THIS DATE IN HISTORY: March 2, 1959

From my last entry on The Greatest (Muhammad Ali) to this entry on another "greatest" -- possibly the greatest jazz album of all time.



Cut and pasted from wiki:

Kind of Blue is a studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released August 17, 1959 on Columbia Records, in both mono and stereo. Recording sessions for the album took place at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City on March 2 and April 22 of 1959. Following the inclusion of pianist Bill Evans into his sextet, Davis followed up on the modal experimentations of his Milestones album and the '58 Sessions. The album is based entirely on modality in contrast to his earlier work with the hard bop style of jazz and its complex chord progression and improvisation.

Though precise figures have been disputed, Kind of Blue has been cited by many music writers as Davis' best-selling album, as well as the best-selling jazz record of all time. On October 7, 2008, the album was certified quadruple platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America. It has also been regarded by many critics as the greatest jazz album of all time and ranks at or near the top of several "best album" lists in disparate genres. The album's influence on music, ranging from jazz to rock and classical music, has led critics to acknowledge it as one of the most influential albums of all time. In 2002, Kind of Blue was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. In 2003, the album was ranked number 12 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. On September 30, 2008, a box set edition of Kind of Blue was issued by Legacy Records in honor of the album's fiftieth anniversary.

Click the wiki link for more info on this album from the background of the recordings, to the reception and influence within jazz and outside of jazz.

Reading about Miles Davis and the album KIND OF BLUE reminded me somewhat of Bruce Lee and his philosophy, experiences and 'style'.

I posted a link to Miles Davis' SO WHAT off the KIND OF BLUE album in a previous blog entry: My all-time favorite jazz songs. Enjoy!