Miles Davis Kind Of Blue Rare Vinyl TFL 5072 Mono UK Fontana

	£		41
	$		54

Style:

Modal

Tracklist

A1

So What (2/3/59)

A2

Freddie Freeloader * (2/3/59)

A3

Blue In Green + (2/3/59)

B1

All Blues (22/4/59)

B2

Flamenco Sketches (22/4/59)

Credits

· Miles Davis, trumpet

· Julian Adderly, alto sax (absent on +) (Courtesy of Riverside Records)

· John Coltrane, tenor sax

· Wyn Kelly, piano (on * only)

· Bill Evans, piano

· Paul Chambers, bass

· James Cobb, drums

· Liner Notes – Benny Green

· PHOTO Jay Maisel

· C FONTANA Printed In England

Other identifiers

· Matrix / Runout (Side A (stamped)): AA682059?1L?1//420 V 0 1

· Matrix / Runout (Side B (stamped)): AA682059?2L?1//420 V 1 0

· Other (Side A Tax Code (embossed)): E/T

· Other (Side B Tax Code (embossed)): ?

The record has most of the features of the known UK mono 1st press but also some of the UK Mono 2nd Press. As with other known 1st UK mono pressings on the Fontana label it differs from the 2nd press in the following ways:

"33 1/3 r p m" instead of "33 1/3"

"AA 682 059 1L" / "AA 682 059 2L" instead of "682 059 1L" / "682 059 2L" respectively

Perimeter text ends with "MADE IN ENGLAND" instead of at "...COPYING OF THIS RECORD PROHIBITED"

"E/T" tax code embossed on side A label which was only used on records pressed between between April 8th 1959 and Aug 1st 1960.

However it has the following 2nd press features:

"KIND OF BLUE" appears above the spindle hole and not below. It has Side numbers.

CONDITION

Record

The labels are clean and bright with no writing. The vinyl is clean and retains its sheen but there are some surface marks and light scratches. See Play Test results below.

Inner sleeve

White poly-lined plain inner sleeve. British Patent No. 800513 British & Other Patents Pending. No rips or tears. Some age related discolouration.

Outer sleeve

Front cover: Laminated front cover with iconic photo of Miles Davis by Jay Waisel. All the lettering is clear. Some laminate lift top and bottom and some missing on the leading edge. Split top centre, all the way along the bottom and along six inches of the central spine. Cover photo is intact but has started to lift off the inner cardboard stiffener, could easily be stuck back down. At some point the splits at the top centre and bottom have been repaired with small staples. There are tiny holes on the bottom corners and top centre although these staples are no longer present.

Rear cover: Flip-back sleeve with some laminate lift at the edges. A little age related discolouration. Staple holes as mentioned above. The initials N.C.T. have been written in 4mm high blue ink letters top left hand side. ‘Play’s ok’ is written in very light pencil next to this.

PLAY TEST

Wonderful tone and clarity of the instruments, tremendously evocative and instantly recognisable but with some background crackle and the following issues:

Side 1.

So What: A tiny blemish the size of the tip of a pencil causes the track to stick about 9/10ths of the way through ‘So What’ but it can be skipped over and only a few seconds are missed.

Blue In Green: About 9 clicks heard near the start of track.

Side 2.

All Blues: About 12 clicks can be heard before the horns kick in

Flamenco Sketches: This is a quieter track so the crackle is more noticeable.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Kind of Blue is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter-composer Miles Davis. It was recorded on March 2 and April 22, 1959, at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City, and released on August 17 of that year by Columbia Records. For the recording, Davis led a sextet featuring saxophonists John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, pianist Bill Evans, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb, with new band pianist Wynton Kelly appearing on one track in place of Evans.

In part owing to Evans' joining the ensemble in 1958, Davis departed further from his early work's hard bop style in favour of greater experimentation with musical modes, as he had on his previous album Milestones (1958). In basing Kind of Blue entirely on modality, he gave each performer a set of scales that encompassed the parameters of their improvisation and style, and consequently more creative freedom with melodies. Coltrane later expanded on this modal approach in his solo career.

Kind of Blue has been regarded by many critics as the greatest jazz record, Davis's masterpiece, and one of the best albums of all time. Its influence on music, including jazz, rock, and classical genres, has led writers to also deem it one of the most influential albums ever recorded. The album was one of fifty recordings chosen in 2002 by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry, and in 2003 it was ranked number 12 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Though precise figures have been disputed, Kind of Blue is often cited as the best-selling jazz record of all time. In 2019, it was certified 5× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over five million copies.

Ranked 3rd sales position in the "Top Ten" of "Jazz News" magazine, September 2nd 1960

As compiled in Just Jazz 4 (Jazz Records February 1959 - April 1960) by George Cherrington:

- Reviewed in Jazz Journal 1960-04

- Reviewed in Jazz Monthly 1960-04

- Reviewed in Melody Maker 1960-03-05

- Reviewed in The Gramophone 1960-03

Miles Davis Kind Of Blue Rare Vinyl TFL 5072 Mono UK Fontana. Condition is "Used". Dispatched with Royal Mail 2nd Class