"When we did the album we had no idea it would become so important. I have wondered for ears what was that special quality." — Bill Evans
Jazz musicians call it The Bible. Critics call it the one jazz album every fan must own. Since its recording in 1959, Kind of Blue has sold millions worldwide and become one of the most important records of its century. In a year that proved a watershed for jazz, Miles Davis assemblend his famed sextet — John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderlely, Jimmy Cobb, Paul Chambers, and Wynton Kelly — and in only two impromptu sessions created a timeless masterpiece.
Now Ashely Kahn opens wide the studio doors so longtime fans and newcomers alike can witness the creation of this classic album. Offering the first take-by-take account of the sessions and analysis of never-released fragmentary takes, drawn from extremely rare access to the complete master tapes, Kahn takes us behind the scenes through countless interviews (including the only three people still living who were in the studio on those days) and newly discovered documemts from Columbia Record's archives.
Weaving his meticulous research into a thrillng narrative, he traces Miles' progress from bop to modal jazz, and follows the album from its release to its transformation into a cultural touchstone. Throughout, nearly a hundred images do their part in telling the story, including Bill Evan's handwritten liner notes, never-before-seen photographs of the studio, and even one of the session charts. With a foreword from Jimmy Cobb, the last surviving member of the group, this is the definitive story of Davis' album — an album you never hear the same again.
