Kind Of Blue (Clarity Vinyl Box)＜限定盤＞

絶大な人気を誇る高音質レーベルAnalogue Productionsから音楽史に残る世紀の名盤「Kind of Blue」が遂に登場!
高音質系レーベルではこれまでMusic on vinyl社やMobile fidelity社などから発売がありましたがアナプロからのリリースは今回が初となります。

内容はもはや説明不明、1959年の発売以来今なお多くの音楽好きに聴き継がれているマイルスの代表作にして歴史的名盤。本盤はそのオリジナル3トラック・マスターテープから名エンジニア、バーニー・グランドマンがマスタリングを施した1作となっております。

盤はアナプロでお馴染みQuality Record Pressings200g重量盤をマニュアルプレス機で手動プレス。プレス完了時に手作業で検査され問題のなかった盤のみがボックスに収められます。そしてなんと、本盤の製造過程を説明した小冊子と手書きの検査証明書までも同梱されるというレーベルの本気度がにじみ出た仕様も驚きです。(これまでレコードに検査証明書が同封されることがあったでしょうか・・・!)

アルバム・セッション録音時、レコーダーの回転が遅かった(=再生するとピッチが高かった)のは有名ですが、1995年にClassic Recordsから発売された盤でこの問題は解決。その際に関わっていたのがバーニー・グランドマン自身だったこともあり、本盤に関してもスピードの問題はございません。

検査証明書まで封入された高品質なプレス盤、名エンジニア、バーニー・グランドマンによるオリジナル3トラック・マスターテープからのマスタリング、スピード問題なしといった「Kind of Blue」高音質盤の決定的1枚となり得るリリースが遂にアナプロから。

Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album. To be reductive, it's the Citizen Kane of jazz -- an accepted work of greatness that's innovative and entertaining. That may not mean it's the greatest jazz album ever made, but it certainly is a universally acknowledged standard of excellence. Why does Kind of Blue posses such a mystique? Perhaps it's that 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 chords, not the overall key, giving the music a subtly shifting quality. All of this doesn't quite explain why seasoned jazz fans return to this record even after they've memorized every nuance. They return because this is an exceptional band - Miles, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderly, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, and Wynton Kelly -- one of the greatest in history, playing at the peak of its power. As Evans said in the original liner notes for the record, the band did not play through any of these pieces prior to recording. Davis laid out the themes and chords before the tape rolled, and then the band improvised. The end results were wondrous, filled with performances that still crackle with vitality. Few albums of any genre manage to work on so many different levels, but Kind of Blue does. It can be played as background music, yet it amply rewards close listening. It is advanced music that is extraordinarily enjoyable. It may be a stretch to say that if you don't like Kind of Blue, you don't like jazz -- but it's hard to imagine it as anything other than a cornerstone of any jazz collection. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine