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Miles: The Autobiography [Paperback]

Miles Davis , Quincy Troupe
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)


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Book Description

September 15, 1990
For more than forty years Miles Davis has been in the front rank of American music. Universally acclaimed as a musical genius, Miles is one of the most important and influential musicians in the world. The subject of several biographies, now Miles speaks out himself about his extraordinary life.

"Miles: The Autobiography, " like Miles himself, holds nothing back. For the first time Miles talks about his five-year silence. He speaks frankly and openly about his drug problem and how he overcame it. He condemns the racism he has encountered in the music business and in American society generally. And he discusses the women in his life. But above all, Miles talks about music and musicians, including the legends he has played with over the years: Bird, Dizzy, Monk, Trane, Mingus, and many others.

The man who has given us some of the most exciting music of the past few decades has now given us a compelling and fascinating autobiography, featuring a concise discography and thirty-two pages of photographs.



Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The brilliant bad man of jazz trumpetry unburdens himself of his hate and anger as well as of his good feelings about life, friendship, sex, drugs, women and cars. "On almost any score this is a remarkable book," observed PW. Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The Atlantic With Miles, Davis proves to be his own most perceptive critic. -- Review

Product Details

  • Paperback: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1ST edition (September 15, 1990)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0671725823
  • ISBN-13: 978-0671725822
  • Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,338 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

This book is a must read for all true jazz lovers. Donny Thompson  |  26 reviewers made a similar statement
He tells it like he sees it. M. Allen Greenbaum  |  15 reviewers made a similar statement
All in all, very good book and not even a single second of your time is wasted while reading it. Ekrem Kocaguneli  |  12 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
77 of 77 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Miles Ahead: A No-Holds Barred Autobiography November 4, 2000
Format:Paperback
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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79 of 87 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars The End of Idolatry November 11, 2005
Format:Paperback
Miles Davis' autobiography is absorbing reading and should be read by anybody interested in the history of Jazz or the social history of Davis' era. That said, it will be a disappointment to anybody who is really awed by Davis.

I initially read this book early in college when I was first getting into modal jazz, and I loved hearing about the scene and the times, and hearing about in Mile's voice. But I was crestfallen over how unrepentant he was and the overall defensive agenda he has, using his autobiography mainly as a forum to list and dispute things that have been said about him over the years. For example, I was reading about how he used and abused women and I kept waiting to hear him say how ashamed he is looking back, or how bad he felt, or how he tried to rectify the situation. I thought it was coming anytime, a chapter, a paragraph, or even a sentence. But it doesn't happen.

My initial reading of Miles was right around the time I read Flashbacks, the Timothy Leary autobiography. Both books had multiple sections that fit the basic format: "Now, people said that... but what really happened was..." What do you know, it turns out that our heroes have accumulated injustices from everyone but have actually never done anything wrong in their entire lives. I put these books down, disillusioned, and had come to the realization that there were no heroes. Even people I respect or am fascinated by, compelling historical figures, accomplished, if given the opportunity to immortalize themselves in their own words, will reveal themselves to be narcissistic, applause-addicted, blowhards. Oh well, I guess that's part of growing up.

Miles Davis' contributions to art are undeniable, and I recommend this book, but prepare to grapple with the ambiguities of simultaneous reverence and abhorrence.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars An important work of history and honest soul searching September 28, 1999
Format:Paperback
Miles Davis, with all his faults, flaws and laughable quirks, was still one of the most important musicians of the twentieth century. It takes a book like this where he leaves no stone unturned to make clear the debt we all owe him and his contemporaries, as well as the restless spirit that lead him beyond what he helped to establish as modern jazz. In many ways he shows himself to be, ironically, the archetypal and sterotypical artist simultaneously. Yet his telling of the profound friendships he had with Max Roach and Coltrane, his deep awe and respect but dispassionate eye for the genius and addictions of Charlie Parker, the loves of his life- and what he put them through, and his brutal, courageous hoonesty in general, gives us a gift of his haunting humanity.

But above all, this about the music. His own telling of his style, the true creators of the form in total and the actual environment where it was produced, and how he created so many styles of his own is enough to make this book worth having.

You will never find another human being who can make curse words sound so beautiful!

If you love jazz, or are a jazz musician, this book will remind you why. And why you love Miles. Everybody does.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Miles Unvarnished
I'm not a big fan of oral histories as autobiography, but this is an exception, because it's packed to the gills with colorful anecdotes. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Peter Baklava
5.0 out of 5 stars Inside jazz for 5 decades
Captures the essence of Miles - wild, carefree, bizarre, and brilliant musician. Also, captures a very special and unique half century
of the rise and fall of jazz in America. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ken Marineau
5.0 out of 5 stars The Bible Of Jazz!
This is one of the best autobiographys that I have ever read. Miles Davis delivers on this outstanding book at the same level as his musical masterpieces! Read more
Published 12 months ago by Z-ROY
2.0 out of 5 stars Miles The Autobiography
I read about 25% of the text. Gave up reading any more because of the excessive use of foul language. Enough said.
Published 15 months ago by Stanley Lehrer
1.0 out of 5 stars Slow moving and profanity laden
As much as I like Miles' music and want to learn more about him, as the title says, this book is EXTREMELY slow moving and profanity laden. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Ex Republican
5.0 out of 5 stars Miles Tells it well.
Great autobiography. Miles was a serious foul mouth and it totally works with the writing. He hates white people, but his best friend, Gil Evans was white. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Dave Naz
5.0 out of 5 stars And Miles to go before I sleep, And Miles to go before I sleep!!
Miles was a troubled genius. He had a lot of serious issues. If you have time, check this book out. You won't be able to put it down. It is a great read!!
Published on December 2, 2010 by NAKIA TALLEY
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best biographies I have ever read.
This is a must buy for those interested in the life of Miles Davis. Not only a phenomenal trumpet player, but also one of the most alluring personalities to ever grace the jazz... Read more
Published on August 28, 2010 by Gregory Hill
5.0 out of 5 stars Really great book.
A lot of jazz history inside it. Great to understand Miles's background and roots. In this book he says a lot about the jazz developing, the backstage, drugs, racial problems in... Read more
Published on August 12, 2010 by VFC
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent man, excellent book
I do not know if editing made this book that awesome or whether Miles Davis is such a great guy (I believe in the latter), but once you start reading it, it is very hard to put the... Read more
Published on July 29, 2010 by Ekrem Kocaguneli
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