As Evans said in the original liner notes for the record, the band did not play through any of these pieces prior to recording. Consistently rated not just as one of the greatest jazz albums but as one of THE greatest musical statements of the 20th century, its 46 minutes of improvisation and sophistication remain peerless. Consistently rated not just as one of the greatest jazz albums but as one of The greatest musical statements of the 20th century, its 46 minutes of improvisation and sophistication remain peerless. If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies.

Davis was the first artist to understand how to blend all music genres in a masterful and essential work that remains one of the 10 masterpieces of the 20th century. It’s not registering as any louder on the db-o-meter but it feels louder, I don’t know how to explain it.After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

In 1969, he recorded Bitches Brew, a blend of rock, funk and jazz music, often taking the name “Fusion”. The final track on CD Two is a mesmerizing 17-minute live concert version of “So What” (without Adderley, with Kelly), recorded in Holland, April 1960. Beginning with the Byrds, the Doors, Carlos Santana, and the Allman Brothers, most rock improvisation has been modal. The fabled acoustics of Boston’s Symphony Hall and the magnificent tonal hues of the Boston Pops are on full display on this fanciful and festive recording. Though I have a huge collection of jazz greats, this album remains at the very top of the pile, with its status as the best ever jazz album still securely intact.

If there are indeed only a handful of albums that marked their own times in the way that Kind of Blue did, there are even less which, 60 years later, continue to bear the same importance. 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 as the definitive jazz album. One day, however, they might and some albums now come very close to doing so, like Kamasi Washington’s recent album: The Epic. Recorded back in 1959 on 3 - track tape and remastered for this edition by Mark Wilder, who was clearly on a mission to produce not only the best quality of sound but also an authenticity of the sound at that time, the result is stunningly good.