3 Shades of Blue

“3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool” is a superb book by renowned biographer James Kaplan. It chronicles the story of how jazz arrived at the pinnacle of American culture in 1959 … following the sometimes difficult paths of three legendary artists––Davis, Coltrane, and Evans––who came together to create the most iconic jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue.  It’s a book about music, business, the towns that gave jazz a place to call home, and the challenges faced during the journeys of three musical giants as they climbed to the mountaintop of 1959 and beyond.

Above is an excerpt from the “3 Shades of Blue” audio book. Below are a pair of tunes in their entirety, So What and All Blues, from the historic Kind of Blue Album … featuring Miles Davis (t), Cannonball Adderley (as), Paul Chambers (b), Jimmy Cobb (d), John Coltrane (ts), and Bill Evans (p) alternating with Wynton Kelly (p).