Kind of Blue: So What?

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of Kind of Blue, possibly the greatest sessions in history. Miles Davis assembled one of the most talented group of musicians -- John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly, Wynton Kelly, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb -- wrote up charts, and with viturally no rehearsal they put it down on tape. That was the album, an authentic sense of the musicians in that space at that time giving completely original interpretations of tunes that had never previously existed. There was no chance for micro-managing, for trying to do what Bird had done with the tune years earlier, for trying to recapture some bit of magic that had happened at rehearsal, it was now, it real. And it was one of the greatest albums to ever be made. The solos are lyrical, the band is tight, the music simply haunting.

Seems like lessons for life. Get good folks around you and let them to do what they do best. Trust is essential. It could flop horrendously, but then again, you never know how it could add up beyond the sum of the parts. Let go of the reigns, and let it come. Magic happens, it can't be forced. You need to work hard to put yourself in a place with the skills for it to pop, but you need to let it flow. Playing doesn't mean not working hard, it means putting your entire spirit into it, but still having fun.

So not to sound like a cheesy motivational poster, there are some negative lessons, too. Lay off the herion. It catches up with you it end.