No chords ... gives you a lot more freedom and space to hear things. When you go this way, you can go on forever. You don't have to worry about changes and you can do more with the [melody] line. It becomes a challenge to see how melodically innovative you can be. When you're based on chords, you know at the end of 32 bars that the chords have run out and there's nothing to do but repeat what you've just done—with variations. I think a movement in jazz is beginning away from the conventional string of chords ... there will be fewer chords but infinite possibilities as to what to do with them. [3] History was on the side of Kind of Blue; it was born in 1959, at the peak of the golden age of high-fidelity, featuring innovations in studio equipment (magnetic tape, high-quality condenser microphones), matched by advancements in home audio reproduction (long-player records — LPs; high-end turntables, and other stereo components). Kind of Bluealso benefited from Miles’ being signed to the leading major record company of the day — Columbia Records, a part of the CBS media conglomerate. Columbia had the means and wisdom to invest in cutting edge recording technology, and their own professional recording studio.

Second, there is another version ( Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue) with "Kind Of Blue" printed on one line on the side B label. Kind of Blue was produced by Columbia staff producer Irving Townsend. [11] : 195 However, over the years there has been confusion, with Davis's subsequent producer Teo Macero getting partial or full credit. "In the case of Kind of Blue there were two producers: Teo Macero and Irving Townsend", said jazz historian Eric Nisenson. "Macero's role, however, was clearly that of an apprentice and observer." The recording session was also cited by Nisenson as Macero's first experience with "the highs and lows of working with Miles." From Macero's own recollection, his involvement in the recording included "box[ing] everyone in so that there would be a physical closeness among the musicians, not like today when the musicians are spread all over the place." [12] According to High Fidelity, "though his role in Kind of Blue has been disputed", the recording was "made under the auspices" of Macero. [13] However, it is Townsend's voice heard on the session tapes, who became Davis's producer after the departures of George Avakian and Cal Lampley. Macero did not produce Davis until after Townsend took over West Coast production duties for Columbia Records, when Macero took his place. [11] : 90 Macero's first Davis production was his next record, Sketches of Spain. [11] : 166a b c d e The speed error is explained in the booklet with the post-1997 remaster: the off-speed master was used for all prior releases. Barber, Geoff (October 27, 2004). "1959: A Great Year in Jazz". All About Jazz . Retrieved September 10, 2023. Larkin, Colin (1994). Guinness Book of Top 1000 Albums (1ed.). Gullane Children's Books. p.91. ISBN 978-0-85112-786-6.

a b "Liner note reprint: Miles Davis— Kind of Blue (FLAC— Master Sound— Super Bit Mapping)". Stupid and Contagious . Retrieved July 27, 2008. Kind of Blue is based entirely on modality, diverging from Davis's earlier hard bop style of jazz with its complex chord progression and improvisation. [6] The entire album was a series of modal sketches, with each performer given a set of scales that encompassed the parameters of their improvisation and style. [22] This recording style contrasted with the typical preparation of providing musicians with the complete score or, for improvisational jazz, providing the musicians with a chord progression or series of harmonies. [3]Since its release on August 17, 1959, [34] Kind of Blue has been regarded by critics as Davis's greatest work. It is his most acclaimed album, and became, along with Davis's 1970 album Bitches Brew, his best-selling record, cementing him as one of the most successful jazz artists in history. [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] Music writer Chris Morris cited Kind of Blue as "the distillation of Davis's art." [40] Cobb said the album "must have been made in heaven". [41] Modal jazz was not unique to this album. Davis himself had previously used the same method on his 1958 Milestones album, the '58 Sessions, and Porgy and Bess (1958), on which he used modal influences for collaborator Gil Evans's third stream compositions. [3] Modal composition, with its reliance on scales and modes, represented, as Davis called it, [3] "a return to melody". [22] In a 1958 interview with Nat Hentoff of The Jazz Review, Davis elaborated on this form of composition in contrast to the chord progression predominant in bebop, stating

When Shirley Horn insisted, in 1990, that Davis reconsider playing the gentle ballads and modal tunes of his Kind of Blue period, he demurred: "Nah, it hurts my lip." [76] Release history [ edit ] 1986 Columbia Jazz Masterpieces compact disc reissue coverIf there was ever an album awaiting a high-fidelity, custom-pressed vinyl treatment of the level you now hold in your hands, it is Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue.

Ashley Kahn (2001). Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece. foreword by Jimmy Cobb. Da Capo Press, USA. p. 83. ISBN 0-306-81067-0. The Making of Kind of Blue: Miles Davis and His Masterpiece bebop. ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved September 19, 2008. How did Miles himself feel about Kind of Blue? Ironically, he described it as a “failed experiment” in his autobiography, explaining that the album did not fully realize the sounds he had been hearing in his head before the session. Nonetheless, in an 1986 interview, when pianist/journalist Ben Sidran remarked that Kind of Blue is probably the number one jazz record on virtually all the jazz critics’ lists, his sincere answer was short but held a palpable sense of pride: “Isn’t that something.”Myers, Marc (October 7, 2014). "Miles Davis's Jazz Masterpiece 'Kind of Blue' Is Redone". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved January 31, 2023. Simmons, Ted (February 26, 2013). "Bilal's 25 Favorite Albums". Complex . Retrieved August 28, 2020. Andy Mabbett (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. Omnibus Press, 14/15 Berners Street, London. pp.178–179. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.