Kind of Blue

Kind of Blue is a landmark studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis. Released on August 17, 1959, by Columbia Records, it is widely considered his masterpiece. Many critics describe it as the greatest jazz album ever recorded. It is also ranked among the most influential albums in history. Its impact reaches beyond jazz into rock and classical music. In 2002, the Library of Congress selected it for the National Recording Registry. This honor is given to recordings that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.

For this recording, Davis led a musical group known as a sextet. The ensemble featured saxophonists John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. The rhythm section included pianist Bill Evans, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb. On the track "Freddie Freeloader," Davis used pianist Wynton Kelly instead of Evans. The musicians recorded the album at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City. They completed the work during two separate sessions. The first session occurred on March 2, 1959. The second session took place on April 22, 1959.

The album is famous for its use of modal jazz. Before this, Davis played a style called hard bop. Hard bop relied on complex chord changes. Davis felt these frequent changes limited a musician's creativity. He wanted to move away from the rigid rules of bebop. Instead, he focused on musical modes, which are specific types of scales. This approach was influenced by theorist George Russell. Russell published his "Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization" in 1953. This theory explored the relationship between chords and scales. Davis had previously experimented with these ideas on his 1958 album, Milestones.

In modal jazz, the music is built on scales rather than rapid chord progressions. Davis gave each performer a set of scales to guide them. This gave the musicians more creative freedom to develop melodies. Davis described this shift as a "return to melody." He believed that having fewer chords provided more space to hear new things. Without the pressure of constant chord changes, musicians could be more innovative. This method allowed them to explore the musical space for longer periods. It changed the way jazz musicians approached improvisation.

The recording process was spontaneous and required very little rehearsal. Davis often gave the band only sketches of scales and melody lines. The musicians frequently had little idea of what they would record until they were in the studio. They recorded the music using three-track tape. A common legend suggests the album was recorded in a single pass. However, this is not entirely true. Only the track "Flamenco Sketches" was completed on the first try. That specific take was later released as a bonus track on a 1997 reissue.

The album consists of several distinct compositions with unique structures. "So What" uses two different modes in a specific sequence. "Freddie Freeloader" follows a standard twelve-bar blues form. "Blue in Green" uses a ten-measure cycle after a short introduction. "All Blues" is also a twelve-bar blues form, but it is played in time. "Flamenco Sketches" is unique because it features five different scales. A soloist plays each scale for as long as they wish. Some scholars believe Bill Evans co-wrote "Blue in Green" and "Flamenco Sketches." The Davis estate acknowledged Evans's authorship of "Blue in Green" in 2002.

Kind of Blue has maintained immense commercial and critical success. It is one of Davis's best-selling records. In 2019, the RIAA certified the album 5x Platinum. This means at least five million copies were shipped in the United States. Rolling Stone magazine has included it on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time." It was ranked at number 12 in 2003. In the 2020 revision of that list, it was repositioned to number 31. Many of the songs on the album are now considered jazz standards. These are pieces that musicians continue to perform and study worldwide.