The February An Evening With An Album, to be held on Feb. 13 in Asheville, will explore the entirety of Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, with proceeds benefitting the Asheville Design Center. An Evening with an Album was created by a group of local audiophiles who share an interest in creating community through intentionally listening to selected albums that are artistically and culturally significant. Kind of Blue, Miles Davis’ revolutionary album of 1959, is a masterpiece of jazz improvisation and modal composition.
In his liner notes for the album’s original release, pianist Bill Evans compared Davis’ modalism to a Japanese Shodo artist: “He must paint… in such a way that an unnatural or interrupted stroke will destroy the line…. Erasures or changes are impossible. These artists must practice a particular discipline, that of allowing the idea to express itself in communication with their hands in such a direct way that deliberation cannot interfere.”
Davis sketched his unique ideas of composition and improvisation only hours before the recording sessions, so for the album’s personnel (Davis on trumpet; John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly on saxophone; Paul Chambers on bass; Jimmy Cobb on drums; Bill Evans on piano for all but one song), the experience was wholly new; the recordings are something close to pure spontaneity. To hear these musicians so fully committed to creating this new sound is a reminder of the power of music to bring people together. If the creation of music is one of the purest forms of community, then Kind of Blue is that idea’s epitome.
An Evening With an Album aims to build community around the shared experience of listening intentionally to an album that is culturally and/or artistically significant. By hearing an album in its entirety in the presence of each other and discussing that music together, we gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and develop deeper community connections. An Evening with an Album is held on the second Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. in Zabriskie Hall on the campus of The Cathedral of All Souls in Biltmore Village. Sound and vinyl is provided by Stewart Sound. Beer, wine and light fare is served. A suggested donation of $10 per person benefits non-profit organizations working to build community in our region.
The Asheville Design Center engages Western North Carolina in creative community-based design. ADC values inclusive community input and engagement and believes that such design leads to healthy, thriving and equitable communities. A proven leader in community-based design, ADC employs a rigorous community-input process for all of their projects. The Asheville Design Center is an independent, donor-driven 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.
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Way to go, George!!!