Reviews for Kind of blue

The average rating for Kind of blue based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-03-25 00:00:00 Shivanth Bhaskaran As a fan of rock, folk, reggae, even classic country, I have dabbled in jazz. I guess what would be called smooth jazz mostly. But a friend loaned me this book along with the CD. At first I balked, but hey, I'm older now and it is time to expand my horizons. I listened to the CD before I started reading the book. Interesting, but no wows. In truth, I wouldn't know modal jazz from a nodal biopsy. The author is extremely knowledgable and starts with the state of jazz before Kind of Blue is made. The group Miles Davis assembles to record Kind of Blue turned out to be a jazz supergroup. John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly, Bill Evans among others. Most went on to jazz superstardom, if they didn't let drugs ruin their life. When jazz musicians are mentioned, you think marijuana was the drug of choice. But for most in the book, it was herion. Even Miles Davis kicked the habit before getting serious and recording jazz masterpieces. The recording of each track of Kind of Blue is discussed in length. And after each chapter, I would listen to the CD again. Hey, I'm beginning to hear different things. What is happening to me? There's a touch of blues, a bit of funk, a Latin influence to one. I can hear the brilliance of Miles Davis' trumpet, the experimentation of John Coltrane's tenor sax, the barely suppressed funk of Cannonball Adderley's alto sax, the complex way pianist Bill Evans holds it all together. I have listened to the CD about twenty times now. I may never be the same.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-03-28 00:00:00 Ed Koch Kind of Blue has sold 7 million copies (albeit in 50 years), making it the best-selling jazz album of all time. Far from being a safe commercial work, KoB broke new ground by introducing new structures to jazz. Perhaps the trick was that Miles discarded complex chord structures for simple vamps that frame endless (yet hypnotic) solos by John Coltrane, Bill Evans and Cannonball Adderly. Kahn recreated this session blow by blow although the only living player on the scene was drummer Jimmy Cobb, who is not known for an accurate memory. Nonetheless he puts you in the studio and recreates this session with documentary detail while providing listen-long insights into the music. My favorite detail: What the musicians were paid (other than Miles, who took royalties). It was union scale for a brief session, max two takes per song. As I recall (I read this some years ago) they made something like $58 each.