So What

Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue is of course one of the landmarks of modern music. More people have heard it than any other jazz record, and it’s five pieces are music are amongst the most ubiquitous in jazz. “So What” opens the album, and it’s arguably it’s most distinctive piece. With a long introduction from bassist Paul Chambers culminating in Davis’ quintessential modal, minimalist solo, “So What” has become something of a blue print for all modal jazz. Indeed, the track is so laid back, thanks mostly to Jimmy Cobb’s drumming, that it’s the very essence of “cool jazz”. The rhythmic style is very free, and although the structure is simple, it reveals new complexities and subtleties in each listen.