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Summary: underneath, he was an ugly man, but his music is still great
Review: 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 engineered appearence served as a way to distinguish myself from my adolescent peers who preferred rock stars. I own at least half of the albums he made and still find new things in them whenever I listen to them. There is genius in what he created.Unfortunately, reading his story in his own words took more away than it gave me. Miles Davis is, in short, a horrible person: full of bitterness and hatred, despising women while exploiting them, and narcissistic to his very core. His views are primitive and bigoted, so politically uncorrect that it demonstrates why PC is not all bad! He was also wantonly self-destructive and frequently drug addicted, for which he offers neither lessons nor apologies. The lack of care and humility in the way he reveals all of this is truly stunning and crude, written as it is in a ridiculously self-conscious black jive. He literally embodies the notion that there is a destructive side to all creativity. That being said, the book also offers a fascinating history of jazz, the major movements of which he changed or affected fundamentally at least 4 or 5 times from 1940 to about 1977. It was an amazing career, and a great gift to us all. And in this book, he offers himself up naked and scarred.
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Summary: A masterpiece in self-indulgence
Review: I know that Miles Davis is regarded as a legend in music. Whatever. I bought Kind of Blue and have enjoyed it OK. So then I get this autobiography as kind of a follow-up to learn more about him. I've never heard more whining from one individual in my entire life. Bitching, moaning and whining about just about everything. If he's not complaining about the white man he's telling you how he's influenced every musician you've ever heard of. It bugs me all his whining because he was priveleged and born into a fairly wealthy family. It bugs me that all he says about his sons were that they were a disapointment to him, yet he relied on his father well into his 30's. He was probably a bigger disapointment to his sons than they were to him. Maybe Miles Davis was talented, that's not for me to say. But if this book is a reflection of the man, he sures seems like a shallow, selfish, spoiled little boy.
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Summary: A must-read for jazz listeners
Review: I stayed up all night reading this, riveted to my chair -- it was like sitting in a hotel room with Miles, listening to him rap about his life. You begin to understand the man, and what it was like to be black in 1940s and 50s America, and why he almost hated white people (he didn't, really, but he remained deeply suspicious of them throughout his life, and after you read this book you'll understand why). You also dig the presence of Charlier Parker, Sonny Rollins, and take an armchair ride on their musical quests.
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Summary: Cleaner than a broke ---- dog
Review: This is a magnificent book! The text reads as if Miles is talking (and brandishing his patented, colorfully profane language) right in your face. Though Miles regrets his misogynistic past, casual readers should beware: this is honest and brutal storytelling. The book's vivid prose will whirl you away like you're riding atop an impossibly transcendent trumpet solo. Hip hip hooray for Miles Davis! Hooo-eee!
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Summary: KNOCK OUT!
Review: Firstly, anyone that really loves a good autibiography filled with raw emotion can appreciate this book. True, avid Jazz fans will love it, but it's not tailor made for them. This story lacks the technical jargon that only jazz fanatics can dismenate. It explains the personal ups and downs that Miles endured during his career. The eager prodigy who burst upon the bebop scenes in the 1940's with giants like Charlie Parker and Billy Eckstine is chronicled with an astute visualation. Miles almost seems to be impressing his macho image upon Troupe at times. We are constantly reminded of Miles' "no nonsense" attitude on several matters. This book can be both disturbing and hilarious at the same time. Miles depiction of jazz icons Eckstine and Parker is filled with colorful "witty" dialogue. I truly loved this book. I can't imagine the excitement the author must have felt absorbing this wonderful story!
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Summary: the Real Miles
Review: After finishing this one, I felt like I had been hanging out with Miles for a week. I was mad at him, and in awe of him at the same time. This guy was like the Picasso of jazz...he led it and reinvented it, over and over again. His story, starting with Charlie Parker and ending with the dance oriented stuff he did that many hated, is loaded with great stuff about many of the main players of that forty year period. Like all truly seminal artists, Miles single mindedly, brilliantly and passionately pursued his music without worrying about the carping of critics and traditionalists. The results were amazing. Darker and less amazing was the emotional and personal wreakage he brought to himself and those closest to him. This is a great example of autobiography...it reads like Miles' collaborator Quincy Troupe just typed the words down after they were tape recorded. The result is a free flowing, profane and somewhat quirky style that lets you really experience Miles and his times. Read it with his trumpet in the background and you'll enjoy one of the richest jazz experiences you could ever have.
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Summary: Miles Ahead: A No-Holds Barred Autobiography
Review: This is a superb book, but not for the easily offended. Miles' autobiography reveals a hardworking, supremely talented musician who challenged himself continually as he, time after time, reinvented jazz. Yet Miles Davis is full of contradictions; the victim of racism; he rails, at times, against whites, yet plays with and respects them. His attitudes and behavior toward women can be appalling, yet he had a tender, generous side, and admits (and also denies) his faults. As far as I can tell, Miles is Miles in this book, and if there are contradictions in his story, it's because there are contradictions in the man. Some people have complained that there is not enough analysis of his music in the book, but your ears will tell you more than any technical explanation. He talks of his early days at Juilliard, skipping the school to play with Bird and others in New York, his courageous "cold turkey" quitting of heroin, his abuse by police, and the various bands and movements he led. Lots of amusing (and tragic) anecdotes, comments on other musicians, insights into his wide-ranging tastes, and interesting sidelights (he and Jimi Hendrix almost made an album together). Miles Davis is candid, and quite generous with his use of obscenities--but no matter. He tells it like he sees it. One gets the impression that if the man is flawed, and his recollections perhaps self-serving at times, he at least is being as honest as he can be with himself. We really don't know, just as we can't really know all the "true facts" in any autobiography. His music is unspeakably beautiful, and one may wonder how his music seems to transcend both his victimization and his own prejudice. But then, maybe that is our bias: To try to fit Miles into some definition that would explain these seeming incongruities. Miles defies categorization, and that is the challenge and the beauty of the book: To take it on its own terms, to accept the complexity of the man, flaws and all (as we are all flawed), and then to be thankful that Miles smiled on us. This is a landmark of autobiography, transposing the seen and the felt. The book makes you think, and would be an excellent choice for a book club or classroom. Very highly recommended, one of the best books ever written about one musician's personal journey.
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Summary: Meet the "black Jesus" archetype.
Review: This artist was fantastic, breathtaking in the way he carried himself, his music, and his life in general. He was messianic in terms of what he brought to jazz, a saving grace when jazz music languished on shelves untouched by consumer hands. He worked, baby, to rise above the strict confines of his race, striving not to be a black man, not to be a jazz artist, but to be just a man, just an artist. When drugs worked their evil hoodoo to take him out of the game, he launched a pre-emptive strike and used the time gone to fight his way up from hell. Brutally honest and outstanding to read. The last angry man, he isn't. But the last angry great man, he just might have been.
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Summary: Engaging, as is he
Review: Many will argue that Miles Davis is the single most important individual contributor to American music. Whether this is true or not, his life as well as his music is certainly worth a close examination. ...For those like me wondering what he thought, this work was eagerly awaited. Miles starts with his childhood, and quickly moves into his early love of music and his more formal training. He speaks candidly of the many individuals with whom he helped shape jazz music, like Bird, Dizzy, Jones, Trane and a host of others. Interestingly, he projects that jazz will continue drawing fewer and fewer fans as the years pass. Perhaps another innovator like Miles Davis will come along before it is too late, and save this particularly American art form. My only complaint? The book is too real. I found the incessant obscenity much too distracting. ...After a short time, it loses its punch. The only thing missing would have been a soundtrack. A couple of his boxed sets to go along with this work is the only necessary accessory.
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Summary: Honest and Open
Review: In Miles Davis' autobiography Miles tells everything in an open and honest manner, maybe to some degree too open and honest, some of his information in this book makes other musicians look bad. He talks openly about which guys did heroin, and who he had aruguments with and much, much more. What is even better is that Miles speaks candidly about his own problems in life, he covers his coke addiction (which was one of the reasons he retired for about 6 years), his heroin addiction, his sex life, ect. Miles also openly displays his opinions about everything, reading this book makes me feel like I've had a deep conversation with Miles. His writing is vulgar (this book has about a million cuss words), which adds to the feeling that he's telling his life story naturally without any interference from his editor. In this autobiography Miles Davis' entire life is covered in a well detailed fashion, with many great stories thrown in for entertainment. This is the best autobiography I've read, and I throughly recommend it to all Miles Davis fans.
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