A Landmarkby Anonymous
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October 16, 2002:
This album is, without a doubt, a monument of hard bop. However, I must comment on the last review posted here. "A listener" states that "Before Kind of Blue, there was Blue Train," and implies that Blue Train inspired Kind of Blue. I beg to differ on this subject. Any amount of research will reveal that the two albums are quite conflicting. Kind of Blue is hard bop, a style in which improvisation is based mainly on chords and chord changes. Kind of Blue is modal jazz, a style that is based on modes, with very little to no changes. Miles Davis popularized this style in order to "bring back the melody to jazz." While Davis was a talented bop trumpeter, it is obvious that he also saw importance at the other end of the spectrum. In making Kind of Blue, Miles was trying to show people the importance of symple melody in jazz improvisation, and that a multitude of chord changes weren't necessary. Coltrane's Blue Train, on the other hand, was based soley on a multitude of chord changes, following in the hard bop style. The albums are as different as day and night, and it can be said the past reviewer has obviously not done his homework on jazz styles. Always consider the source.
This review was written about the CD edition.
BEFORE ''KIND OF BLUE'', THERE WAS ''BLUE TRAIN''by Anonymous
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April 04, 2001:
Ever since I listened to this album for the first time a year ago, I cannot help but wonder if Mile Davis was inspired in some way by John Coltrane and his album ''Blue Train'' to make ''Kind of Blue''. The music her is, simply put, timeless. My favorite, of course, is the title track. They way the song opens up is remarkalbe: the horns themselves seem to know exactly what they are doing and what their place is as the piano chimes in the background. Also, ''Lazy bird''(a tribute to Charlie Parker) is one of the best jazz songs ever made. And ''Moment's Notice'' and ''I'm Old Fashioned'' are just moments of pure genius for Coltrane. When listening to this album and comparing it to ''Kind of Blue''(and I know you will), just keep these two ideas in mind: how similar the albums sound to one another and that ''Blue Train'' was recorded in 1957, two years before ''Kind Of Blue''.
This review was written about the CD edition.