`Kind of Blue' at 50: Behind Davis' masterpiece

AP via NY Times ^ | Oct 6, 2009 | CHARLES J.GANS

[a fool in paradise]

Jimmy Cobb could hardly imagine he would be making history when he arrived at Columbia Records' 30th Street Studio 50 years ago for the first of two recording sessions with Miles Davis.

"I was always enthusiastic about making records with Miles," said Cobb, who got to the studio before the other musicians to set up his drum kit. "I wasn't told anything about what the music was going to be."

Cobb ended up being part of the all-star sextet, plus one, that recorded "Kind of Blue," an album Quincy Jones (and many others) consider to be "one of the greatest records ever made."

Since its August 1959 release, "Kind of Blue" has ranked as one of the most influential and popular jazz albums ever with more than 4 million copies sold in the U.S. alone...

But in 1959, Cobb — the last surviving musician in a group that included saxophonists John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, pianists Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly, and bassist Paul Chambers — regarded it "as just another Miles Davis record date."

"It was relaxed and the guys always had fun around each other," said Cobb. "It had to be the talent, the music, the studio ... I don't know how that magic happens but it happened those two days."

...Today, the five tunes on "Kind of Blue" — particularly "So What" and "All Blues" — have become deeply embedded in the musical landscape. But at the March 2 and April 22, 1959, recording sessions, nearly all the tunes were new to the band members, who didn't even have a chance to rehearse them. Davis gave the musicians written sketches of the scales and melodies, offering brief verbal instructions about the feeling he wanted on a particular tune...

[pepperhead]

I like those albums a lot too. I think I like Agharta and Pangaea a bit more than Dark Magus though. Another favorite album I have of his is Filles de Kilimanjaro. Porgy and Bess is also another another one I like.