Rating: 
Summary: Sizzling and engaging autobiography of Miles Davis
Review:
"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
Rating:
Summary: Sizzling and engaging autobiography of Miles Davis
Review:
"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
Rating: 
Summary: Good for Miles Davis fans
Review: After a close friend of mine bought me the classic jazz cd 'Kind of Blue' for my birthday a few years ago, I became a Miles Davis fan. This book takes you right through Miles' life and times, both the good and the bad. It is also written in Miles' language and for me this was a real capture of the man. I can't say that I agree with the foul language he consistently used though.
Rating:
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.
Rating:
Summary: essential insider's view of jazz history
Review: All of the comments above are valid, so I am not going to repeat that stuff. Read this book if you are into what was jazz music from the 1940s to 1980s. It is a great read. Recently, CNN ran a story about how jazz music is less than 2% of record sales now in the United States. Why might this situation be so? Miles explains why. He knew and predicted it in this book. The man's prescience is uncanny. See for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: excellent read
Review: Anytime someone allows his or her life story to be told, he leaves himself open to the judgments of the people who read it. After reading Miles, it is really easy to criticize Miles Davis for many of the decisions and actions he made in his life. But whether or not one likes the image that Mr. Davis carves out for himself has nothing to do with the merits of Miles as an autobiography. That said, it is excellent. Those interested in jazz and what goes on beyond the recordings and performances will be pleased to find countless anecdotes and stories about the men and women who created one of America's truly unique art forms. That was what originally attracted me to this book, although at first I was wary of reading it. I was influenced by other customer reviews who said that any reader of this book could not possibly like the man after knowing the details of his personal life. But the fact is, I gained a great deal of respect for Miles Davis as a man who made many mistakes in his life and who hurt a lot of people close to him, but was still honest enough to expose himself to the public. I also respect Miles Davis for his staunchly pro-black stance and the small battles he fought for black people throughout his life, which can (and was, and is) easily be misinterpreted for anti-white or pouty arrogance. But he was no racist; his selection of musicians through the years shows that he was committed to performing with the best artists he could surround himself with, black or white.
It must be said that I am a huge fan of Mr. Davis' music, and that I was only twelve years old when he died. I would not hate him for the mistakes he made, but rather accept him as a human being and learn from those mistakes by not repeating them in my own life. The autobiography is Miles' way of saying about his life what he said about his music, "if you like it, great; if you don't, f you."
Rating:
Summary: A didactic "Must-read" for Jazz lovers and music historians!
Review: As a Jazz lover, I can't help but consider this book a time machine into the past of jazz. I just finished reading it entirely for the second time (April & May of 2004). The first time I read it was 12 years ago (Spring of 1992). I have collected 3 Miles Davis box sets and a lot of his compact discs
in those 12 years, so reading the autogbiograpy this time around was much more like watching a movie.
I, myself, have also become much more of a musician in the
past 12 years, so I found the book to be very didactic when Mile's shared his thoughts on musical subjects such as the Egyptian mode, the modal conceptualization of songs (all the songs on "Kind of Blue"), using the Fender Rhodes electric piano to cushion his sound, and more.
For those who love John Coltrane, this book makes you feel even the slightest sense of knowing him a little; his extreme dedication to practicing and his repenting reassessment of his own life. Miles became good friends with Coltrane after he hired him into his band, yet they didn't spend much time together where
music was not concerned. Miles describes Trane's death as if it happened yesterday and it's extremely interesting to "hear" Miles
tell where Trane was musically right before he died in relation to the racial & social strife that the United States was experiencing in the 60's (this is even more poigniant when you have heard Trane's music from that period [read my review on "John Coltrane The Classic Quartet-The Complete Impulse Studio Recordings). I find it ironic that later in the book Miles mentions that he couldn't stand Trane's quartet at this period.
This is another major exciting thing about the book; it gives insight on other music greats that Miles knew personally,
like Charlie Parker (especially), Gil Evans, drummer, Philly Joe Jones, Billie Holliday and many others.
The part where Miles tells what he went through as a heroine
junkie is really heart-wrenching, and when he overcame that addiction, you really see and feel his cold-turkey withdrawl; he
overcame it out of self-determination. The last chapter of the book is a look into Miles' thoughts on life, women, racism, etc. He is quite the activist;
he never hated white people out of racism. He had an aversion to
white people because of all the racism that was enacted upon him. This book is musically and historically tremendous!!!
Rating:
Summary: A didactic "Must-read" for Jazz lovers and music historians!
Review: As a Jazz lover, I can't help but consider this book a time machine into the past of jazz. I just finished reading it entirely for the second time (April & May of 2004). The first time I read it was 12 years ago (Spring of 1992). I have collected 3 Miles Davis box sets and a lot of his compact discs
in those 12 years, so reading the autogbiograpy this time around was much more like watching a movie.
I, myself, have also become much more of a musician in the
past 12 years, so I found the book to be very didactic when Mile's shared his thoughts on musical subjects such as the Egyptian mode, the modal conceptualization of songs (all the songs on "Kind of Blue"), using the Fender Rhodes electric piano to cushion his sound, and more.
For those who love John Coltrane, this book makes you feel even the slightest sense of knowing him a little; his extreme dedication to practicing and his repenting reassessment of his own life. Miles became good friends with Coltrane after he hired him into his band, yet they didn't spend much time together where
music was not concerned. Miles describes Trane's death as if it happened yesterday and it's extremely interesting to "hear" Miles
tell where Trane was musically right before he died in relation to the racial & social strife that the United States was experiencing in the 60's (this is even more poigniant when you have heard Trane's music from that period [read my review on "John Coltrane The Classic Quartet-The Complete Impulse Studio Recordings). I find it ironic that later in the book Miles mentions that he couldn't stand Trane's quartet at this period.
This is another major exciting thing about the book; it gives insight on other music greats that Miles knew personally,
like Charlie Parker (especially), Gil Evans, drummer, Philly Joe Jones, Billie Holliday and many others.
The part where Miles tells what he went through as a heroine
junkie is really heart-wrenching, and when he overcame that addiction, you really see and feel his cold-turkey withdrawl; he
overcame it out of self-determination. The last chapter of the book is a look into Miles' thoughts on life, women, racism, etc. He is quite the activist;
he never hated white people out of racism. He had an aversion to
white people because of all the racism that was enacted upon him. This book is musically and historically tremendous!!!
Rating:
Summary: Greatest Autobio Ever!
Review: Brilliant book about jazz by a brilliant jazz man -- the antidote for all those boring academic white-guy books about "Amerika's Classical Music." (Prudes beware of the totally "vernacular" language -- how many times can you use the word "motherf---er" in one book? Read and find out!) Miles talks about the Life more than the Music, but when he does offer insights into his art they really make you think -- and listen anew. PS -- hilarious that they got LeVar Burton to read excerpts! Miles' voice was lower & huskier than Wolfman Jack's!!!!
Rating:
Summary: The Definitive Miles Review
Review: First let me say that I have read this book three times from cover to cover and a fourth time essentially all the way through and I plan to read this book many more times. It is the best book I have ever read and my favorite of all time. This truly is a circumstance where you don't even have to be a fan of Miles Davis music to enjoy this book...though unless you listen to his music you wouldn't be compelled to read this book most likely. Miles is an incredibly interesting man and this book talks about the man with almost a gloss over of all his music. This book treats the specifics and detailed descriptions of his music as trivial lingerings because there are none. I believe the most in depth description of an album came for Sketches Of Spain and ironically this was an album that Miles did not care for in the least. I have read reviews that claim Miles does a lot of whining in these pages and I would personally not want to read that and if I read it in a review I would not buy the book...understanding that I want to assure you that there is absolutely no whining. Another thing I have read is people saying how terrible a person he was...well I have to say after the first time I read Miles' book I didn't think much of him either and I was quite dissapointed in him. But by the second or third time I read the book I really began to understand the man and why he was the way he was, and I think he's a beautiful person...quite troubled...but still beautiful..but you must read the book a few times to really understand him. And Miles would be the first one to admit he had demons but he did finally learn to defeat them. I love reading the parts about the death's of his Father, Mother, and Gil Evans...Why? While it is very sad you really see the man in these moments and you see that for all his rudeness and cold disrespect at times...there is a very caring and sensitive man inside. Plus I believe a lot of Miles' rudeness was justified because of the way people treated him and in the same situation most of us would be the same type person. This book is about the man and reading it is like having Miles there with you and he does speak about the music too but don't buy it for that, because it is minimal, buy it because you want to learn about the man. I love Miles. This book is a Masterpiece.
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