Released in 1959, Kind of Blue changed jazz forever and is considered to be one of the greatest, most influential albums of all time. Miles Davis led a sextet of some of the most legendary jazz musicians ever on the album, including John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley. Kind of Blue saw Davis moving away from the hard-bop style of his early work, favoring greater experimentation with musical modes, as he had on his previous album "Milestones". The album was Davis's most acclaimed work and has been cited as the best-selling jazz album ever released. Kind of Blue is consistently ranked high on many "best album" lists and has been called a "defining moment of 20th-century music".
Whether true or urban legend, Miles Davis's conversation with a politician's wife at a White House dinner summed up his impact well. She asked him if he felt jazz got enough credit. To which he responded, “Jazz is ignored [in the United States] because the white man likes to win everything.” She followed up by saying, “Well, what have you done that’s so important in your life? Why are you here?” And as the legend goes, Miles said, “Well, I changed music five or six times, so I guess that’s what I’ve done [...] Now, tell me, what have you done of any importance other than being white?”
Perhaps one of the most important music figures of the 20th century, Davis produced a vast catelogue of groundbreaking jazz from modal to fusion. He pushed the genre into its uppermost limits as the world of popular music passed the genre by in favor of rock & roll. Ironically, Davis’s innovative spirit didn’t just influence the trajectory of jazz but bled over into genres like rock & roll while also laying the groundwork for hip-hop and EDM.
