Where most jazz music features swiftly changing chords--and melodies that follow those chords--modal jazz is based on "modes" or solitary scales in one key at a time. The sound is much less shifty, and allowed musicians to concentrate on creating a melody, rather than sweating through constant chord changes. Miles Davis's Kind of Blue is the quintessential modal jazz album, remaining in single tonal areas and beautifully showcasing the flowering of melody in jazz.

Notable Artists: Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane