It's a hot and humid night. You can't sleep. You can barely even breathe with the air so thick and heavy. That bottle of cheap whiskey you bought is now nothing more than just another ashtray. The window in your small, unkempt bedroom is open but in place of fresh air all that is coming through is the sound of music and voices from the bar down the street, and the intermittent flash of red neon. You look at the phone on your nightstand and for a brief moment you think of calling her. You know she wouldn't answer, but even if she did, what would you say? What could you say? Instead you wipe the sweat from your brow with the palm of your hand, you close your eyes and for just one tiny fraction of a second you wonder what it is you have done to deserve being thrown down into the depths of hell. You look at your pack of smokes, only five left and this night has no end in sight. You take one out and light it up...
That is how I would describe the sound of Miles Davis' 1959 album, Kind of Blue. Have a listen and tell me if I'm wrong.
There is no possible way I could ever do justice to this seminal work of that smooth, cool jazz sound, so instead I'm just going to implore you to read through the Wikipedia page. Kind of Blue is one of the greatest achievements of the human race, and I'm only being slightly hyperbolic when saying that. I mean, how can this not be one of the greatest albums of all time when you've got people like Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, and, of course, Miles Davis, all playing together?
1959 really was The Year that Changed Jazz, and this album is the one that does it for me. If you have an hour to spare after listening to this album you should click the link and watch that documentary, it's a great look at four fantastic albums that arguably changed the face of music forever.
Alright, I've been blathering long enough by now, here's a video of Miles and the gang playing So What. It's not great quality but it doesn't have to be a great quality recording to be an amazing quality performance.
Right, that's enough, see you tomorrow when I share another album I enjoy. If you like this post don't forget to upvote and leave a comment, just so I know I'm not wasting my time with these daily album posts.