- Hardcover: 30 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; illustrated edition edition (1 Sep 1989)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671635042
- ISBN-13: 978-0671635046
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 16 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 675,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
"San Francisco Chronicle"This is not just any book. As with everything else he has done, Davis's work as writer is likely to raise controversy. The book could well be subtitled "Miles Tells All" for this volume is crammed with juicy gossip about most of the key figures in modern jazz.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Here is the outspoken autobiography of a musical legend, one of the most compelling and important cultural figures of our time, describing Davis's mysterious five-year layoff and his triumphant return to music. 32 pages of black-and-white photos.
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First Sentence
The very first thing I remember in my early childhood is a flame, a blue flame jumping off a gas stove somebody lit. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The very first thing I remember in my early childhood is a flame, a blue flame jumping off a gas stove somebody lit. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Miles Davis, with all his faults, flaws and laughable quirks, was still one of the most important musicians of the twentieth century. It takes a book like this where he leaves no stone unturned to make clear the debt we all owe him and his contemporaries, as well as the restless spirit that lead him beyond what he helped to establish as modern jazz. In many ways he shows himself to be, ironically, the archetypal and sterotypical artist simultaneously. Yet his telling of the profound friendships he had with Max Roach and Coltrane, his deep awe and respect but dispassionate eye for the genius and addictions of Charlie Parker, the loves of his life- and what he put them through, and his brutal, courageous hoonesty in general, gives us a gift of his haunting humanity.
But above all, this about the music. His own telling of his style, the true creators of the form in total and the actual environment where it was produced, and how he created so many styles of his own is enough to make this book worth having.
You will never find another human being who can make curse words sound so beautiful!
If you love jazz, or are a jazz musician, this book will remind you why. And why you love Miles. Everybody does.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Listen. The greatest feeling I ever had in my life - with my clothes on - was when I first hear Diz and Bird together in St. Louis, Missouri, back in 1944". And so begins Miles' account of his remarkable career. In collaboration with Quincy Troupe, Davis guides us through the events and the people in his life that shaped his music. A brilliant piece of work which is distinctly Miles - simultaneously angry and humorous, harsh and reflective. Miles speaks directly about his struggles with drugs, the women in his life, and his experience as an often misunderstood black musician in a white America. Miles also provides us with richly engaging accounts of his music and the musicians he played with over the years. This spirited story is told by Miles in caustic language and he never shies away from controversy. Miles said of his music in his later years "I like playing with young musicians. I want to keep creating, changing. Music isn't about standing still and becoming safe". This book isn't safe and will always be compelling reading. A must read for new and seasoned fans and enthusiasts.
Charlie Saxe
Chicago, Illinois
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am disappointed so many reviewers seem to regard Miles as a racist. Personally it seems to me he was born into a wealthy black family, son of intelligent and cultured parents, and wasn't prepared, as he often says, to take s--- from anyone particularly if they were white and doing it because he was black. That doesn't make him a racist, it makes him brave.
And contrary to one reviewer's comments, the book is full of stuff about the music, much of which I didn't understand because it was too technical. For anyone who knows anything about music, or who has studied it I should think this book would be fascinating.
For me too it was fascinating as a fine documenting of the history of jazz, and gives good insights into the character of many musicians, especially Parker and Coltrane. It also says a lot about the nature of racism in the USA much of which no doubt still holds.
Davis was an incredibly strong character, had to be to survive so many generations of jazz when so many didn't. He had to be decisive, I don't think this makes him unpleasant in itself although to me his attitudes to women were frankly primitive.
Despite this I found this an inspiring book and probably the best book I have read about jazz.
And contrary to one reviewer's comments, the book is full of stuff about the music, much of which I didn't understand because it was too technical. For anyone who knows anything about music, or who has studied it I should think this book would be fascinating.
For me too it was fascinating as a fine documenting of the history of jazz, and gives good insights into the character of many musicians, especially Parker and Coltrane. It also says a lot about the nature of racism in the USA much of which no doubt still holds.
Davis was an incredibly strong character, had to be to survive so many generations of jazz when so many didn't. He had to be decisive, I don't think this makes him unpleasant in itself although to me his attitudes to women were frankly primitive.
Despite this I found this an inspiring book and probably the best book I have read about jazz.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Man With The Attitude
Miles Davis' autobiography, which was written in collaboration with Quincy Troupe and published in 1989 (two years before Miles' death), is a brilliant and uncompromising account... Read more
Published 20 days ago by Keith M
underneath, he was an ugly man, but his music is still great
I had listened to the wonderful music of this man for over 20 years before reading this book. He was my initiation in the endlessly engrossing world of jazz and his strikingly... Read more
Published 10 months ago by rob crawford
Brilliant Book
The book is brilliant - as it is based around interviews with Miles shortly before he died it is like he is in the room talking to you. Warts and all, he tells it like it was. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mr. J. Brown
the life of a musician warts and all
Reading many of the reviews here for this book I was surprised about how many did not like ti because they turned out not to like Miles Davis as a person. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Nik C
Good read
I do recommend this read.
Miles Davis life worths a read.
And I have to say that, for me, as a white woman, it's interesting to read how he thought and how he acted... Read more
Miles Davis life worths a read.
And I have to say that, for me, as a white woman, it's interesting to read how he thought and how he acted... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Pau
Miles - A great document of the Jazz era & the Soul of the Man
Miles Davis was never my first choice on horn, but the older I have become - the more I have learnt - his affect and contribution to much of the music I love between 1955 and 69 is... Read more
Published on 2 May 2010 by D. K. Roper
miles autobiography
I bought this as a present and it went down very well - arrived in good condition and delivery was prompt
Published on 20 Jan 2010 by Ms. S. Weir
Miles in his own distinctive voice
Having recently read Ian Carrs in depth biography; which I would certainly recommend for all Davis enthusiasts, this book gives a very personal perspective on a jazz musicians... Read more
Published on 18 Dec 2009 by A. F. Wolff
Not the easiest book....not the easiest man.
I had a great deal of trouble starting this book, the colloquial tone didn't chime well for me (a personal thing, I know), and, as other reviewers have noted Miles Davis was not a... Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2008 by Humpty D
Uncompromisingly Brilliant
Those who know of Miles will expect will probably expect his harsh and aggressive nature to come through in his autobiography, and you'd be right to assume this. Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2006 by Dave Thompson
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