating, is that its at once a moment of musical revolution and(!) an entry point for those getting into jazz... an extraordinary double achievement
@ChrisMayLA6 Agreed. I can think of a couple of other albums from that era that come close (Time Out, Shape of Jazz to Come, Mingus Ah Um, f'rinstance) but Kind of Blue does stand out.
Yes, all great LPs - I especially like the way Ornette at the time was seen as revolutionary, but now looks to have been pushing at the limits but not actually breaking them (until later) - see also Eric Dolphy-Out to Lunch
@ChrisMayLA6 This is the album that opened my ears to jazz. Really a before/after moment.
There's a nice BBC radio "Soul Music" episode about "So what" too.