Albums you should already have: Kind of Blue
Marty Finley
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Features
The word classic is thrown around haphazardly nowadays, as it can be used to describe a YouTube video or a clever pun.
But, in a world of Ritalin-fueled ADD kids and life-siphoning technology that makes us all just a little bit lazier, it's easy to miss out on the classics.
And there may not be a better word in the English language to describe Miles Davis' 1959 opus, Kind of Blue, than classic. From its breezy atmosphere to its virtuosic composition, the album reeks of brilliance.
True, it is bare bones compared to earlier jazz that used multiple instruments to build a raging, full sound. However, Kind of Blue created a new era for jazz music that made room for more melody and less bombast. In a sense, it was thinking man's music.
The album also pairs two heavyweights together in Davis and Coltrane. Both men had immense success on their own, but Coltrane's frenetic playing offered a pleasing contrast to Davis' slinky and slower trumpet tones.
Kind of Blue begins with a few simple, eloquent bars from a piano to introduce the tiny melody on the lead-in song So What. Davis then breathes life into the small sound with his majestic trumpet while the piano picks up the pace to accompany him. The song's laidback feel encompasses the mood as Davis instructs the rhythm section to play a slow and easy rhythm while Davis and Coltrane do the heavy lifting to progress the melody along throughout the album.
One of the distinct elements of this album is that it can be played as one solid piece of music, but each song has its own personality and can stand unto itself.
The piano functions as a more-than-capable rhythm builder as well, filling in moments of silence where the trumpet and saxophone take respite, building to the next salvo. While much of the album is an exhibition for the immense talents of Coltrane and Davis, the groove laid down by the piano, bass and drums cannot be ignored. Without them, the desired song structure would be heavily lacking.
But, in a world of Ritalin-fueled ADD kids and life-siphoning technology that makes us all just a little bit lazier, it's easy to miss out on the classics.
And there may not be a better word in the English language to describe Miles Davis' 1959 opus, Kind of Blue, than classic. From its breezy atmosphere to its virtuosic composition, the album reeks of brilliance.
True, it is bare bones compared to earlier jazz that used multiple instruments to build a raging, full sound. However, Kind of Blue created a new era for jazz music that made room for more melody and less bombast. In a sense, it was thinking man's music.
The album also pairs two heavyweights together in Davis and Coltrane. Both men had immense success on their own, but Coltrane's frenetic playing offered a pleasing contrast to Davis' slinky and slower trumpet tones.
Kind of Blue begins with a few simple, eloquent bars from a piano to introduce the tiny melody on the lead-in song So What. Davis then breathes life into the small sound with his majestic trumpet while the piano picks up the pace to accompany him. The song's laidback feel encompasses the mood as Davis instructs the rhythm section to play a slow and easy rhythm while Davis and Coltrane do the heavy lifting to progress the melody along throughout the album.
One of the distinct elements of this album is that it can be played as one solid piece of music, but each song has its own personality and can stand unto itself.
The piano functions as a more-than-capable rhythm builder as well, filling in moments of silence where the trumpet and saxophone take respite, building to the next salvo. While much of the album is an exhibition for the immense talents of Coltrane and Davis, the groove laid down by the piano, bass and drums cannot be ignored. Without them, the desired song structure would be heavily lacking.