'Round About Midnight: A Portrait of Miles Davis

Rating:
Summary: Excellent portrayal of a great musician.
Review: 'Round About Midnight is an excellent book about and man, his music, & how he evolved to be one of the most important musicians & trumpeter of the 20th century. Shows the true essence and personality of a controversial man & musician who always spoke the truth about himself, his music, & those around him.....Along with the book by Quincy Troupe, it is a must for any avid Jazz afficionado. Very enjoyable reading and I, for one, will always cherish it & no doubt read again and again.... Thank you Mr. Nisenson for this good piece of writing.......

Rating:
Summary: This is a great place to start!
Review: A truly engrossing book, full of classic stories and memories of recording sessions. A great primer for the new Miles fan. Check it out.

Rating:
Summary: This is a great place to start!
Review: A truly engrossing book, full of classic stories and memories of recording sessions. A great primer for the new Miles fan. Check it out.

Rating:
Summary: ANother Great Book
Review: I Never get tired of Reading about Miles Davis.and this Book is Very well done.Eric Nisenson does a Fantastic Job Here Detailing The Life&Times of The Man.all of his Musical Heroes&Those He Inspired which were many.Miles Davis is one of the Greatest Teachers of Music that the Music World has ever Heard.&Also Very Black&Proud.Miles was A Brother He Never Sold-Out&was His Own Man.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book that Any Miles Fan Should Read
Review: I really enjoyed this book, and tore through it as fast as I could while still reading it carefully. Author Eric Nisenson is to be commended for the insights he provides into the career and character of Miles Davis. Nisenson covers his entire career and life, from birth to death, even though many periods are summed up too quickly, and I was often left wanting more detail.

That said, if I had not read this "updated edition" of the book, I might not be so full of praise. Nisenson's original version of this biography was released in 1982, and this updated version came out in 1996. Nisenson adds a Preface, and a few chapters to the end of the book. These additions are, to me, the heart of the book. As I said, Nisenson does a fine job covering Miles's career in the body of the book, and the author appears to have a greater understanding of the character and true essence of Miles Davis than anyone else that I've read. This is definitely the story of Miles Davis through the lens of the author's experience, and Nisenson knew Davis personally and understands him well. However, it was the new material that provided the greatest insights for me.

First, in the new Preface, Nisenson writes about the time that he knew Miles Davis, when Miles was in "retirement," and when they were working on this book together (Miles pulled out of the project later because publishers insisted that he help publicize the book, and he was not interested in doing so at the time.). These glimpses into Miles's personal life and character are revealing. Most startling to me was the revelation that Miles Davis had, in Nisenson's words, "beaten and abused women throughout his life." Nisenson laments the fact that, despite the fact that Miles "brutally abused women" was "well known throughout the jazz community," few, if any, jazz critics or biographers, have seen fit to mention it. I give Nisenson a lot of credit for taking himself to task for not addressing the issue in his original edition of "'Round About Midnight." He writes:

"But now, after ther O.J. Simpson affair, I really think it is time to view such activity for what it is--sick and evil. I guess when I wrote this book I still thought of Miles as a friend, but there is really no excuse. It amazes me how people like Miles can scream about the evils of racism--rightly so--and then continually abuse women. What utter hypocrisy."

Bravo, Mr. Nisenson. It does not serve anyone well to deify this musical genius without remembering the "sick and evil" parts of his character.

Nisenson also adds a couple of chapters to the end of the book. These were extremely revealing to me. In the chapter called "Phoenix," Nisenson provides great insight into the post-"retirement" phase of Miles's career, the utter absurdity and banality of which has always perplexed me. The final chapter, before a useful abridged discography, addresses the question "who was Miles Davis" and debunks and deconstructs the oft-repeated myth that he "changed music four or five times."

The reason for the lack of a fifth star in my rating is due to a two flaws in the book: One, it lacks detail too much of the time and sums things up to quickly. This book should be about twice as long as it is. And two, there are some mistakes in the not-detailed-enough documentation of Miles's recording sessions.

Despite these flaws, I strongly recommend the purchase of this book.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book that Any Miles Fan Should Read
Review: I really enjoyed this book, and tore through it as fast as I could while still reading it carefully. Author Eric Nisenson is to be commended for the insights he provides into the career and character of Miles Davis. Nisenson covers his entire career and life, from birth to death, even though many periods are summed up too quickly, and I was often left wanting more detail.

That said, if I had not read this "updated edition" of the book, I might not be so full of praise. Nisenson's original version of this biography was released in 1982, and this updated version came out in 1996. Nisenson adds a Preface, and a few chapters to the end of the book. These additions are, to me, the heart of the book. As I said, Nisenson does a fine job covering Miles's career in the body of the book, and the author appears to have a greater understanding of the character and true essence of Miles Davis than anyone else that I've read. This is definitely the story of Miles Davis through the lens of the author's experience, and Nisenson knew Davis personally and understands him well. However, it was the new material that provided the greatest insights for me.

First, in the new Preface, Nisenson writes about the time that he knew Miles Davis, when Miles was in "retirement," and when they were working on this book together (Miles pulled out of the project later because publishers insisted that he help publicize the book, and he was not interested in doing so at the time.). These glimpses into Miles's personal life and character are revealing. Most startling to me was the revelation that Miles Davis had, in Nisenson's words, "beaten and abused women throughout his life." Nisenson laments the fact that, despite the fact that Miles "brutally abused women" was "well known throughout the jazz community," few, if any, jazz critics or biographers, have seen fit to mention it. I give Nisenson a lot of credit for taking himself to task for not addressing the issue in his original edition of "'Round About Midnight." He writes:

"But now, after ther O.J. Simpson affair, I really think it is time to view such activity for what it is--sick and evil. I guess when I wrote this book I still thought of Miles as a friend, but there is really no excuse. It amazes me how people like Miles can scream about the evils of racism--rightly so--and then continually abuse women. What utter hypocrisy."

Bravo, Mr. Nisenson. It does not serve anyone well to deify this musical genius without remembering the "sick and evil" parts of his character.

Nisenson also adds a couple of chapters to the end of the book. These were extremely revealing to me. In the chapter called "Phoenix," Nisenson provides great insight into the post-"retirement" phase of Miles's career, the utter absurdity and banality of which has always perplexed me. The final chapter, before a useful abridged discography, addresses the question "who was Miles Davis" and debunks and deconstructs the oft-repeated myth that he "changed music four or five times."

The reason for the lack of a fifth star in my rating is due to a two flaws in the book: One, it lacks detail too much of the time and sums things up to quickly. This book should be about twice as long as it is. And two, there are some mistakes in the not-detailed-enough documentation of Miles's recording sessions.

Despite these flaws, I strongly recommend the purchase of this book.

Rating:
Summary: Not just another Miles biography
Review: If you want the ultimate Miles biography, get the Jack Chambers one. This book, at 300 pages, is sketchy in comparison. It is almost criminally negligent about Miles' music of the 60's and 70's.

What makes it worth reading, however, is Mr. Nisenson's personal memoirs. The preface is called "Hangin' Out with Daffy Davis". In it, he tells how he went from idolizing Miles when he was a teenager to a situation where his phone would ring late at night and he would groan, "Oh no, it's that damned Miles again!" We've all heard that Miles wasn't a saint; this edition of Nisenson's portrait confirms it.

Despite my earlier comments, Nisenson is an excellent author and "'Round About Midnight" is a very enjoyable read. So if you buy all good books on Miles or you'd like to hear something a little different about him, get it. (After you read it, by the way, think about the fact that this guy did not rate one mention in Miles' autobiography.) If you want only one Miles bio, however, it's got to be the Jack Chambers or the Ian Carr one.

Rating:
Summary: MILES PICKED UP WHERE BE-BOP LEFT OFF
Review: MILES, ONE OF THE MOST POTENT TRUMPETS TO COME OFF 52ND STREET. HE WAS THE SHY RELUCTANT UNDER STUDY OF THE GREAT BEBOP GURU, CHARLIE(BIRD)PARKER AND THE STUDENT OF DIZZY. WEANED ON CLARK TERRY,ELWOOD BUCHANAN REMAINED HIS MENTOR.MILES BECAME THE MENTOR TO COLTRANE,AND MONK.FROM THE PIT OF HERION ADDICTION, TO THE PENECALE OF JAZZ AVATAR AND BEYOND.MILES DAVIS THE MAN, THE ARTIST, THE EXPLORER OF JAZZ HORZIONS. THIS BOOK WAS GREAT FROM COVER TO COVER, EACH TIME I HAVE READ IT.

Rating:
Summary: Memories make the book!
Review: This book is made awesome by the recollections by its author, Eric Nisenson. To read the excerpts from Nisenson's interactions with Miles gives the book a closeness that is only attainable by personal experiences. The reader is drawn to it, the riveting detail transforms the words into a vivid picture in which the reader sees him/herself in Miles' living- room, hearing that classical rasp of his. Definitely a must read for all those interested in Western music.

Rating:
Summary: Memories make the book!
Review: This book is made awesome by the recollections by its author, Eric Nisenson. To read the excerpts from Nisenson's interactions with Miles gives the book a closeness that is only attainable by personal experiences. The reader is drawn to it, the riveting detail transforms the words into a vivid picture in which the reader sees him/herself in Miles' living- room, hearing that classical rasp of his. Definitely a must read for all those interested in Western music.