The Best-Selling Album in Jazz History: Miles Davis' Kind of Blue Transcends Eras and Styles, Features Dream Lineup

Mobile Fidelity's Numbered-Edition Hybrid SACD of the 1959 Benchmark Plays with Illuminating Clarity, Detail, and Breadth

How does one properly introduce an epochal record? Perhaps by unequivocally stating that it is the best-selling jazz album in history. Or by affirming that, every year, it sells tens of thousands of copies more than five decades after its original release. There's also the matter of its status as the most-referenced, and arguably, most important, jazz recording of all-time. And the Dream Team lineup of Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. Yes, Kind of Blue is utterly inimitable.

Sourced from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition hybrid SACD of the often-reissued album is a must for even fans that already possess multiple versions. Such is the illuminating transparency, reference dynamics, organic warmth, and instrumental detail exposed by the scrupulous mastering process. 

An audiophile favorite from the day it was issued, Kind of Blue takes on nirvanic sonic proportions. The expressive warmth, imaging clarity, frequency extension, and window-on-the-world breadth afforded by this edition practically places music lovers in the studio with the sextet. Close your eyes and, no matter how many times you may have heard it before, your experience will parallel that of the players that recorded these gems. Everyone shares in the excitement of not knowing what will happen and, as the music begins to lie out in front of you, you'll feel as if you've been whisked away to a jazz holy land. 

While no one has ever completely identified the magic behind the record's allure – the otherworldly nature is part of its inherent charm – much of the success lies with the band members. Davis intentionally handpicked these musicians to comprise this particular cast, with everyone from former foil Evans to blues maestro Kelly to percussive genius Cobb interacting and reacting with peerless skill.