Hard to believe that 2009 is the 50th anniversary of one of Jazz’s most cherished albums, Kind of Blue from Miles Davis.  But oh, what a sublime wonder that album STILL is.  It has achieved eternal life.  Much has been written about this classic that it become redundant to go over it again.  If you need background on this album, it can easily be found, and more eloquently, elsewhere by Googling.  Suffice it to say that this album seems to have an apparent essence to it that is, to put it succinctly, has elevated it above other albums of its style.

The definitive version of this album has already been released through Legacy in a ‘balls-out’ approach with every nuance attended to.  If you want everything that can be enjoyed about this album, you should seek those out…if they can still be had.

This 2CD version is a Collector’s Edition derived from that Boxed set to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the album listed as the greatest Jazz release by many critics and aficionados.  Like the Box, it contains the original five tracks and is augmented by alternate takes (“Flamenco Sketches” – Disc One; “Love for Sale,” “Fran-dance” – Disc Two), a series of studio sequences for several of the songs (eight in all), and the rare false start of “Freddie Freeloader.”

The second disc holds some treasures of its own with a handful of tracks that include a 17-minute live cut of the album’s opener, “So What” that is a snappier tune than the slower, more melancholy cut from the album.  However, the song undergoes a improvisational transformation that does the song well.  In addition to that, the second disc supplies several alternate tracks (“Love for Sale,” “Fran-Dance”) that are from other places but is included because it reveals a genesis of sorts for sessions that would spawn Kind of Blue.  “Fran-Dance” as a recorded stand-alone track is also on this disc.

The booklet is a 24-page deal with photos, a 10-page essay by Francis Davis, a Jazz columnist for The Village voice, and plenty of credits and song information.

Kind of Blue is representative of the best that Jazz offers.  With Miles Davis and his trend-setting works, the album as delivered here, is a reasonably priced alternative to the greater package offered last year.  Kind of Blue is a remarkably necessary inclusion to any music fan’s library.  If you don’t have it in any other form, this is a no-brainer pickup.  Bohemia was never better.