The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis, 1980-1991 (Popular Music History) [Hardcover]

'The best Miles Davis book ever.' Randy Hall, singer/guitarist/producer, who worked with Miles in the 1980s; "Many people have come to me in the past about how the "last miles" bands had been overlooked and ignored by journalists. This book is a comprehensive answer to these omissions. From my discussions with musicians from the latter years with Miles it seems pretty clear they feel some vindication as a result of this book. I thank you sincerely for telling our story. Most everything I have read is as close to my memory of how things happened as any book could hope to be. I think you've done a wonderful job." Darryl Jones, bassist with Miles 1983-85, 1986-1988; "There simply hasn't been another book published on Miles Davis, in any period that has managed to obtain the wealth of interview material and cover his recorded work and various live tours in such a complete and comprehensive fashion... Engagingly written from start to finish, filled with more facts than you'll be able to remember first time through, The Last Miles is an essential portrait of Miles' last decade and a strong argument that his music was both valid and perfectly in keeping with a musical philosophy that would ultimately stretch over six decades." John Kelman, All About Jazz.com; ""Cole does for Miles' late work what Ian Macdonald's 'Revolution In The Head' does for The Beatles, examining each album in meticulous detail." John Lewis, Time Out; "The title is likely to send most jazzbos running, with received wisdom having handed down the rule that in the 80's Miles was only good for playing live; and half of that was just the pleasure of seeing him in person. For a single man to take on the 400-page+ task of changing popular opinion is a very tall order indeed. For him to make you want to actively revisit the decade in question is a near-miracle. Detailing album histories and giving final verdicts, Cole has made every effort to lay the evidence out bare. The analysis could have been a chore were it not for the presence of first-hand interviews with all the major players, making this not just a scholarly study, but a tribute to the man himself, And for a book such as this, you learn more about Davis that could have been expected." Jason Draper, Record Collector; "Cole's certainly produced a fascinating book." Chris Ingham, Mojo; "We veterans of Miles' last bands are lucky to have such a thorough and insightful look into Miles last period...I really enjoyed the book!" John Scofield, Miles's guitarist 1982-1985; "Cole has spoken to practically everyone who worked with Miles in his final decade. He has traced the evolution of each of those final albums, cut by cut, splice by splice...[Miles] comes out of Cole's account larger, warmer and if anything even more important than ever." Brian Morton (co-writer of The Penguin Guide to Jazz) The Wire; "The book is wonderful. Congratulations for your very important contribution to the historical documentation of many [musicians] who would otherwise have been overlooked!!!!" Robert Irving III Miles's musical director 1983-1988; "I have to say that you did a marvellous job! It brought back strong memories of that time period and answered a number of questions I had, especially the chapter on the Rubberband sessions. A brilliant job!" Patrick Murray, who worked on the road with Miles from 1986-1990 and was Miles's concert sound mixer from 1988-1990; "Wow! What a great book. Finally, something that really gets it right. Thank you for capturing what was going on, the mood, everything." Adam Holzman, Miles's keyboardist and musical director 1985-1989; Wonderful job, congratulations! An immense amount of work must have gone into it, I can't even imagine. But it was very cool to see that era of Miles treated with the same respect as every other... someone gets it!" Benny Rietveld, Miles's bassist 1988-1990; "The most immediate impact that this book had on me was to make me listen again to Miles' later recordings with a completely regenerated ear and this really is the reason why this book works so well and is an essential read for any true Miles Davis appreciator... you will be hard pressed to find a more inspirational read, written by a man who quite simply loves Miles Davis' music." Mike Chadwick, Ejazz.fm; "As with any good musical biography, Cole had made me think again about those albums such as Siesta, You're Under Arrest, The Man with the Horn, that are now stashed in my attic." John Bungey, The Times; "Cole's analysis has a meticulous, forensic character... [and] is able to bring a wealth of new information to light...This book should get people talking. It should be the first rather than the last word on an intriguing chapter of the life an extraordinarily complex artist. And Davis's vanity would surely have loved that." Kevin Le Gendre, Independent on Sunday; "I thought it was wonderful. It's a very detailed look at a certain part of the career and life of Miles Davis. A lot of people didn't pay attention to this and I'm glad that George Cole took the time to focus on these final years of Miles's life." Easy Mo Bee, co-producer of Doo-Bop; "There are large chunks of fresh material here...Fill[s] in quite a few gaps and dismisses blanket condemnations of [Miles's] pop phase." Stephen Graham, Jazzwise; "Through lively analyses of all Miles' recorded work from this period and much that went unreleased, including the 'lost' album Rubberband, [Cole] does enough to send readers back to the original albums." Simon Evans, Choice; "GREATFUCKINJOBWITDABOOK" Foley, Miles's lead bassist 1987-1991; "The book is beautiful. I think you did a great job on covering Miles's life and legacy." Sid Reynolds, hip-hop producer; "It is truly an excellent body of work that literally takes a reader from hearing rumours to realising truths about the Chicago group and our collective take on the Miles Davis comeback." Glenn Burris, co-writer of "Shout"

Miles Davis was one of the musical giants of the twentieth century. In a career that spanned more than five decades, Miles transformed the face of jazz four or five times and his music resonates far beyond the bounds of his genre. Miles made the most famous album in the history of jazz, Kind of Blue, formed one of the greatest jazz quintets in the 1960s and fused jazz with rock. Including unique interviews with dozens of Miles' closest colleagues, many of whom have never before been interviewed about their time with him, The Last Miles concentrates on the final period of Miles' life, after he had emerged from a five-year lay-off from the world of music. Right up until the end of his life, he was still searching, still exploring and still refusing to play it safe. The focus is on the music Miles recorded and played, and how it evolved in the eyes of the musicians he played with. Those interviewed include, George Duke, Teo Macero, Tommy LiPuma, Marcus Miller, Darryl Jones and Easy Mo Bee. There are also interviews with musicians who played with Miles before the 1980s, including Dave Liebman, Pete Cosey, Michael Henderson and Mike Zwerin, who give their own assessment of the music Miles played during the final period of his life. Cheryl Davies, Miles' only daughter, is also interviewed. The Last Miles is full of fascinating new facts and stories about Miles. For the first time, every member of the group of young musicians from Chicago who helped bring Miles back into the music scene gives their story. Music journalist George Cole also reveals for the first time the full story behind a lost Miles Davis album recorded in 1985, tells you about a song Miles co-wrote for Mick Jagger, how he worked with Prince, and discovers new and unreleased music that Miles recorded. If you've ever wanted to know how Miles recruited his band members, what it was like working with Miles in the studio or to play with him on-stage, The Last Miles has the answers. There is at least one chapter devoted to each album that Miles recorded during this period. Full track-by-track descriptions contain many new and interesting tales behind the songs including how Sting came to record on one of Miles' tracks, why Prince dropped a song slated to appear on the Tutu album, how Gil Evans helped Miles compose many of the tunes on the album Star People, what Splatch means and who Ursula was.