How Important Really Is Miles Davis’s "Kind Of Blue"?
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- Опубліковано 28 лют 2019
- In this video, music historian Ted Gioia looks at the most famous jazz album of all time, Miles Davis's Kind of Blue. He asks why this music has achieved so many accolades and whether it deserves its reputation as the premier jazz recording.
This is the latest installment in a series of unscripted videos in which Ted Gioia addresses key matters related to music and culture.
For more information on Ted Gioia, visit his website at www.tedgioia.com or follow him on Twitter at / tedgioia . Be on the lookout for his next book, Music: A Subversive History, which will be released by Basic Books in 2019.
This misses the reason I and I think a lot of other musicians recommend KOB to non-jazz people: It’s accessible! The modal harmony and moderate tempos are very familiar to modern ears and this record leaves people new to the music with less unfamiliar harmonic and sonic content to digest.
Thank you. I was thinking about writing a similar comment.
Most Jazz has accessible Harmony for modern ears. Most modern ears already listen to Jazz occasionally weather they want or not and typical Jazz Harmony is everywhere in music, more than Kind of Blues modal harmony. I disagree with it being the most familiar, quite the opposite, I think it's accessible because it doesn't throw too many notes, it's relaxing, and it's interesting throughout while being a bit unfamiliar, and while not having vocals. One of the biggest problems with Jazz and it's accessibility in general is when musicians focus on chops, fast licks, high notes, complex harmonies and rhythms, grooves, a lot of stuff happening, etc. That's musicians music, the average person doesn't get excited or impressed, rightfully so, and Jazz ballads are everywhere, everyone listens to Jazz Ballads, too familiar. Kind of Blue is the best because it's "accessible" (as in good music and relaxing/easier to absorb) and unfamiliar. Of course people that aren't open to unfamiliar aren't gonna accept anything new, but if it isn't at least somewhat new to you it can't make an impact. You're better off showing someone Ornette Coleman than anything everybody already knows.
You're spot on. To most people "Love Supreme" is "Chinese music".
Fucking spot on.
I don’t think that was really the point of Ted’s talk, I think it was just questioning whether it’s the best jazz album of all time, which it isn’t. It’s a classic, most definitely
I’ll tell you why-to me-Kind Of Blue is the most important jazz album of the last part of the 20th century. It’s because of Bill Evans. He set the ambiance for the entire record, but, in MY case, he made me a pianist! I was a professional vibes player until I heard Blue In Green and Flamenco Sketches. My whole musical identity changed with just those two pieces!
I had three personal meetings with Bill over the course of three years. The most meaningful was my second one. Bill was in L.A. for his second appearance at Shelley’s Manne Hole. On a Friday night I was there to hear the trio with Chuck Israels and Larry Bunker. I went back stage to talk to Bill. He then invited me to visit him Saturday morning at his motel just north of the Capitol Records Building (it’s still there!). I knocked on the door that morning and Chuck came to the door and said, “Who the hell are YOU!?” I said I’m here to see Bill. Chuckie proceeded to slam the door on me! Then this presence loomed over Chuck’s left shoulder... It was 6’3” Bill Evans! He said, “I invited him; let him in”. Thus began a 3 hour meeting that I consider the most meaningful time in my musical career!
This essay is too long already to go into detail about that meeting, but the last question I asked as I was leaving was, “Bill, did you write BOTH Blue and Green AND Flamenco Sketches.” His one-word reply was, “Yes”.
The tonal color of KOB is set by Bill's left hand. It's the harmonic DNA of the album. I feel the same way about Love Supreme - it's McCoy's comping with those open fourths that defines the album.
Would love to hear more!
As someone born in 1946, I can confirm that by 1962 we all knew not only that Kind of Blue was important, but that it already deserved to be considered the greatest of its time. We may not yet have been aware that that moment in time might be seen as the greatest moment in jazz history, but we knew what was important then. I bought the album in early 1961 knowing nothing about Miles or jazz. I was 14. I began building a record collection and playing piano. Some of my best friends were musicians. Some had careers and became famous. We all knew Kind of Blue was seminal and incomparable. We also knew why, though one of my friends at the time said that the key was not the hall of fame players on the LP (Miles, Trane, Cannonball and Evans) but Jimmy Cobb. Those dudes for us were in the same class as Muhammad Ali was on the verge of becoming in boxing. And just for perspective, we also knew about Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson.
By the way, I didn't need hi-fi to appreciate the greats of jazz. None of us at the time needed hi-fi to recognize great music.
The painter parallel is true. Monk was one of our heroes. He was incomparable but no virtuoso. And none of today's great modern virtuosos can equal Monk. I seriously regret that we put too much value on virtuosity today.
By the way, we had the opportunity to see all these icons of jazz in person (well, not Bird or Clifford Brown), so we knew a lot about how contrasted they were and how they managed to merge traditions (think of Mingus). In that sense, Kind of Blue was not so exceptional. But it is still the greatest jazz album of all time!
You sound like you had the same experience I had, even the same chronology. I also started listening to jazz in 1961 and Kind Of Blue was definitely already recognized as a masterpiece. This was apparent to any serious jazz fan. And, I would say, should be obvious to any listeners with "ears". What sets the music apart is that it is transcendent - it communicates directly to people in a way that is far beyond whatever technical innovations it made. One could say that the concept's freshness probably inspired the musicians in such a way that what we hear is spontaneity at its purest. It certainly didn't need any writer's book to promote it to the position that it had attained almost from the start.
I totally agree. Ted's simply wrong here. KOB was already the best-selling jazz album by 2000 when these KOB books started coming out. They were VERY late to the party and unnecessary to KOB's popularity and high regard. I started collecting jazz in the late 60's and KOB was very much considered THE starting point for anyone just getting into jazz. It was already considered novel and extraordinary in its simplicity and beauty. It kind of went right along with the Zen awareness that was starting to permeate the culture at that time. Evans even mentions Zen in the liner notes. So, Gioia is completely mistaken there. KOB pointed to a very different approach to improvised music and that was recognized almost immediately.
If he gets this glaringly obvious point wrong, it makes one wonder how much else he gets wrong. I mean...sheesh.
What do you guys think of Jacob Collier?
Thank you so much for insight 👊🏿🖤
Thanks. You're older than I am. But your experience reminds me of mine with Sgt. Pepper.
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I'd be interested in whether you think Kind of Blue had an immediate world-wide impact. As you point out, there were lots of greats and things were moving fast.
Armstrong is the example of that earlier. You have writers like Cortazar in Argentina being blown away. It's said that Coleman Hawkins had a similar impact on musicians. As opposed to say Benny Goodman, who was great, but so was Fletcher Henderson. So I'm not asking about popularity or greatness. I guess I asking about impact and influence.
Blue in Green is my favorite cut on the album. Both supremely melancholy and truly beautiful. I wanted played at my funeral, hopefully not anytime soon.
Wow! The first time I heard Blue in Green I thought I wanted it played at my funeral. You’re not alone.
That cut has turned out to be my favourite on the album also. It's so moody and melancholy and beautiful - sort of the way of Sinatra's "One for my baby".
"Somethin' Else" by a similar band, went out under Adderley's name, that one is really good too.
I'd say Dave Brubeck's "Time Out" is probably the best gateway album for Jazz.
@@dr.juerdotitsgo5119 Although it is clearly not on the highest level of jazz. KOB is both highly accessible and played on the highest level. A remarkable achievement. Just compare the players on each. As Miles told Brubeck, "You swing, your other players don't." But "Time Out" may be the place to start for someone who clearly has NO idea about jazz at all or professes to not like it.
@@Mooseman327 Miles said that? Always thought Joe Morello's drumming was great.
@@dr.juerdotitsgo5119 Gateway with a reefer
@@Mooseman327 Clearly not on the highest level of jazz? Are you ok?
The reason that Kind Of Blue occupies its position and continues to resonate throughout the years is primarily its sense of timeless transcendence. This immediately set it apart from earlier jazz, and, one can argue, it accomplished it in such a profound way that it has yet to be equaled. Miles and Bill Evans really were able to set the tone that allowed these great musicians, with their varied sensibilities, to get on this frequency that communicates a connection with something eternal. It's hypnotic and transporting and all of the musician's strong personalities became a part of this collective expression without losing their individual identities. In essence that balance is what great jazz is about - and one could also say its what life, at its peak, also aspires to. Kind of Blue is not just a peak for jazz but for all of improvised music. It's magic.
Rick Beato’s interview with Ted brought me here, I am glad it did.
If you love Kind of Blue, I very highly recommend:
“1958 Miles” by Miles Davis (1958). The only other record with that very same band, from the year before, and sounds just as great.
“Chet” by Chet Baker (1959). Reminiscent of Kind of Blue, recorded in the same year, and also featuring Paul Chambers and Bill Evans. Super underestimated album.
“The Blues and the Abstract Truth” by Oliver Nelson (1961). Also reminiscent of Kind of Blue, and features Paul Chambers and Bill Evans who played in Kind of Blue. Masterpiece, another strong contestant for best jazz album of all time. Features Eric Dolphy, who is a universe of his own, a true genius of music just as great as Miles and Trane.
I accidentally heard Kind Of Blue in 1973 and it was clearly like nothing else I had ever heard before. So I find out what it was immediately, listened to it and was instantly convinced it was the greets collection of of music ever made. I have listened to it a million times since. I know it off by heart all the way through and never get bored with it. Every note is perfect. It is the best album by all the participants.
My dad gave me 'Kind of Blue' and 'A love Supreme" as my first 2 CDs along with a CD player for my 16th birthday. Those 2 albums started on a journey of Jazz discovery that I am still on 30 years later.
Each musician who contributed to Kind of Blue had his own proclivities or inclinations, and Miles gave them the freedom to express themselves and even seemed to let others lead at times. I am continuously impressed by how each man seems to have reigned in his own inclinations to harmonize with a joint vision for each track. The result was a collaboration of genius in which each musician was on the same page in spite of their freedom to be themselves. I agree that the improved, audio fidelity contributes to the degree of acclaim given to Kind of Blue. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has produced a hybrid SACD of Kind of Blue that makes one feel amazed that the recording was done in 1959.
Listen to the pristine audio version.
Kind Of Blue is, in my opinion, definitely a deserved classic. I have the remastered version on CD and it's an absolute joy on good headphones.
You touched on style - "you don't have to put everything in." To me this is one of the big keys of Kind of Blue. Listen to Milestones, recorded the year before. The difference between that and KOB is astonishing. KOB just sounds like nothing that came before it. All the songs are laid-back, bluesy. It just has a feel and a mood that didn't exist in jazz prior to its recording.
Yep, the way that space is used is a key ingredient in music mastery.
well to be fair Flamenco Sketches is basically a reprise of Peace Piece, a tune recorded by Bill Evans the year before.
@@ptose Peace Piece itself was a kind of "reprise" of Bill's own Some Other Time, which he recorded in the same session. I think the chronology goes that as he was working on Some Other Time he came across that chord progression, liked it well enough to use as the basis for the improvisational Peace Piece, and then used again for the chord progression of Some Other Time, which he recorded later in the session but wasn't released until much later. Always thought it was a bit unfair that Peace Piece was so much more popular as Some Other Time is just as lovely in its own way. Jane Monheit also has a sumptuous vocal version using Bill's chord progression.
Me and my friends discovered Kind of Blue back in the 1980's at a friend of a friend's house. For all of us it subsequently took it's place as the universal answer to the question "WTF can we put on after that?". You know, after listening to Aja or Exile or Europe '72 or Electric Ladyland or Selling England by the Pound or something. The reason Kind of Blue is so popular is simply 'cos it kicks a colossal weight of arse. No matter what album you were listening to previously, and I don't care if it's jazz record or a rock record or even classical one, Kind of Blue will top it and have you spellbound. Of course this means that Kind of Blue is more or less impossible to follow with anything else so we always reserved it for the end of the evening.
Good talk!
Good point about simplicity & viruosity - and the comparison of Miles to Picasso. Miles had been paring down his playing style, away from virtuosity for its own sake, for some time before Kind of Blue.
The most significant aspect of Miles' genius to me is the way he played off and with the talents of his musicians in an improvisatory workshop to create music that would surprise & inspire everyone in the band. He was always challenging them with musical koans and pushing them to places they didn't think they were ready to go. And he allowed himself to be influenced by people without ever losing his own very strong sense of direction. Bill Evans was highly influential in this recording but so were all the others. Having Adderly AND Coltrane AND Paul Chambers was a very special chemistry. The record is truly a group creation.
Another important thing about this album (that macho/intellectual jazz people seem to be afraid to mention) is that the music is very beautiful & (God forbid!) easy to listen to, so it reached a lot people who would never have listened to a Charlie Parker recording. Many a baby was conceived with Kind of Blue playing in the background. This does not make it un-hip or unsophisticated. It rewards careful listening.
The phrase "the greatest album of all time" is just silly. There's no "mark" that you "hit" that makes music measurably great. The fact that Brubeck sold better than Miles is irrelevant to the quality of the music. Columbia promoted Brubeck better mainly because he had a gimmick and was white. (Also, Paul Desmond offered a very creamy tone.) Notably, they eventually dropped Miles from the label, a sign of what mercenary lizards ran the company.
"The fact that Brubeck sold better than Miles is irrelevant to the quality of the music." Absolutely agree--monetary profit or lack thereof has no necessary correlation with artistic merit.
I think that Miles style was highly virtuosic at this point. Who else played like that? It takes a high level to play in that aspect. I think that you’re associating virtuosity with technique.
Wasn't even into jazz when I heard it ,but I instantly knew it was a masterpiece .
You make a great point- anyone can listen to it an realize it’s a masterpiece, even if you’re not familiar with jazz
Try Blues and the abstract truth its pretty clean and seems so familiar even upon first listen because its such unique style from first notes. Enjoy if you decide to check it out ....
Interesting comment. I first heard Kind of Blue during the late 70s. Rolling Stone had a series of musicians recommend five jazz albums. Kind of Blue was the only record on every list.
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Your comment leaves out your own experience. I'm assuming you'd heard a lot of music when you recognized it as a masterpiece. But it feels odd to rely on the judgment or instinct of someone new to any form of music. I've certainly had the opposite experience. If it's not sacrilege, John Mayer made a great comment on the Grateful Dead. Asked if he always was a fan, he said no. But sometimes music finds you.
I was a trumpet player as a kid. Al Hirt, Herb Alpert, the Armstrong of Hello Dolly. Plus marches. When I first heard KoB I couldn't believe you could breathe into the horn and the music would just emerge. I was stunned. Only later did I hear the Armstrong Hot Fives and Sevens from the 20s. I thought, so that's why Armstrong is the greatest musician of the 20th century. Potato Head Blues is my choice for the greatest jazz recording.
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Ironically, Bitches Brew was the first jazz album I ever bought. I liked the cover and it was a Two-Fer. Never really liked it. Just the other day I thought of digging out the complete sessions and giving it another try. Who knows.
@@mikem668 In a silent way was wonderful I thought all those piano and keyboard masters, miles in the sky, realxin, cookin etc the batch of four recorded in one day before he went to columbia Records. Coltrane Village Vanguard recordings too I thought were incendiary. Great stuff. Heard that same interview I was into jerry from old and in the way and actually am most fond of american beauty but still remember first time I heard two from the vault and dark star.....incredible, and the Grisman Garcia collaborations thought those were just wonderful. Beautiful Balance between those two life long friends. :) enjoy
@@ryanphelan6861 The path we all take is so different, it raises the question of how much of what you like depends on when you heard it and what you'd heard before. I first liked the Dead with WMD and AB. Liked Europe 72. I actually saw them in Winterland in 77... and didn’t appreciate the show. So they went dormant for a while. Followed punk and new wave, and Neil Young and the Stones. 78 was a great year. Later, when I had money, I binged on blues and jazz. Took years, Dick's Picks to get back home. I used to buy those massive boxed sets of 50s hard bop filled with jams released as records to make cash. Then I discovered Bear Family and it was back to Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Uncle Dave Macon and eventually George Jones. So we touch bases - I explored Grisman way later than you (I liked the Dawg stuff, didn't love it) - and of course I love Coltrane, but more the earlier period. Someday I will revisit A Love Supreme. The great thing about music is the journey and that it's endless. Even when our favorites don't align, you can tell whether Music really matters to people. Kind of like in High Fidelity. Some of us are hard-core. What's special about the Dead is it feels like you could go to old Dead concerts everyday of your life. My favorite period is 77. And there are all those limited edition boxed sets I've never heard. And then again I have boxed sets I've never even opened. Because of copyright expiration, all the recorded electric Dylan concerts with the Band from the famous tour in the 60s had to be released. Someday... When I bought it, I was in my Brahms / Bruckner period. I didn't like either for years. I asked a kid I knew to recommend some music. Brahms he said. I thought he was crazy. I got hooked. And so it goes... Row Jimmy Row
I started playing trumpet in 1984 at the age of 10, and that Christmas my parents gave me the albums "Kind of Blue" and "Sketches of Spain" at the recommendation of my trumpet teacher. When I want to listen to Jazz, I still go back to those two albums at least half of the time.
These are the two first jazz albums I heard (I am still very much a novice in regard to jazz), and I found myself preferring the more intimate and cerebral 'Kind of Blue' to the more sweeping and cinematically colored 'Sketches of Spain'. Miles' consummate musicality is certainly evident in both.
How was your trumpet playing now?
Did you become a professional.
I still have no problem recommending Kind of Blue as a starting place for jazz listening. Yes, there is more, but not a bad place to begin.
The analogy to painting and visual art is brilliant, so illuminating. Great video!
Starting at the age of Nineteen, my Jazz education began with Charlie Parker. Savoy then Dial. I still prefer the Dial recordings. Now I was learning these tunes by ear on the Violin, having come from Bluegrass. The next pivotal recording for me was "the Complete Birth of the Cool." I wish now, that I had just gone on from there to the "Workin', Relaxin', Steamin'" albums, because I believe that it was these albums that were most influential on Musicians. From a recording concept "KoB" hands down, but from a playing point of view, a players viewpoint, the "Workin', Relaxin' & Steamin' " albums are the Meat and Potatoes of Modern Jazz. Kind of Blue is the Port and Cigars afterwards. Everything else from Coltrane to Mingus to Wayne is Late Night to Early Dawn. What I hear these days is Breakfast Cereal and Brunch.
Many thanks, Ted! Your insights into creative tension and the parallels between Miles and Picasso are illuminating. And the focus on style over technique and virtuosity is helpful for understanding so much of modern art of all kinds. The point about knowing what to leave out ("less is more" in a way?) reminds me of the advice Miles (a few year after KOB) gave Herbie Hancock: "Don't play the butter notes."
What a magnificent video Ted. Thank you for sharing it with the world. The lessons here expand far beyond the confines of jazz. Bravo!
I think another reason that this album gets revered so highly is that in every genre or style of music, you have those album outliers. Those records that cross boundaries, stylistically, culturally and offer a bridge into a world that other albums may not be interested in granting access. Kind of blue takes people who 'dont get jazz' or 'dont like jazz' and invite them to the table with open arms.
you have to theorise why it is held in such high acclaim, because the truth is, it's mediocre. We're constantly told Miles Davis is the greatest Jazz musician who ever existed, and all you can point to is him improvising over a simple blues. Sure, it sounds relaxing. But without the hype and videos like this, no one would think much of it.
Hello Ted - what a fantastic articulation of this cultural artifact. Your point regarding the collaboration but with musicians with 'a degree of divergence' really nailed it. Thanks for this take, really enjoyed it and learned some things too.
the comparison between painting and jazz is very fruitful. The move towards small bands during the war emphasized the development of the self, manifesting as personal mastery and individuated sound. A renewed culture of individualism also emerged painting in the 19th c. from the increased international influence and the advent of the camera. New ideas of representation from overseas were introduced that allowed painters to emancipate themselves from the rigid naturalism of the renaissance. There was little use for painters to continue to do what photographs seemingly perfected.
Great video, I have never understood why this album gets the special praise it does. The playing is outstanding for sure, but it has always felt to me like another great session. Every member of the band would go on to record albums that feel more monumental in scope. And with miles, I've always found his sessions with bird to be far more interesting than those of this time.
Your take is very insightful. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us
What differentiates Kind of Blue and Time Out is the emphasis on composition. Jazz in my view has always had a composition problem, too much virtuosity and formulaic soloing and an over reliance on standards and jazz tropes (Autumn Leaves, Favorite Things, Summertime, don't get me started). Both of these great albums had wonderful original compositions. I was 13 in 1959 and played with a couple of other kids around our area in upstate NY. We did just about everything from Time Out, jazz prodigies that we were. It was a blast.
All I can possibly add to this conversation is that we’re seriously having this discussion, without big argument, speaks tomes about KOB’s importance.
But to be sure, Ted’s point about the improvements in recording quality truly has a prominent role in the regarded importance of KOB. I have recommended this album to many as a primer on how to appreciate Jazz. It works flawlessly nearly every time. Very powerful to me. I’d add John Coltrane’s Impressions is, at least for me, on a similar plateau of music importance. Kudos Mr. Gioia for these videos.
Amazing. Amazing, amazing! So well spoken. Thank you for this brilliantly articulated piece.
Excellent diagnosis! I never saw Kind of Blue as any sort of "end all, that be all" recording. I do respect and appreciate it for what is, and it is a masterful piece! "Modal jazz" was not entirely new at the time, and Miles himself spoke on that fact fairly regularly. Miles has always been known to jump on the "new" thing sooner than most, and he'd record his take on the 'new direction in the music'. Miles' recordings (being the "coolest" cat around) quickly became the standard by which most others' albums were compared to. The fact that his music appeals to the masses easier/better that many other jazz musicians doesn't mean it is more of a landmark recording. In jazz, I love Bill Evans's music, and in "classical" I love Chopin, but that doesn't mean these two are the best of the best.
I'm not so sure those who recommend Kind of Blue as a good introduction to jazz do so because they consider it the single greatest jazz album of all time. I think it is because, compared to most other contenders for the greatest jazz album title, it is easy on the ears of novice listeners. It can be played as background music at a dinner party, the tunes are catchy, and even the solos are hummable. It introduces some of the greatest players in jazz history, playing great music, but in a more palatable way than, say, A Love Supreme. Personally, I think Sunday at the Village Vanguard would make an equally good introductory album.
"Music For a Dinner Party" uhh No.
@@eddiemperor Well, I think there is a difference between music *for* a dinner party and music which won't upset dinner party guests who aren't jazz fans.
Sunday is my favourite...can't wait for the uhqr
Yes, this, 100%. As a kid growing up in the 70s/80s, big band, trad jazz, etc., were still popular and very accessible. But someone gave me a copy of Kind of Blue when I was about 14 and it was the perfect gateway into so much more. I learned about Coltrane *because* of KoB. I bought Bitches Brew as the obvious next step in hearing Miles' music. Somehow I found Mingus, Monk, & Ornette shortly thereafter. Etc. And, eventually, I even bought an alto and tried to learn Charlie Parker solos. "Greatest" is a pointless exercise. But I don't think any other jazz album has ever opened up so much for me. If someone had given me, say, Mingus Ah Um instead, that might have worked equally well. But KoB is still my go-to answer to "I want to learn more about jazz, where do I start?"
"Close enough for jazz" - Oooh. Thank you for making this video. You have given me an important perspective, given that I am a jazz musician, and also a painter. Your remarks have enabled me to visualize my painting (and music listening) in a more precise way.
Here from Rick Beato. Excellent interview there. Look forward to reading more of your output.
As a teenager in the mid 70s, my introduction to jazz was thru the CTI label and musicians like Deotato, Bob James, Stanley Turrentine. These guys introduced electric instruments (bass, electric piano, huge drum sets) to their arrangements and I thought that this was the definition of jazz. But towards the end of the 70s, I discovered Kind Of Blue. In the song So What, the introduction of the melody by the bass was something that literally blew me away. And Miles was heavily criticized for allowing the bass to lead the melody: a move considered a sacrilege at the time. To me, this is an album that whenever I listen to it again, I find something new I didn't hear before. That's what makes a true masterpiece.
@tedgioia I just watched this video. It was a great discussion. I also realized I didn't own a copy of Kind of Blue in my own collection. I just received my copy on CD from Amazon today. I still purchase music on CD for many of the reasons you've discussed in your other videos.
Hi Ted - A few points that I would like to add based on your thoughtful presentation:
1) I'm glad you touched upon the term "Modal" jazz. As you mentioned how other of Miles Davis' colleagues were exploring other avenues for improvisation & composition and/or songwriting, "Kind Of Blue" is also frequently mentioned for it's importance in this branch of jazz, just as John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" is referenced for its expansive end-point destination for what had become for many jazz musicians "stagnant" from blowin' through standard chord changes and were striving to push themselves further away from the pillars of tonality in favor of "outside" sonic experimentation & theory.
2) The relation between painters / paintings and jazz is another interesting connection, as well as to your comments regarding the use of hi-fidelity stereo recordings during that same time period. Album covers in 1959 such as Dave Brubeck's "Time Out", as well as Charles Mingus' "Mingus-Ah-Um" both feature similarly styled reproductions of original artworks painted by S. Neil Fujita (who also designed book dust jackets for Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" & Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood). The emerging styles of mid-century Modernism & Abstract Expressionism appears to have been in part, contributing to a confluence of creative styles & outsider personalities who, as a group, had each other to relate to and bounce ideas off one another.
3) Whether we are talking about painting or jazz music - or stereo recording for that matter -- we are essentially discussing areas of the Fine Arts. 1950s painters, like their Jazz musician counterparts were struggling to be treated in much the same way.... as FINE ART. Stereo recording at that time was prohibitively expensive and was primarily only used for Classical recording sessions (and certainly NOT for any kind of "roots" music or to that rowdy new music "Rock'n' Roll". Dave Brubeck's popular success - especially amongst the young & hip "college crowd" also helped to grow Jazz music as a bonafide branch of the Fine Arts. It was also during this time period in which Jazz music was increasingly being taught / studied in colleges & universities. We also use the same terminology to describe some of the greatest proponents of jazz - the composer - the composition. Artists like Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and Charles Mingus.
4) Lastly, your comments about the focus on "technical virtuosity" as another marker which is shared equally between Classical & Jazz musicians could be further expanded to include Bluegrass musicians as well such as Bill Monroe & the Bluegrass Boys and Flatt & Scruggs.
Examples: a) ua-cam.com/video/KYTvj9Z_rlo/v-deo.html
and b) ua-cam.com/video/aNuqKB6H3Iw/v-deo.html
Ted, please make more videos on music!!! I consumed all your stuff and really like your takes.
Kind of Blue isn't what got me into jazz, but when I heard it that's when I started thinking of music in colors and knew I wanted to be a jazz musician for life. I'm a simple person when it comes to listening to music - does it sound good? Then you analyze why it sounds good.
"Kind of Blue" was a Pop/Sell-out, gone commercial LP sold to the Jazz community. It was great great great. Genius is an overused term; Miles was a true genius. His supporting cast were or became giants. I love the music. This recording paved the way for a "Kind of Pop" wave in New York jazz.
pop/sell out??? lol no.
Excellent lecture, Ted, very thought-provoking. I hope you put this in your upcoming music book.
Brilliant mini lecture on essentials....keep it up man!
Good that you mentioned that for some performers, the spaces between the notes matter as much as the notes themselves.
Finally someone who knows this stuff for real. Facts spoken!
Until Kind of Blue most jazz was about fast key changes. This album introduced 'modality' which allowed musicians to explore more advanced harmony. Plus they're great tunes, played by some of the greatest musicians ever. Helps.
I'd be interested to hear more about this question on the technical level. The main thing I've always been told is that "Kind of Blue" is revolutionary because it was a key work in promoting the use of modal improvisation.
That's one of the things it did.
That’s only partially true - Cannonball and Wynton play the blues throughout.
i love jazz music but this album is probably my favorite. it is what i would call perfect. and it always sounds good regardless of what mood i might be in at the time. it never gets boring.
When I was a student at a design school, learning graphic design and the concepts in visual art overall, there was an important phenomenon that was discussed, not as a taboo, but as a lesson in paying attention to the balance between two basic forms of visual space, the positive and negative space, and this particular phenomenon, often associated with young and not as fully-realized artists, was the obsession with filling as much of the negative space on a visual canvas as possible. In some cases, it would work. But when it became an obsession, a dogma as opposed to a freely chosen creative choice, often you ended up with a big cluttered visual depiction of exquisitely rendered techniques and details, but the overall depiction had no life. It had no room visually to breathe. We called this phenomenon "horror vacui. Fear of the empty spaces. Fear of the negative space, and in your description of Miles' quiet admonition to his audience in "Something Blue" to "pay attention to style, not technique," this is what visual artists learn when they are taught about the allure, but also potentially disastrous visual implications, of horror vacui.
An interesting analogy to how negative space in music - the spaces in time between notes, the use of silence to bring a temporal canvas to life by giving it room to breathe - is the pioneering early funk band the Meters. When they recorded what is likely their most famous song "Cissy Strut," the band's producer, Allen Toussaint, urged the band to give greater importance not to the notes that were played, but instead to the notes that weren't. I believe, just as a life-time amateur musician and fan of music that this is also what Miles Davis was saying, as a lesson on the tendency in jazz to obsess over virtuosity and technique. In that case, the tyranny of technical virtuosity over the necessity of silence in its vital role to create temporal space for the overall sound to breathe in was jazz music's own version of "horror vacui." It's what killed a lot of rock music after the advent of Van Halen and the shred mentality of the technical virtuosos, determined to fill every space in a piece of music, until there was no silence left to let the pieces live anymore, and their self-made horror vacui created a tableau of cluttered sounds and rapidly sprayed notes of exauisite expression individually, but crammed onto a temporal canvas, had no life of their own beyond the moment in which they existed, and the genre, which had already dumped its roots and inspirations in the blues, collapsed. That's my takeaway from "Kind of Blue."
One of the few perfect records in any genre. My happy place...
I wasn't really into jazz, but the album just grabbed me. It was one of those magic moments when everything just came together - fantastic individual talents playing off each other with a big dose of inspiration. You can't plan something like this.
Glad the tape machine was running.
To use the word “Extraordinary” to describe the band Miles surrounded himself in those historical sessions might be an understatement because that aggregation of musicians was without a doubt the most varied ensemble gathering ever assembled in a session. Bill Evans brought the colors that Miles painted with. Miles always was fascinated by harmonies and Bill Evans brought the modalities of the French Impressionist composers to blend with Miles’ interest in harmonic “colors”. To compare art work with the modern musical concepts evolving is very accurate. Music and art have always had a unique relationship with each other. Miles was also dabbling in his own interest in painting. Kind of Blue incorporated so many nuances it became possibly the most influential recording in all of Modern Jazz after WW2. Sure it can be debated but it stands high and above so many other excellent examples of recorded jazz to be singled out by so many.
Excellent presentation. Very enjoyable. Thanks
Great presentation! I like Kind of Blue, but my favorite Miles Davis album is In A Silent Way. These talks by Ted Gioia are fantastic.
I was blessed to have stumbled upon this album as a 15-16 year old in the mid 2000's and this along with the album Focus by the band Cynic (which surprisingly has a lot of musical ties to this album) changed the way that I listened to, and understood music, forever.
Thought provoking!!! I think of the album as highly approachable and easy to listen to. I admire the interaction and knowing about the "first takes" on the album plus there are some standards on here. These were current/future stars collaborating and if they hadn't all gone on to be known leaders the album probably wouldn't be as praised. Miles might be the most curious jazz musician in history; not for his virtuosity as you point out but because of his ability to lead the genre itself into the next big thing.
I used to be very passionate about "greatest of" conversations. But over the years I've become very disinterested in the notion. In the very subjective medium of the arts its usually an exercise in futility to debate such matters with someone. But more importantly it seems very antithetical to most of the core virtues of music. Whether Kind of Blue is the greatest jazz album of all time seems of little consequence to me now. Rather, the many ways it has contributed to the 'musical conversation' of jazz, many of which you keenly pinpoint here, seems to be the more important focus. Really, the only question that matters in my mind is whether something is worth appreciating. And I think you have made a strong case here that there's a number of key reasons to appreciate the album.
I didn’t understand any of that comment!
You must be a professor of intellectual language ,
A bit like finance, a lot of intellectual jargon to stop, the common man, understanding finance.
I suspect that Bill Evan's set the tone for " Kind of Blue." Many believe that he wrote the tune. If so, his minimalist approach effected Miles's aesthetic. Evan's liner notes are key. Musical economy may be why it's such a singular achievement in both sales and musical beauty.
Bill Evan's modal influence on the record is very evident.
Along these lines, there's a sense of space around each phrase that allows you to hear the nuances of what each player is doing, and that, to me, greatly increases the emotional impact of the performances. You hear every detail of the shape of the notes.
@@southerner66 That's a good point. It may have also been the combined effects of heroin and Evan's use of the French aesthetic " depouillement," or literally, "de-lousing." This process picks off all extraneous notes, leaving only the minimum. This may have been a welcome change for the listeners too, from the sometimes interminable soloing of that period.
Like Satie? It's also more challenging for the players because you have to get it right. You can't hide in the crowd or pad your solo with familiar patterns.
@@southerner66 That's a very good comparison and yes, nowhere to hide!
When I was a young flute player = about 42 years ago I was lucky enough to have a working woodwind player who worked in shows. He played flute, clarinet and saxophone for us kids.
I asked him the question:’is Kind if blue a good jazz album’ ? And his response was almost reverential.
He thought,. That it was one of the most important records ever made.
Greetings Mr. Gioia. New sub and fan from your interview w/ Rick Beato. I'm looking forward to absorbing your insight.
I worked in the jazz basement at A&A records in Toronto in the late '70s. I had just gotten into jazz, I knew that if i wanted to sell an LP on a dead day,, all I had to do was to spin Kind of Blue and no matter if there was otwoor ten customers flipping through the racks...at least one copy was sold. It's avery welcoming and friendly sound!
great video, i love your point of view. Kind of Blue was one of my all time favorites.
Enjoyed this very much. However, the point made regarding recording technologies caught my ear. It reminded me how I got the album as a Christmas gift, played it, and immediately found that one of the most appealing aspects of this 1959 album was the quality of the recording.
Ted thank you for this thought provoking video on Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" LP. Great job, -JM!
Well... That was bloody brilliant. Thank you so much. You have given me a perspective I had never considered. Now I want to know more!
This is a very deep insight and another eye opening truth from Ted Gioia. Right now I am studying music production at Berklee and of course Kind of Blue is one of the go to albums for Jazz...but I had never thought of it like a painting. This is so cool! Style over virtuosity. In Berklee we are all so obsessed with the technical aspects of music that sometimes it becomes a science instead of an art form.
Bill wrote 3 tunes on K of B
I am sure they have debated this over the years at Berklee but your comment about science v art raises the question 'what is the point of music?'. For non-musicians it is entertainment but for serious musicians going back generations there have been 'cutting contests' and informal jams that were actually competitive underneath the camaraderie on the bandstand. The music became technically more complex and expanded the theoretical boundaries to the point that many listeners had no idea what was going on.
Back in the 1950's the great conductor Sir Thomas Beecham said 'The British don't really like music, they just like the noise it makes' and I think this is what can be said for Kind Of Blue as well. Most people who bought the album had no idea what modes are in musical terms, they just liked the tunes.
@@Veaseify, I would say the thing about modes… The thing about really tasty progressions with extended chords, (and complex harmonic movement) is that they evoke and invoke so many emotional subtleties and colors. The same way that we have receptors in the in our eyes, and the brain has the ability to decode thousands and thousands of colors… Our hearing faculties and whatever they get connected to in and through the brain… Have the ability to distinguish the harmonic richness and coloration in expanded musical forms and also be moved by melodies that utilize unconventional intervals.
Great points. I think Miles learned about the power of contrast from playing with Bird, an instrumental virtuoso who chose the cool-toned middle register Miles as his foil. After Miles lost Coltrane to his solo career, he found another contrasting player in Wayne Shorter. The difference there was that, by that time, in some cases, _Miles_ was the fiery one, with Shorter's cool tone and penchant for melody providing balance.
Yes, Miles liked contrast in his soloists. He told Dave Liebman to play a lot of notes because he wanted to play more sparingly at that time.
Good commentary on my first Jazz cd. Miles Davis had a saying it's not the notes that I play, it's the notes that I don't play. More people should learn to play like this. The music should always go in front of the player.
I would start someone out with Kind Of Blue because I think that better than any other classic jazz album, it bridges the gap between true jazz music and the then growing modern music sensibility. It's deep and complex enough to be "real jazz" and yet the forms, changes and sentiments are easily relatable with reasonable focus and openness.
Having been a long time rock-n-roll/pop music fan, I agree with you.
It’s my second jazz LP, and it’s opening my ears up to more as I’m looking more into the genre and enjoying it more.
I'm just getting into jazz. This video was fascinating! Thanks
A friend turned me on to Kind of Blue way back in the 70s. Still crazy about it. I listen to it several times of year. Mesmerizing Read Ashley Kahn’s book only later.
Kind of Blue was one of those albums that delineated Jazz to a before and after. Not only did it change the way Miles did music, it changed the way all the guys on that album played. It was Miles shedding his skin and going from playing standards to something new
Exactly. If there is a time before and a time after, you know something special took place. And your can see that delination only fron some distance. So it took some time for jazz historians to see what happened.
Other examples of before/after: before/after Charlie Parker, before/after Jimi Hendrix, before/after Jaco Pastorious.
I loved the reflection on "style" versus "virtuosic"...still a lesson to learn for jazz musicians
Great and accessible explanation. Thanks!
Ted knows Jazz, loves his books and substack. Cannot believe I just found he had a UA-cam channel.
Wonderful lesson.
Thank you.
Be well.
Excellent summation of Kind of Blue. K.O.B. and Time Out are probably my two favourite jazz records. Flamenco Sketches, to me, is one of the greatest tracks ever. And that musical divergence that the speaker talks about is one of the reasons why. Davis, Coltrane and Adderly all bring their individuality to the track.And then - Bill Evans with that sublime piano.
Initially skeptical..Wonderful insight & appreciated.
Kind Of Blue is ancient yet modern. It makes a connection between all that was before and all that would continue to be. I can listen to it as a child and as a professional musician. It played a large part in my early exposure to music and I value that as priceless!
I have KOB but haven't listened to it much. I acknowledge his genius and that of his sidemen but what I really appreciate Miles Davis for more than anything else is that so many of his sidemen founded and/or participated in the whole jazz-fusion movement that helped build the musical brain I went forward with.
In the rock/pop world, I would suggest that David Bowie bears some similarity to Miles: ever shifting style (yet always maintaining his personal stamp), and a painterly approach to the music. I agree with all of Ted’s points. For me, KoB has a haunting perfection, and is a pristine and endlessly deep reflection of its author’s vision.
Agree with Bowie comparison
Prince also
Yes, I've thought that myself. Bowie was a nicer guy though.
Great video
Thank you 🙏🏾
Best discussion on this subject ever. Thank you.
In addition to the harmonic innovations and the way modes unleashed brilliant playing by brilliant players, I think it was the combination of great art with simple human accessibility. Miles as conceptual artist.
Beyond legendary performances and composition, it is regarded equally so for the recording quality. It is a staple in the audiophile community. This likely hasn't hurt it's popularity.
When I studied music in college in the early to mid 90s KOB was definitely considered top tier.
It always has been and always will be AMEN!
His ideas have left me pondering the value of one of my favorite records. I can not stop thinking about the fact that Davis also painted, which ties in with his idea of style and painting. Thanks and greetings from Lima, Peru.
Bill did abstract drawings 3 tunes written by BE
I find it interesting that most great musicians who get into the visual arts usually suck at it. Miles included.
One of the remarkable things I always thought about “Kind of Blue” was how these six master musicians all seem to be completely “in sync” (hate that expression) with each other. The transitions from one solo to the next was velvety smooth and ALL superb solos. Especially love “Flamenco Sketches”.
I don't recall the full details but I thought they had only practiced some of those tracks a time or two. Lots of improve but still melded into perfection with the probability of a lightning strike.
I remember not initially liking Savoy SLJ2201 (Charlie Parker: The Savoy Master Takes) as much as some more modern recordings because of the sound quality. I'd probably put those Charlie Parker recordings near the pinnacle of post-swing jazz. Love KOB, I think it's the album where Miles' reputation to assemble great bands really cemented (along with Birth of the Cool).
I appreciate your words on this music. Thank you.
Awesome take,been along time since someone has made sense of the obvious..there is an interesting notion towards the high tech..alot of people are starting to notice the digital recordings versus analog are missing something ,the digital instruments are missing something.The sounds are crisp,clear,and on the surface maybe even sound better...but they are missing something..the human emotion??the interaction with others??..Love your view..just found you this morning..thank you.
Thank you for a very fine video! - So nice to see a video discussing different aspects of a question and coming up with some reasons. There are so many videos about music just saying that something is either great or bad for no other reason than personal opinion.
Personally I think its possible to mention one thing more about "the one to start with" claim. It is not that difficult to comprehend for people who comes from other kinds of music such as pop and rock. Well, of course traditional jazz and swing music is pretty straight forward. Things like Django Reinhardt, Fats Waller and some of the more up tempo oriented recordings of the Ellington orchestra. There are better musicianship, but it is not like a completely different world if you come from rockabilly, British Invasion beat and similar things. It is all under the "let's have some fun"-umbrella. But when it comes to more modern types of jazz, many great albums are a bit confussing for beginners. "Kind Of Blue" is easier to relate to than f. i. "Spiritual Unity" by Albert Ayler. In my youth I'd listened to a lot of blues oriented rock, and didn't thought "Freddie Freeloder" was that much different. You could easily imagine B. B. King playing along with it. And you don't have to know anything about jazz, modal scales and such stuff to think that "All Blues" is beautiful with its delicate airiness and melodic motives. That makes "Kind Of Blue" a good starting point. But it is not just a beginners friend. Not like some lesson one and a level you are passing through. There are a whole lot more hidden in there. So when you achieve a bit more understanding of jazz, you can dive deeper into it and discover new things. It may not be the only jazz album with that quality, and maybe not even the best. But it is sure up among those.
Finally - please excuse errors. English is not my main language.
Just discoverer you on Rick Beato. What a fantastic episode.
Your comments on the Kind Of Blue artists made me think of the book Team of Rivals, describing President Lincoln's Cabinet.
Preston Reed plays acoustic guitar with his left hand over the top of the guitar and the guitar body, he turns into a drum set. Hearing him is wonderful but seeing how he makes all of these sounds LIVE is an experience that should not be missed! 😉
I was a casual jazz fan in college in the 1980s and at that time I would have identified KOB as the greatest according to my limited understanding at the time. It was always my favorite.
My senior year music teacher said it was a must if you love music..also bill Evan's and Ellington...its been in my truck cd player for several years now..my wife says..got any other cds? I keep forgetting to bring any out...kind of blue!!!
I got here via Rick Beato and glad I did! Thanks Ted
I was 16 when I walked into a record store and bought my first two albums. One was "Kind of Blue" and the other was Black Sabbath "Paranoid". Caught some very strange looks from the guy behind the counter. My dad was a jazz piano player on weekends and my brother was a rock and roll drummer. I'm blessed with the diversity of music I've gotten to experience.
A couple of things make this a great album that aren't widely considered - and that is weed and headphones. As stereo systems added headphones and kids started to smoke weed - these two made this album a perfect combination. Word of mouth spread and this album really moves into the upper league of great albums. It's the "Dark Side of the Moon" for jazz.
excellent video...thanks
This man presents like musical artists play. Very savory indeed. Bravo
A great point of entry onto Jazz, it's got a slower harmonic rhythm in most tunes IMO, and might be the perfect one to ease neophyte into the genre. It's great example of music that is sophisticated but accessible, not overly complicated. It has some really great melodic moments. I recommend it as 'Jazz for people who don't like Jazz'. Miles has said 'it's not what you put in, but what you leave out'. A great way of approaching improvisation and composition is by subtraction. This album is definitely one of my favorite Jazz records. And as far as my cup of tea is concerned, I like like it way more than Brubeck's 'Time Out'. 3:31 -yeah, talk about an 'extraordinary group'....this is it. The genius idea of having both Cannonball and Coltrane could not be by chance, but I say, it was by Miles' brilliant design. Their juxtaposition is a stroke of prophecy, of foresight....Cannonball represents the summation of what Hard Bop Jazz were until that point, classy, swinging, swaggering, colourful, soulful, Bopping, Bluesy. And Coltrane represents 'the future' of what Jazz could and would be in years to come.