KIND OF BLUE

It certainly is odd reviewing an album that is a long standing masterpiece, one of the most (if not the most) influential and perfect albums ever created in the history of music - on a prog-rock site. I would give this a five (a six out of five if I could) under any general music or jazz site, but I don't believe in giving a masterpiece rating to an album, even this one, that has really no hints of either prog or rock, however influential is has been to musicians in both categories. It's silly that it should appear in the prog fusion top twenty, as it did at the time of this review. It is a masterpiece indeed, the likes of which come once or twice in a decade like Close to the Edge and Dark Side of the Moon.

Yet, still, it's more than even that. It has influenced me and my more jazz affiliated friends as musicians, and we're not exactly the first ones who's lives have been altered for the better by this gem. Some of the most influential prog bands were inspired by this album. The chords in Speak To Me/Breath are based on some of the exact same chord progressions in the album. Musicians around the globe are still captivated by its uniqueness, by the indescribable magical feeling that the assortment of notes somehow create, who knows how or why. It's just... perfect.

As far as this album goes for Miles Davis and the evolution of jazz, this album proceeded Milestones, in which (to my jazz-novice understanding) Miles basically started the sub-genre of jazz called modal jazz, in which most everything played by the horns was based on the modes of the scale rather than the chord structures laid out by the bass and piano. This allowed a whole lot more freedom for improvisation, a freedom that Miles had obviously mastered with this album's release, and John Coltrane would master later in his career with A Love Supreme, one of my favorite albums of all time. I would recommend both of these albums for any jazz listener, and especially ones for proggers who are new to the genre. Really, Miles Davis made tons of really incredible albums, but the only ones that probably come close to this masterpiece are Porgy and Bess and Bitches Brew (the later of which I would say definitely has to do with prog, and his fusion material overall is probably the reason why Miles should be added to this site, so I won't rate any albums a five that don't exist in that period).

I could go on for hours, but that would be pretty pointless considering the album I'm talking about, so I figured I'd end this review with the basics that I've covered, and the obvious concluding paragraph. This is a masterpiece that I think everyone should buy/find/borrow/steal (jk, sort of) immediately if they don't have this in their collection, whatever the nature of their collection. You 'ought to hear, if not immerse your ears and mind this little yet colossal piece of heaven.

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