Based on interviews with family and friends, this account of the jazz great's life reveals the influence of Miles Davis' life on his work as well as the musician's persistent desire to re-invent himself. Adult/High School-Szwed opens his work on this music legend with a warning to readers not to expect him to tell the man's full story. Indeed, this is not an introduction to Davis, and the book requires a fair degree of understanding of either jazz or the fundamentals of music. It's easy to come away with the impression that the cruelty with which Davis could treat himself and others was merely the price of genius, an argument that isn't addressed directly. For all this, though, the volume does deliver on what it sets out to do, which is to examine why Davis has been such a powerful and ubiquitous figure in the world of music. Szwed shows how his subject's art developed, examining both his evolving styles and the smaller, specific changes in the writing and playing of particular pieces by Davis and his bands. The author also illuminates the ways in which popular music developed during the second half of the 20th century. Those interested in the topic or in the process of musical creation in general will find this title well worth reading. Ted Westervelt, Library of Congress, Washington, DC Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. Miles Davis continues to attract attention despite having died more than ten years ago. We may never have a definitive biography, yet Szwed (Musser Professor of Anthropology, African American Studies, Music, and American Studies, Yale Univ.; Space Is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra) comes close to producing just that. Many musicians and family members provide "insider" knowledge that enhances the text, and Szwed shies away from the silly myths that surrounded Davis, thereby humanizing him. Davis is here revealed as a paradox: he antagonized friends and relatives, treating them poorly, yet held close to such family traditions as going home to St. Louis for Christmas every year. These seemingly contradictory traits made him appear more mysterious than need be, concludes Szwed. At once shy and malevolent, Davis often communicated with obscure language or expressions, but he always found ways to attract some of the finest musicians to his groups. Judging from the comments of many musicians who knew and worked with Davis-not to mention 40 years' worth of recordings-one can only conclude that he was a genius. If you have other Davis biographies you will need this one; it should inspire you either to begin or to continue building a comprehensive collection of his music. William G. Kenz, Minnesota State Univ., Moorhead Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. More than a decade after his death, Miles Davis remains an American icon of cool reserve and intensity, a legendary jazz figure despite the fact that he often disputed the very definition of jazz. Drawing on Miles' archives, interviews, and biographies, Szwed aims to "mediate" Miles' life story, "looking at the variety of meanings that were (and continue to be) projected onto him." Szwed recounts Miles' early life, growing up as the privileged son of a black dentist in East St. Louis. His acceptance to Julliard relocated Miles to New York and the emerging jazz scene there, even as he struggled to balance the demands of early fatherhood. Szwed details Miles' tempestuous relationship with other musicians--including such legends as Charlie Parker and John Coltrane--women, drugs, and even the music he made. Miles achieved a level of success unknown by most jazz musicians but courted controversy with his violence toward women, volatile personality, and changes in musical styles. This well-researched book will appeal to jazz lovers who can't get enough of the enigmatic musician. Vanessa Bush Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved John Szwed is the John M. Musser Professor of Anthropology, African American Studies, Music, and American Studies at Yale University. He is the author of a number of books, including an introductory book about jazz, Jazz 101, and a biography, Space Is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra. Used Book in Good Condition