Miles Davis

Kind of Blue was recorded for Columbia in 1959 and is widely treated as the landmark modal jazz album. Its lineup included John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb, which is one reason it became a gateway record for jazz listeners.

In the late 1940s, Davis worked with arrangers and players including Gil Evans, Gerry Mulligan, and Lee Konitz on music later collected as Birth of the Cool. Compared with bebop's speed and density, those sessions used lighter textures, arranged horn colors, and a more restrained tone.

Albums like In a Silent Way from 1969 and Bitches Brew from 1970 used electric keyboards, rock rhythms, and studio editing in ways that challenged acoustic jazz expectations. Some listeners heard it as a break from jazz tradition, while others see it as one of the roots of jazz fusion.

The classic 1960s quintet featured Miles Davis with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. That band recorded albums such as E.S.P. and Miles Smiles and pushed post-bop rhythm and harmony into much looser territory.