Miles has a lot of jazz that set the stage for things like standard bop and cool jazz which don't sound innovative after years of people building on his ideas, so context is important in that sense. I agree that he has a lot of incredibly overrated material though (*cough* Kind of Blue *cough*) and there are better jazz artists out there (Coltrane will always be king). Then there's stuff like In a Silent Way, Miles Smiles, Sketches of Spain, Live-Evil, and above all, Bitches Brew. ****in Bitches Brew man. If you only check one of his albums out it's gotta be that one. I'm gonna go listen to it now.
I see Kind of Blue as being Miles' 4'33". It was a big step for him, but much like John Cage, it followed him everywhere he went despite him sprawling out and trying many many different things throughout his lengthy career. I'm certain there's a Miles album for everyone.
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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.
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