Ed Note: Sometimes it’s hard to hear music as described on the page. Bill DeMain’s story on Miles Davis and Kind of Blue in our latest magazine is wonderful, but we wanted to make sure readers actually got to hear the sounds. So we asked Ransom to remix it with any YouTube clips he could find. The following is a mish-mash of Bill’s story and Ransom’s writing, all enhanced with Miles’ music. We’re hoping it gives readers a slightly richer experience. Enjoy!

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Miles’ “Blue” Period

Sessions for Kind of Blue commenced on March 2, 1959 in a converted Greek Orthodox church in Manhattan. Together with his sextet, which included pianist Bill Evans and saxophonist John Coltrane, Davis was creating beautiful compositions spontaneously. He abandoned the usual chord progressions that govern jazz and supplied only outlines for his pieces. To capture the spirit of discovery, he gave his band vague directions: telling them to “play this pretty” or make it “Latin-flavored.” After just nine-hours in the studio, they were finished, and the resulting album tracks are all first takes; “First-take feelings — they’re generally the best,” remarked pianist Evans. Here clips from a few tracks on this classic album.

 

So What?

 

The five tracks on Kind of Blue may have been improvised, but they didn’t come out of nowhere. “So What” isn’t just the name of a song — it was one of Miles’ favorite expressions. Whenever someone would challenge him on an idea or decision, he would respond in his raspy voice: “so what?” You can hear his motto in the sassy two-note phrases that run throughout the song.

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http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/16692