Release of Kind of Blue

Date: August 17, 1959 • Location: Washington, United States

American musician Miles Davis released Kind of Blue, which became one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed jazz recordings of all time.

Miles Dewey Davis III was an American trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and painter. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. In a career spanning nearly five decades, Davis was at the forefront of several major stylistic developments in jazz, including bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, third stream, modal jazz, avant-garde jazz and jazz fusion. His legacy extends into rock, funk, classical and hip-hop.