The National Jazz Museum in Harlem and the Maysles CInema Present: Jazz on Film

Celebrating A Masterpiece: Kind of Blue

Chris Lenz, 2008, 55 min.

Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album, a universally acknowledged standard of excellence. Why does Kind of Blue posses such a mystique? Perhaps because this music never flaunts its genius. It lures listeners in with the slow, luxurious bassline and gentle piano chords of "So What." From that moment on, the record never really changes pace -- each tune has a similar relaxed feel, as the music flows easily. Celebrating A Masterpiece is a behind-the-scenes look at Kind of Blue, the top selling Jazz album of all time. A companion piece to Ashley Kahn's seminal tome Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis masterpiece.

Celebrating A Masterpiece will also be followed by some short, key performance clips from Miles Davis.