To mark the 60th anniversary of when Miles Davis began recording Kind of Blue (March 2, 1959), here is a story of how the masterpiece was created:

Sixty years on, the album is hailed as a masterpiece of modern music. It is the bestselling jazz record of all time, having sold nearly 5 million copies and been certified quadruple platinum. It was No. 1 on the BBC’s 50 greatest jazz albums poll in 2016, No. 12 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 50 greatest albums of all time and even, bizarrely, featured in VH1’s “100 Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Albums.”

… The album’s so-called “modal jazz” – improvisation based on scales rather than a chord progression derived from the blues or a popular song – was revolutionary. Herbie Hancock says that even professional musicians marvel at the way Davis and co improvised within the sound and structure of the compositions and moved into “new uncharted territory.” Chick Corea was also bowled over by the album. “It is one thing to play a tune or a programme of music, but it’s another to practically create a new language of music, which is what Kind of Blue did,” said the pianist. Quincy Jones went as far as calling it “a work of art that explains what jazz is.”

Read more at The Independent.