The verdict
Documented Sampling History
Miles Davis is the confirmed, credited composer. The documented questions over who wrote specific elements — the intro (attributed by historians to Gil Evans) and “Blue in Green” from the same album (Bill Evans’ own on-record claim) — belong in the Receipts.
Used by independents?
Unconfirmed — the page doesn't yet document enough sampler detail to tell.
Quick Facts
Released1959
AlbumKind of Blue
GenreJazz, Modal Jazz
LabelColumbia Records
Recorded atColumbia's 30th Street Studio, New York
More infoWikipedia → · Discogs →
Who you need to ask
The songwriter of record — Miles Davis's estate
Wikipedia → · checked Jul 2026
The current administrator — Not confirmed — originally Columbia, likely Sony now; needs a Songview/Discogs lookup
Wikipedia → · checked Jul 2026
Has it been reused?
Yes — a modal-jazz cornerstone from the best-selling jazz album of all time; widely performed, taught and licensed.
Do they allow reuse?
No standalone policy found; a confirmed songwriter of record (Davis’s estate) and extensive legitimate use.
Related Songs
Same album, answer records, and songs worth knowing about
Same album (“Kind of Blue”); Bill Evans publicly claimed on-record that he wrote it
Who Owns It
Licenses explained →The two permissions you need, and who holds them
The song itself (the writing)Miles Davis (estate, following his 1991 death)
A real uncredited-contribution questionThe famous introductory line of “So What” is widely believed by music historians to have actually been written by arranger Gil Evans, not Davis, despite sole composer credit.
The recording (current administrator)Not confirmed
Receipts
Every public mention of terms, policy, or past deals we've found
A directly relevant, more serious credit dispute from the same album
“Blue in Green,” track three on “Kind of Blue,” carries a documented authorship dispute: officially credited solely to Davis, pianist Bill Evans disputed this in a 1979 radio interview, saying he wrote it and Davis collected the royalties — and that when he raised a fair royalty share, Davis wrote him a $25 check. Presented as Evans’s own on-record claim.
Wikipedia (Blue in Green) · read it →
A no-written-music session
Davis provided no written music in advance — only brief sketches given to the musicians hours before each session — deliberately encouraging spontaneity, with Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb.
Music Musings & Such · read it →
The intro-authorship question, in context
Notably, Bill Evans — who wrote the album’s liner notes — never mentioned the Gil Evans intro attribution in his own later retrospective accounts, possibly because he never knew.
WFIU / Night Lights · read it →
Can You Use It for Free?
How to check PD →Is it public domain?No
Sample History
—
Times sampled
A jazz standard — widely performed
Covers
—
First flip
Who to Contact
MD
Miles Davis's estate
The songwriter of record
What they'll chargeNobody's shared numbers yet
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References
Every source cited on this page — 4 in total
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Page history · 2 updates
Jul 2026Page created — full research (Deep Batch 3)
Jul 2026BPM/Key pending a separate manual keyfinder pass