Kind of Blue

Artistas: Miles Davis

LP
1
37108

€14.99

Tax included

THE WILLIAM CLAXTON COLLECTION
180-GRAM PURE VIRGIN VINYL LPs IN GATEFOLD PACKAGING

Kind of Blue remains one of the most iconic and influential jazz albums of all time. In his autobiography, Miles discussed his intentions for this unique body of compositions and the conditions in which it was recorded: “I found a new piano player in February [1959]; his name was Wynton Kelly. There was another piano player that I liked and his name was Joe Zawinul (he would play with me later). But it was Wynton who came into the band. Wynton was from the West Indies, from Jamaica, and had played with Dizzy for a minute. I loved the way Wynton played because he was a combination of Red Garland and Bill Evans; he could play almost anything. Plus, he could play behind a soloist like a motherfucker, man. Cannonball and Trane loved him, and so did I. Wynton joined us just before I was going into the studio to make Kind of Blue, but I had already planned that album around the piano playing of Bill Evans, who had agreed to play on it with us. We went into the studio to record Kind of Blue on the first or second day of March 1959. We had the sextet of Trane, Jimmy Cobb, Paul, Cannonball, myself, and Wynton Kelly, but he played on only one tune: “Freddie Freeloader.” That song was named after this black guy I knew who was always seeing what he could get from you free, and he was always around the jazz scene. Bill Evans played on the rest of the tunes. We made Kind of Blue at two recording sessions – one in March and the other one in April.”

PERSONNEL:

MILES DAVIS, trumpet.
JULIAN “CANNONBALL” ADDERLEY, alto sax
JOHN COLTRANE, tenor sax
BILL EVANS, piano (on all tracks except “Freddie Freeloader”)
WYNTON KELLY, piano (on “Freddie Freeloader” only)
PAUL CHAMBERS, bass
JIMMY COBB, drums

Recorded on Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York, Monday, March 2, 1959 (Side A) & Wednesday, April 22, 1959 (Side B).

Original recordings produced by Teo Macero & Irving Townsend.

TRACKLIST:

SIDE A:

01. SO WHAT
02. FREDDIE FREELOADER
03. BLUE IN GREEN

SIDE B:

04. ALL BLUES
05. FLAMENCO SKETCHES

Format: LP
Discs: 1
Label code: 37108

Reference LPS 155881

Miles Davis

Miles Davis, trumpeter and composer, undoubtedly shares the worldwide recognition that jazz history grants to other musicians such as Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Louis Armstrong.

He is one of the most influential jazz figures of the second half of the last century, a product of his constant search for innovation, including extraordinary fusions with rock.

His place on the podium of any jazz lover is well deserved, as he represents one of the most important jazz avant-garde of all times. He has been nominated for 4 Grammy Awards and other important awards such as the American Book Award, the Paul Ackett Award and the Léonie Sonning Music Award.

Want to know more about this great artist? Read on to learn about his life and work!

BIOGRAPHY

Miles Davis was born in Alton, Illinois, on May 25, 1926, and died in Santa Monica on September 28, 1991. Shortly after Miles was born, the family moved to East St. Louis, where Miles' father established a successful dental practice.

While life for most of the African American community during the 1920s was difficult, Miles and his siblings lived comfortably. Miles' parents were college graduates, which allowed them to live in an upper-class neighborhood. His mother, Cleota Mae, was a music teacher, so Miles' interest in music emerged at an early age. When he was 13, he fell in love with jazz music and began taking trumpet lessons from a local musician named Elwood Buchanan.

Miles received the opportunity of a lifetime when he was selected to fill in for an ailing trumpet player in Billy Eckstine's orchestra. There, Miles played with some of the founders of bebop, including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and vocalist Sarah Vaughn. Davis was especially attracted to Charlie Parker, whose style of playing included improvisational solos.

As soon as he moved to New York, Miles set out to find Charlie Parker. It took him several days, but he finally ran into Parker at a local nightclub. The two became fast friends, and even moved into an apartment together. Spending time with Charlie helped Miles perfect his playing, and he was chosen to record some sessions with Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. After a few months, Miles left the Juilliard School to pursue a career as a jazz player.

He began playing with the Charlie Parker Quintet, alongside jazz greats such as Parker and Max Roach. In 1947, he had the opportunity to write original songs for the Eckstine group, composing four original tunes of his own.

Later, he managed to put together his own quintet, with talented musicians such as saxophonist John Coltrane and drummer Philly Joe Jones. The group recorded four albums in 1956, including "Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet" and "Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet". In 1958, Miles formed a slightly different group with a sixth member, and the sextet recorded the album "Miles Davis Milestones".

MUSICAL INFLUENCES

While many artists of his generation learned to play music by ear, Miles Davis learned the finer points of music theory and sheet music. His great knowledge of melody and arrangement allowed him to play almost any song with any performer. By the time he was in high school, he was already sitting in with some of the local jazz greats during live shows.

But his main musical influence came from Charlie Parker, who was his friend and mentor, with whom he discovered the very essence of innovation. Rock, no doubt, is also part of this influence and that can be seen in his most brilliant fusions, as well as in bebop, cool, hard bop and avant-garde styles in their modal side.

COLLABORATORS IN PERFORMANCE

Miles worked with other jazz virtuosos such as Herbie Hancock, pianist Chick Corea, composer Quincy Jones and bassist Marcus Miller. In the 1980s, Miles re-emerged with another sound, featuring synthesizers and song samples. His album "Miles Davis Tutu" won a Grammy Award in 1987, the fourth of his career.

He was able to share the stage with stars and personalities such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, John Lewis, Nelson Boyd, Max Roach, as well as renowned jazzmen John Lewis, Gerry Mulligan, Kai Winding, Kenny Clarke, Lee Konitz and J. J. Johnson. Also recording with him at some of the most important moments of his career were John Coltrane, Jimmy Cobb, Paul Chambers, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly and Cannonball Adderley.

DISCOGRAPHY

Miles' greatest recording achievement would come in 1959, when the Miles Davis Quintet completed the album "Kind of Blue". Featuring classical pianist Bill Evans, "Kind of Blue" had a completely different sound, with a new type of experimental jazz called modal jazz. The album would become not only Miles' best-selling album, but the best-selling jazz album of all time. Here is a summary of his essential repertoire:

Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool (1957)

L'ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958)

Milestones (1958)

Kind of Blue (1959)

Porgy and Bess (1959)

Sketches of Spain (1960)

In a Silent Way (1969)

Bitches Brew (1970)

A tribute to Jack Johnson (1971)

You're under arrest (1985)

As an interesting fact: in 2009, the US Congress unanimously recognized the album "Kind of Blue" as an American treasure.

MOST FAMOUS SONG

"Birth of the cool", together with the album "Kind of Blue", are undoubtedly Miles Davis' most iconic productions. There is also the Miles Davis song "Miles Ahead", created just after he left his drug addiction. Another of Miles Davis' iconic tracks is "Blue in green", a milestone in the modal style and the third song on the album "Kind of Blue".

ONE OF THE IDOLS OF THE GENRE

In addition to being a brilliant and avant-garde musician, it is enough to look up the artistic works of Miles Davis to find out that he was also an excellent painter of his own album covers. His career left an unprecedented musical legacy, especially at a time when important jazz personalities were also building their own legacies. He influenced generations and marked important milestones that took jazz to other levels of interpretation.