I don't understand Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue"

I, too, find myself wishing Scott would weigh in on this issue of blue.

I have the opposite problem with KOB - I love it, but have been so overexposed to it that I don't put it on too often myself. The exposure level is probably due to the fact that this record is frequently considered to be an 'easy' entry point into modern jazz for folks who aren't necessarily big jazz buffs, and it has the sales record to back up that assertion.

But just because something is popular doesn't mean one ought to like it, and in truth, I would be surprised if you didn't have approximately the same reaction to about 1,000 other equally, or almost equally, deserving recordings representing the overall movement in jazz at that time, away from the more frantic be-bop style which preceeded the 'cooler' wave KOB was archetypical of. In fact, given your stated preference for Armstrong et al, I'd be surprised if you were even a big be-bop fan. Not everyone who likes Renior is going to like Picasso, even though they were both a part of of the evolution of modern painting; not everyone who likes art deco is going to like danish modern - you get the idea.

Fair enough; a lot of 'hot' jazz and swing fans never liked be-bop when it came in during the 40's and 50's, and many of those same fans never got into the later styles either. I myself don't care for Davis' work after he 'went electric' - or most 'fusion' mucic for that matter. Nothing anybody could say to me would make me like that particular style, and nothing anybody says to you is going to make you like something which you find that you really don't.

I applaud you for giving it a shot, and being open-minded enough to come here seeking insight, instead of just dismissing it as crap. But as you say, you are new to jazz, so take your time. It's a big leap from Ella and Louis to KOB, and you might just grow into it over time. My advise would be to try and broaden out from your base, both chronologically and stylistically, in a more incremental fashion, maybe getting yourself some good books on the subject to help you figure out what you might like along the way. Watching the Ken Burns "Jazz" programs he did for PBS on VHS or DVD could also give some prespective. Another useful introduction to different sounds which can be helpful to a newcomer is to take advantage of the radio, provided you have a good true jazz station in your area; just listen and follow up on whatever catches your ear.

You mean that "Kind of Blue" was not an original title by Patricia Barber ??? : ) Sean
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These are great posts about "Kind of Blue." It is ground breaking, beautiful, user friendly, jazz. Don't worry if you don't like it. Just keep plugging away at jazz, keep it on your shelf, and low and behold, one day it'll hit you. Jazz is kind of like sushi. I was told for years that uni is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I hated it and lost my stomach over it. Every once in a while I'd check it out. I love it like crazy now. Go figure. Try these Miles Davis ablums:
Relaxin With The Miles Davis Quintet
Milestones
Miles
Cookin' With the Mile Davis Quintet
Steamin'" " " " "
If these don't do it for you, you're just not ready for this guy. They should bring you back to the beauty of Kind of Blue.
happy listening,
warren

In my opinion, the beauty of an album like Kind of Blue, and that genre of expressive jazz, is the ability of the musicians to "lock" onto a flow that they all have in their minds. They are all improvising, yet they seem to know where each other is going, and where the music is going. It is an ethereal thing. Like all of them have "tuned in" to a wave, and are riding it with their improvisations. No matter what timing changes, or modes or rhythms that they move through, they don't "lose" each other. Many other jazz attempts at this result in gibberish. Alot of live jazz is done in an attempt at finding this "meshing" and sometimes it is successful, and sometimes not. When it happens, it is magic. This is a good example of what Kind of Blue is. It is the connection of the musicians on a different dimensional plane, expressed through the musical improvisations. Many improvisational musicians know that sometimes the music just flows out, without even thinking. It comes from somewhere else. When all the musicians are flowing from the same connected "somewhere else", music is created that is beyond the musicians themselves. That is the only way I know how to describe this.