Saturday, August 9, 2008

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition Coming in September


MILES DAVIS - Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition 2-CD + DVD + LP + book + poster (Columbia/Legacy)

Originally released by Columbia Records on August 17, 1959, Kind of Blue heralded the arrival of a revolutionary new American music, a post-bebop modal jazz structured around simple scales and melodic improvisation. Trumpeter/band leader/composer Miles Davis assembled a sextet of legendary players -- Cannonball Adderley (alto sax), Paul Chambers (bass), Jimmy Cobb (drums), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Bill Evans (piano) (Wynton Kelly plays piano on “Freddie Freeloader") -- to create a sublime atmospheric masterpiece. Fifty years after its release, Kind of Blue continues to transport listeners to a realm all its own while inspiring musicians to create to new sounds -- from acoustic jazz to post-modern ambient -- in every genre imaginable.

Disc 1 of Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition will feature the original album in its entirety with the “Flamenco Sketches" alternate take, the rare “Freddie Freeloader" false start, and a selection of in-the-studio dialog from the Kind of Blue sessions. Disc 2 is a CD of rare musical material circa the Kind of Blue recordings including the very first session by the classic Miles Davis sextet (May 26, 1958 -- Davis's 32nd birthday -- with Adderley, Coltrane, Evans, Chambers and Cobb), more than a half hour's worth of studio material -- “On Green Dolphin Street," “Fran-Dance," “Stella By Starlight," “Love For Sale" -- previously available only on the two-time Grammy award winning Miles Davis & John Coltrane boxed set ("The Complete Columbia Recordings 1955-1961); and the first authorized release of two extended live performances: “So What" from the April 9, 1960 Den Haag Concert featuring Miles, Coltrane, Kelly, Chambers and Cobb; and “All Blues" from the April 8, 1960 Zurich Concert (featuring the same band). The final disc, Disc 3, is a DVD including an in-depth documentary illuminating the story behind Kind of Blue; and the historic April 2, 1959 television program “Robert Herridge Theater: The Sound of Miles Davis" starring Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

This deluxe Collector's Edition will also include a vinyl LP copy of Kind of Blue, a poster, and an LP-sized 60-page hardbound book.

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