Since you ask, Brian:

Yes, my brother did give me KoB many years ago, and no, I didn't like it very much. At the risk of incurring the derision of all of my fellow metaBeaters, I will admit that I still don't find it compelling. I did read the article, and it was interesting - I didn't know anything about the history of jazz improvisation, and the inflection point that Miles and the boys caused, or at least exemplified with this record. But that is the whole problem with jazz from my perspective – to me it's an intellectual exercise rather than an emotional response. I can't really enjoy a solo just because I know that it represents a particularly clever application of a mixolydian mode. I find that I can't really connect with a piece of music if it is too freely structured. I don't want every song to have a “verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus” structure, but I have difficulty with the “establish a loose theme - wander off and jam as the mood takes you - briefly revisit the theme” approach. It all starts sounding the same to me. Part of the issue is that I'm not a huge fan of instrumental music to begin with. I don't like really long extended jams in rock music either. Nonetheless, having read the article, I did give KoB another listen to see if my newly enhanced knowledge of the history of jazz would help make me a convert. It didn't.