Miles Davis.....Kind of Blue

This is the one jazz record owned by people who don't listen to jazz, and with good reason. The band itself is extraordinary (proof of Miles Davis's masterful casting skills, if not of God's existence), listing John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley on saxophones, Bill Evans (or, on "Freddie Freeloader," Wynton Kelly) on piano, and the crack rhythm unit of Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Coltrane's astringency on tenor is counterpoised to Adderley's funky self on alto, with Davis moderating between them as Bill Evans conjures up a still lake of sound on which they walk. Meanwhile, the rhythm partnership of Cobb and Chambers is prepared to click off time until eternity. It was the key recording of what became modal jazz, a music free of the fixed harmonies and forms of pop songs. In Davis's men's hands it was a weightless music, but one that refused to fade into the background. In retrospect every note seems perfect, and each piece moves inexorably towards its destiny. --John Szwed (Amazon review)

1. So What 9:22
2. Freddie Freeloader 9:46
3. Blue In Green 5:37
4. All Blues 11:32
5. Flamenco Sketches 9:26
6. Flamenco Sketches (alternate take) 9:31
 

Kind of Blue

                                                          

Cannoball Adderley....Somethin' Else...Blue Note classic

You don't have to be a pure Jazz fan to appreciate this masterpiece. Just put it on and chill man!

This wondrously relaxed blowing session was recorded in 1958 when Julian "Cannonball" Adderley was a member of Miles Davis's group--the one that recorded Kind of Blue--and the date is as much the trumpeter's as it is the altoist's. Davis's voice is much in evidence, from the subdued fire of the ballads to the crackling flames of the title tune, while Adderley's creamy alto invokes earlier swing and blues masters as well as Charlie Parker. The ballads and long, medium-tempo blues are complemented superbly by the thoughtful voicings of pianist Hank Jones and the great rhythm section of bassist Sam Jones and Art Blakey, who distinguished every session they participated in together. While Davis's Columbia recordings of the period were often ambitious and groundbreaking music, this Blue Note date is a more casual masterpiece.

1. Autumn Leaves
2. Love for Sale
3. Somethin' Else
4. One for Daddy-O
5. Dancing in the Dark
6. Alison's Uncle (extra track not on original vinyl LP)
 

Somethin' Else

Miles Davis.....Birth of the Cool

Birth of the Cool is the first important leader date from Miles Davis, one of jazz's most seminal figures and farsighted practitioners. Having made his reputation in large measure from playing with bop giant Charlie Parker, Davis confounded expectations when he embraced the "cool" arranging style of Gil Evans, an arranger for Claude Thornhill's band. Evans, who was employing unique voicings by adding French horns and tuba to Thornhill's instrumentations, also emphasized a diminished use of vibrato in both reeds and brass, producing a drier, "cool" sound. Two of Evans's arrangements, "Boplicity" and "Moon Dreams," appear on the album. Also involved are baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, who contributed such outstanding tunes as "Jeru" and "Venus de Milo," and Modern Jazz Quartet pianist John Lewis. The result is a date that has withstood the tests of time, fashion, and Davis's own extraordinary growth as a performer. An enhanced set, The Complete Birth of the Cool expands the original issue with previously bootlegged live recordings of Davis's nonet at the Royal Roost in New York in 1948. Although the sound quality is far from perfect, the performances are remarkable, and worth the additional expense for the serious fan. --Fred Goodman..Amazon.com

Miles Davis

also available

The Complete Birth of the Cool

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