"Blue in Green" is the exquisite ballad from Miles Davis's 1959 album Kind of Blue, co-composed by Davis and pianist Bill Evans and built on an unusual 10-bar form that gives the piece its distinctive circular, meditative quality. The composition's authorship has been the subject of ongoing debate, with Evans having claimed primary credit for the piece while Davis received the official composer credit. Regardless of its origins, the performance is a masterclass in ballad interpretation. Evans contributes two separate piano solo passages, one of two choruses and another of two choruses, that frame the other solos with his trademark harmonic impressionism and delicate touch. Coltrane's two-chorus tenor saxophone statement is a model of melodic economy, each note weighted with emotional significance. Davis's closing two-chorus trumpet solo, taken at an extraordinarily slow tempo of just 28 beats per minute, is among the most poignant moments in recorded jazz, his muted horn floating above the gentle accompaniment with an almost unbearable tenderness. The 10-bar form, with its ambiguous tonal center in D minor, creates a sense of harmonic suspension that perfectly matches the composition's wistful, bittersweet mood. "Blue in Green" remains one of the most beautiful and emotionally affecting pieces in the entire jazz canon.
