The classical musicians had bother improvising, whereas the jazz musicians could not handle the difficult arrangements, but the album was a critical success, selling over 120,000 copies in the US. Released in August 1959, Sort of Blue was an immediate success, with widespread radio airplay and rave reviews from critics. When the album was launched later that 12 months, some critics accused him of "promoting out" to the rock and roll audience. Tortured, Big Daddy reveals he is not an ex-cop in any respect but an accountant frustrated with his marriage, who took his daughter and left his empty life to create a new one, financing himself by selling comedian books. Davis left Cawthon and his three youngsters in New York City within the arms of one his pals, jazz singer Betty Carter. By the point the second half of Filles de Kilimanjaro was recorded, bassist Dave Holland and pianist Chick Corea had replaced Carter and Hancock. In a Silent Way was recorded in a single studio session in February 1969, with Shorter, Hancock, Holland, and Williams alongside keyboardists Chick Corea and Joe Zawinul and guitarist John McLaughlin. Through Nefertiti the studio recordings consisted primarily of originals composed by Shorter, with occasional compositions by the opposite sidemen.
