Kind of Blue

ジャズの黄金時代、白人写真家のウィリアム・クラクストンが残したジャズメン達の貴重な写真をジャケットに使用したCDが登場。アルバムカバー写真は1960年ハリウッドのMusic Box Theaterで撮影されたもの。オリジナル発売は超人気盤『Kind Of Blue』(Columbia CS9410)。

JazzTimes - "...The absolutely beautiful Coltrane solo on the `Flamenco Sketches' alternate is alone worth the price....The restoration of the sound to the correct pitch makes enough of a difference to recommend repurchasing this classic even without the jazz track of the year aboard..." Vibe - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century Down Beat - "This is a remarkable album. Using very simple but effective devices, Miles has constructed an album of extreme beauty and sensitivity. This is not to say that this LP is a simple one--far from it. What is remarkable is that the men have done so much with the stark, skeltal material. Rolling Stone - Ranked #13 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "This painterly masterpiece is one of the most important, influential and popular albums in jazz..." Q - Included in Q's list of "The Best Jazz Albums of All Time." Q - 5 Stars - Indispensable - "Widely considered the greatest album in jazz history, Miles Davis' 1959 masterpiece is a collection of exquisitely melodic and deceptively simple modern jazz..." Paste - "[T]he music draws you in with seductively gentle restraint. It's a recording with a pristine elegance." Blender - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "Its ageless cool now seems intertwined with its backstory: Just months after making the album, Davis and most of his sidemen would spin off in different directions, founding entire schools of jazz."

Kind of Blue is an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered the definitive jazz album, a universally acknowledged standard of excellence. Why does Kind of Blue posses such a mystique? Perhaps because this music never flaunts its genius. It lures listeners in with the slow, luxurious bassline and gentle piano chords of "So What." From that moment on, the record never really changes pace; each tune has a similar relaxed feel, as the music flows easily. Yet Kind of Blue is more than easy listening. It's the pinnacle of modal jazz: tonality and solos build from the overall key, not chord changes, giving the music a subtly shifting quality. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine|