daved
Better than Steve
Posts: 10,622
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Post by daved on Nov 22, 2021 11:10:56 GMT
……and I’d never listen to the opinion of a Grateful Dead fan.
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bradman
Better than Steve
Posts: 5,152
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Post by bradman on Nov 22, 2021 11:52:58 GMT
I can understand a healthy debate on Kind of Blue. I personally love the album. But I will never understand the alleged significance of Bitches Brew. I feel exactly the opposite. I have always felt that Kind of Blue is a bit on the dull side, especially when compared to other jazz albums of that bellwether year 1959. Look what else came out that same year: Ornette's The Shape of Jazz to Come, Mingus Ah Um, Coltrane's Giant Steps, Jazz in Silhouette by Sun Ra.... I get why the non-jazz listener always goes for Kind of Blue. It's easy enough to digest and is a pleasant listen, which is everything I do not want from Miles or jazz in general. I agree with daved that Porgy and Bess is preferable, but neither Miles record of that year comes anywhere close to the ones listed above. Compared to the heavyweight releases of 1959, Miles does seem a bit old fashioned and staid. I might even argue that Dave Brubeck's Time Out, another 1959 release, is a more exciting and innovative album than Kind of Blue is. Bitches Brew, however, is another story. That is a top-flight Miles record, even if it too is not my favorite of the 70s era. Even so, it is a fine, fine record.
No way in hell I take Porgy and Bess over Kind of Blue.
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Post by respiratoryproblems on Nov 22, 2021 12:20:04 GMT
I can't really shake Kind Of Blue from my top two Miles Davis albums, and I've heard all of them (except, I think, Tutu). It may be because it was the first album of his I heard, but the fact that my favourite rotates so often (off the top of my head, In A Silent Way, either Blackhawk set, Pangaea and Relaxin' are all solid gold) is an indication that's he rarely puts a foot wrong.
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Post by Norman ‘Whiplash’ Mailer on Nov 22, 2021 19:53:34 GMT
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Post by krabapple on Nov 22, 2021 20:43:37 GMT
COLA wrote:
This
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Post by graucho on Nov 22, 2021 21:03:50 GMT
So, what's the legacy of Kind of Blue in terms of favourability among jazzers? As long as I remember, it was that token jazz album in generally rock lists polls - a bit like Marvyn Gaye's What's Going On, or Otis Blue. I didn't know enough about jazz at the time I was taking notice of these things, to put it into context with other jazz albums, and what was or wasn't considered the greats. I'm quite a bit more versed in jazz these days, conforming to that cliche that jazz is something you get into as you get older!
As far as my Miles Davis listening goes, I like a lot of them. I like this one, but no more or less than Bitches Brew and various others. Has it always been considered a classic among the jazz fans, or was part of its appeal that it was accessible to non-jazz audiences?
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daved
Better than Steve
Posts: 10,622
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Post by daved on Nov 23, 2021 10:53:57 GMT
Would I be wrong in loving the Prestige contractual obligation albums (Cookin’, etc) more than everything else?
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bradman
Better than Steve
Posts: 5,152
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Post by bradman on Nov 23, 2021 12:52:36 GMT
Not at all. A Love Supreme doesn't have to be your favorite Coltrane album, either. But you are a fraud if you say your favorite of his is something like Om.
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daved
Better than Steve
Posts: 10,622
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Post by daved on Nov 24, 2021 0:55:14 GMT
Am I allowed to like Mingus Ah Um?
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bradman
Better than Steve
Posts: 5,152
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Post by bradman on Nov 24, 2021 1:52:38 GMT
Of course. Just don't be a douche about it.
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daved
Better than Steve
Posts: 10,622
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Post by daved on Nov 25, 2021 9:37:44 GMT
Would I be wrong in loving the Prestige contractual obligation albums (Cookin’, etc) more than everything else? Why would that be wrong? Those Prestige contract fillers are terrific records. Miles was at the peak of his confidence and energies, and those Prestige albums have an urgency (literally) that is unique in his catalog. The only thing that would be wrong is if you say you like, or even find listenable, the Steve Hoffman masterings of those Prestige albums. Nothing wrong with Mingus Ah Um either. What strange questions you ask. Just being silly. The jazz cognoscenti seem to poop on the more common titles.
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Post by Norman ‘Whiplash’ Mailer on Nov 25, 2021 20:10:41 GMT
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Post by Terrapin Station on Nov 26, 2021 21:43:45 GMT
Yes, now this is what I like to see. Talk about me, Me, MEEEEEE! ;-)
Everyone should take notes re everything I say.
There will be periodic quizzes.
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bradman
Better than Steve
Posts: 5,152
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Post by bradman on Nov 26, 2021 22:16:04 GMT
Don't flatter yourself. Dilly Dickhead's thread is up to 93 pages, yours is 3 with a lengthy jazz digression.
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Post by Terrapin Station on Nov 26, 2021 22:21:32 GMT
Don't flatter yourself. Dilly Dickhead's thread is up to 93 pages, yours is 3 with a lengthy jazz digression. Well, get to work. Don't be lazy. Talk about me more. Start some lengthy commentary on each post I make on the SH board.
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