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Miles Davis had a very interesting year. In September of 1968, he married a 23-year-old model Betty Mabry, and divorced her a year later, accusing her of having an affair with Jimi Hendrix. Imagine that? In February of 1969 he got into the studio and in a single session recorded "In a Silent Way," which subsequently was spliced and edited into two single 'sonata form' tracks by Teo Macero [who, as a result, enraged the jazz community with this unorthodox technical approach]. The rock fans loved it and saw Davis give the nod towards their genre, and the jazz fans hated it, for precisely the same reasons. Nevertheless, the album ended up topping the Billboard charts and became the de facto 'fusion' recording, because of its elements of soul and funk, and because of its use of an electric guitar and electric piano, thus labeling the beginning of an 'electric period' for Miles. But beyond its backdrop story, the record is an ambient meditation of trumpet's loneliness, over repeating bass lines, shuffling drums, and walking piano scales [so flawlessly executed by Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock]. It's a beautiful album that can be played on a repeat in the background, or deconstructed to a minute for all the genius it represents.