The Best-Selling Album in Jazz History: Miles Davis' Kind of Blue Trancends Eras and Styles, Features Dream-Team Lineup of Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, and More

Mastered From the Original Master Tapes for Superior Sound: Mobile Fidelity's Numbered-Edition Hybrid SACD of the 1959 Landmark 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.

Mastered 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 thoroughly scrupulous mastering process. If there's a stairway to heaven, this is the soundtrack.

The blueprint for melodic improvisation and vamping, Kind of Blue simplifies tonal organization and chordal progression into a beautiful, introspective tapestry stitched with swinging poetry, mellifluous soloing, compositional lyricism, transcendental harmonies, and group interplay of the highest caliber. 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.

And on this SACD, the expressive warmth, imaging clarity, frequency extension, and window-on-the-world breadth place music lovers in the studio with that 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 develop, you'll feel as if you've been whisked away to a jazz holy land.