Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue – Musicians
There are few masterpieces that can rival Miles Davis’, Kind of Blue, recording. From the opening piano chords laid down by Bill Evans on “So What”, to the soft melodic “Flamenco Sketches” that ends the record, Miles Davis and crew recorded the definitive jazz recording that all future recordings have been judged.
In 1959, Mr. Davis called together one of the most legendary line-ups to help record an album that was nothing more than just a few scales that he had written. The idea being that everyone was given a direction to follow, but had the freedom to let the songs take on a individuality represented by each player.
The line-up was the following: Miles Davis trumpet, John Coltrane tenor saxophone, Cannonball Adderly alto saxophone, Bill Evens piano, Paul Chambers bass, Jimmy Cobb drums and Wynton Kelly piano on “Freddie Freeloader”.
In the year 2002 the Library of Congress chose, Kind of Blue, as one of 50 recordings to be added to the National Registry of Recorded Music. Countless musicians from jazz to rock, bluegrass to country, have chosen this album as one of the most influential and close to perfect recordings to ever be written.
Probably the most amazing aspect of this record is that all the songs, except “Flamenco Sketches” which needed a second take, were first take. What this shows is that Miles Davis had provided a building block of music that was taken by six masters of their profession to a higher level that had not been reach before or attained since.