The single disc vinyl LP, or long playing album, was introduced in 1948 by Columbia, though albums as a collection of 78s bound together in a single package had been around for several decades. By the end of the ’50s, the 45 single was king, but 33 1/3 LPs were beginning to come into their own as well.

         Elvis was the dominant artist in 1950’s album sales as he was in singles, but his two biggest sellers were a Christmas album and a greatest hits package. Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours from 1955 gets a lot of love as does his follow-up, Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! However, there seems to be little real debate that The classic LP of the ’50s was Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. One of the best-selling jazz albums of all-time with sales of over five million, the LP features six brilliant musicians, arguably at their peak- Davis, the intense, restless bandleader, composer of the five tracks, and a master of the smooth, subdued yet smoky trumpet; John Coltrane, widely considered the greatest tenor saxophonist who became a legend in his own right; the joyful Cannonball Adderley, on alto sax; the esteemed but tragic Paul Chambers plays bass; Jimmy Cobb, who only passed away in 2020, is on drums; and Bill Evans, who didn’t stay long with Davis and may have written the lovely, achingly sad “Blue in Green” is one of the stars on piano, though Davis’ regular pianist, Wynton Kelley, replaces Evans on the “happy” blues number “Freddy Freeloader”.

         Considered a masterpiece of modal jazz, the improvisation is built around scales rather than chords and allows the players a tremendous amount of freedom. Kind of Blue is all instrumental; it’s moody yet accessible (even for people who “don’t like jazz”); it bores into the subconscious and stays there. I would also use words like haunting, familiar, lovely, contemplative, a wee bit melancholic, melodic, classical, yet wholly vibrant and new. “So What”, the nine minute opener, and “All Blues” are probably the best known pieces.

         Sixty-four years on, it is widely hailed as not only the finest jazz album ever, but one of the greatest of any genre. Kind of Blue was among the first LPs chosen for inclusion in the National Recording Registry. Music critic Stephen Erlewine put it this way, “it’s an album that towers above its peers.”

         Steve Williams (6/29/23) – Greatest Recording Artists Blog Post #23