Customer Reviews

Milestones: The Music And Times Of Miles Davis

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

By the time I found out about Jack Chambers' Miles biographies (two volumes, originally) they had been combined into this single book with some new material that brings the original manuscripts from the 1980's up to date. Despite the heading on this site, this is the complete 800-odd page monster bio, not an "introduction"!

This is a fantastic bio. Like many other critics and older fans who were raised on jazz, Chambers can't really relate to Miles' work from the late 1960's onwards, but he does give it comprehensive coverage, rather than pretend that it all ended with "The Quintet". I'm not sure that criticisms about his quoting reviews are justified. I saw it as just being thorough - giving details of the critics' reactions to recordings rather than just his own. I learned much from his chronicling of events, right through to the seventies, that I did not know.

If you are a fan of Miles' final period (1981 comeback to his death in 1991), then you're probably the only one who will feel short-changed. As this was not a period that interested me greatly, I was not particularly bothered (probably exhausted by then!).

A really professional effort.

Jack Chambers has done a very hard task and that is to present the life of the legendary Miles Davis to readers in a very interesting, yet complex style which was reflective of the way Miles Davis led his life and music.

Miles Davis was the premiere jazz musician of his time along with John Coltrane, Charlie "Bird" Parker, Herbie Hancock, etc, yet while you can love Davis's music, to know the man was very hard to do, since Miles Davis was a standoffish and sullen individual. Chambers describes Davis's behavior as being sullen and hard to know because Davis's was a very shy man. I am sure that Davis lived a tough life because of injustice, yet it is sad that he didn't trust his fans and those who cared for him. Davis certainly lived the life of a "star", he over-indulged in sex, was an abuser of drugs, and had split personalities later on in life, yet his musical vision was almost always focused and clear, whether it be in the pinnacle of his talent (1950-1962), or his creating fusion (1967-1973), or the later part of his life.

Chambers does an excellent job of detailing the relationship Miles had with his fellow musicians such as the love-hate relationship with Theolonius Monk, the admiration and jealousy between Coltrane and Miles, as well as Miles being a mentor to such jazz greats as Herbie Hancock, John McGlaughlin, Chick Corea, etc.

I am a tremendous fan of Miles Davis jazz visions, I love his music and his musical style, yet after reading this book I feel sadness because I don't know if I pity Davis or just not liking him altogether, or admiring him no matter what, his final years were spent in paranoia, suspicion and feeding his ego, that is sad because if he would of just relaxed and enjoy his fans admiration I believe he might have lived longer. Anyways, this is an outstanding book and is highly recommended to all jazz lovers and fans of the immortal Miles Davis.

Re-read Review: I still consider this a great source of information but the writing style is horrible. Chambers uses $5.00 words like "lugubrious" as adjectives all over the place. Good writing speaks to the reader in every day speech. Who the heck uses words like lugubrious in every day speech? And his use of adjectives doesn't make sense. "the lugubriously titled Miles Smiles"... What? Why is that lugubrious (mournful)? Or describing the melody of Paraphernalia from Miles in the Sky as "doleful". What? I think Chambers is probably in need of a good anti-depressant. I also fail to see why it is necessary for Chambers to give HIS opinion of the music that was recorded or performed. I could not care less what Chambers or any other Miles biographer thinks of the music. That is NOT the reason I read these books, I'm in search of information so that I can understand the guy's music and his career. I don't care what the writer thinks of the music, it's a waste of typset and ink.

Original Review:
Yes, this is THE source for information on Miles Davis' career. It should get five stars but there is a major sticking point for me. The book pretty much sticks to the musical aspects of Miles' life and it is chock-full of great information about line-ups, tours, recording dates.

I love all of Miles' work from his days with Parker until the day he died. It ALL has its place. Given that, I have a very serious problem with this book. Chambers is incredibly biased against Miles work from In a Silent Way onwards. He delivers many judgments about some recorded performances a "failures". He has very few positive things to say about this period. His comments about Big Fun and On the Corner (now considered far ahead of its time and a masterpiece) are inexcusable. He claims any listener to the music on Big Fun will find it frustratingly boring. Speak for yourself Chambers, Big Fun was the very record that got me into Miles Davis. If it's so lousy, why is it still in print in both a 24 bit remaster AND SACD? Chambers describes "He Loved Him Madly" from "Get Up With It" as "monochratic" and asserts it is incapable of sustaining the listener's interest. What? Again, if it's so boring, why is "Get Up With It" still in print and beautifully remastered 27 years after its initial release? SOMEbody is buying this stuff. We know who we are ;-)

I believe most folks don't read a book like this because they want a critique, they want information and perhaps insights from the folks who were there, playing the music, producing the music, etc. The information is here in this book, but the reader has to put up with Chamber's shallow opinions about Miles' later work. His comments about the Cellar Door gig with McLaughlin are ridiculous - especially given we can now actually hear much of those performances on the Cellar Door Sessions and that this was an incredibly good band with or without McLaughlin.

Chambers also prefaced this new edition with a long diatribe about Miles' last decade, calling him "Freaky Deaky" and making lots of plagerism complaints, i.e. Miles ripped off many of Chambers accounts and stories to create his autobiography. That may be a very valid point but I didn't buy this book to read about that sort of thing. So what, Chambers is upset that an old man who always claimed to have a poor memory used his book to recall some of the instances of his own life? Pathetic. Chambers forgets that he's made a handsome profit off of the life of Miles Dewey Davis. If Chambers felt he just HAD to include it, then it should have appeared as an epilogue not as a prologue full of sour grapes.

If you want to learn a lot about Miles, this is definitely THE book to purchase, but ya sure have to endure a lot of the author's sour grapes and subjective, snotty criticism to get the goods.

"Milestones" is THE Miles Davis book to read. It has a wealth of knowledge of recording information, including Miles' early days as a sideman for Charlie Parker (which includes details of their rocky frienship). There is also a great account of the evolution of jazz and reveals the trials faced by upcoming jazzmen in the early 20th century. The book deals with Miles' problems with women, drugs and his 6-year seclusion without hype or pompousness, as well as his sometimes unusual method of recruiting musicians. It also puts to print the never-ending health problems Miles had that metaphorically ended up in the wailing of his trumpet (after reading it you will probably never hear of or know anyone who dealt with so many illnesses & ailments as much as Miles; it's a miracle he lived to be 65).

Many of Chambers' details surrounding his life would be plagarized by Miles' himself in his own wild autobiography. This is a must-read for fans who wish to know the man inside the maniac.

This is probably the best book about the life of Miles Davis I have found. I have read his autobiography, the biography by Carr, and So What along with a couple of other Miles books. This one simply gives the best detail and most interesting about the artists life. If you want to read a book about Miles Davis start with this one. It is quite lenghty but there weren't many dull moments in Davis's life.

This book was a tough read for me (and apparantly for most of the reviewers before me), as I had read excerpts from it years ago and it infuriated me and interested me simultaneously. I had already read Miles' Autobiography, Ian Carr's 'The Definitive Biography' (which may not have been definitive, but was a much more level-headed, even-handed and sympathetic work than this could ever dream of being), 'So What', 'The Man With The Green Shirt' and the 'Downbeat Hall of Fame Reader' books on Miles, so I believe I already had a grasp on the man as much as anyone needs to dwell on the demons, drugs and dirt that were NOT the embodiment of this great shamanistic genius. Great artists don't ask or need to be liked or loved personally to be appreciated for their contributions to an art form, and no one in jazz made more contributions than Miles.

More a critique and discography than a true biography, this book by Chambers suffers from a virulent lack of objectivity when it covers anything from 'In a Silent Way' onwards; this probably due to the fact that it was originally written prior to the reassessment and re-release of Miles' work from 1969 onward. In the same exact way that all jazz journalists who once lauded and benighted the incomparable Tony Williams when he was a member of the Quintet later turned on him like rabid scrap yard dogs when he formed Lifetime and began the Jazz-Rock movement (it was Tony, not Miles who ushered in this new genre, truth be told - Miles gave birth to fusion, and there IS a difference), declaring him a turncoat and dismissing his entire output thereafter; the purists also reviled and detested Miles for his embracing this new music and incorporating it by going electric. The same thing happened to Dylan when he plugged in; the folkies declared him a sellout and blasphemer. To trash albums like 'On the Corner', 'Big Fun' and 'Jack Johnson' is not just short-sighted, it's downright sacrilegious. Chambers' refusal to neutrally assess these works among others, instead offering vapid opinions and utilizing/quoting other like-minded reviewers from those days to lend credence to bolster his argument make me wonder if he and Albert Goldman (who wrote the criminally disgraceful bio on John Lennon) were journalistic roommates. Biased, bitter, condescending and sometimes highly inaccurate, this book infuriated me after I decided to finally submit and read it. Tip: take your blood pressure meds before you embark on this journey.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I will state that this book provides a wealth of information about recording dates, historical perspectives, album dissections and probably the best overview of his output up to 'Silent Way'. If you're only going to read one book on Miles, read his autobiography. If you read two, this is also essential, though be warned that you won't really like the man himself after putting it down - it's that distorted. Add Carr's 'Definitive Bio' and 'So What' to the list and you'll really come to grips with this eternal enigma. When a giant of this stature has lived and himself created as many legends as Miles, and those who met him fabricate twice as many tales to make themselves a part of this history, the exaggerations will undoubtedly blossom corruptively into an even larger and less accurate picture that won't be very pretty. Who cares? It's the music, not the toilet-flushings that will forever be remembered. This is an important book on the most important figure in jazz, but it suffers from the resentful fever dream of a writer who cannot reconcile why he wasn't asked to co-author the autobiography instead of Quincy Troupe. (Maybe he should have been). Not that I'm enamored with Troupe either; his vacuous follow-up penned after Miles had passed, 'Miles and Me', had nothing good to state after the great man had gone; groping for substance everywhere and finding none, he resorted to making blind, completely unfounded allegations like Miles had a sexual predator relationship with Tony Williams when he was underage(WTF). Despicable comments from seemingly despicable people, bio writers are a blasphemous, bottom-feeding bunch attempting to elevate themselves while they smash the pedestals they once built for others. It's like Frank Zappa said - "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture". This may be an essential read, but not an endearing one...

A new edition of a two volume set in a single volume.

A very honest and accurate tome. For the serious, as there's not much sensationalism or photos here. The focus is on musical development, Miles' ability to assemble incredible ensembles, collaborators and a hint of how he made the choices he made. Many comments & notes about his influences and those he influenced through the University of Miles Davis.

The book has the best comprehensive synopsis of every record, every session, every club recording, ever made of the Man. Its insane, borderline obsessive and gets overwhelming; but, if you know the music it's worth going through. Especially while listening to the recordings. Prepare for your robust Miles collection to look limp compared to the exhaustive list in this 800+ page number. No matter how much you thought you knew there's tons to glean from this book. You will hear the recordings in a different light under the influence of this book. It also makes an great reference. Definitive enought to settle any arguements over recordings, personnel, location, etc.

I recall a fair amount of personal information regarding his health, habits and situations. But that's not what you pick up this book for as it stays fairly distant and biographical. More facts than fanzine. But good background on how his business worked and got mean at times.

Far superior to the self titled ~autobiography :

"...I never read it..." says Miles about the book Miles on 60 Minutes.

A fine book.
But Chambers is also slightly upset, I think, that Quincy Troupe got to work with Miles on his autobiography and not he -- and what Chambers' book is missing is exactly the kind of personal material (and voice) you find in Miles' autiobiograpy ("Miles").
The best thing about this book is the discussion of the wider context of Miles' music and performance ("the times"), but without Miles own voice it degenerates through the end of Part Two into a kind of annotated discography (mind you -- that's not all bad -- it is accurate and gave me a few ideas for out of the way purchases).
So, I recommend reading both this book and "Miles", for a complete picture.

I haven't read every Miles Davis bio - in particular, John Szwed's more recent book has gotten good reviews and therefore may end up replacing this one as a standard, comprehensive reference.

"Comprehensive" is probably this book's biggest asset - it tries to cover every item that Davis recorded (and released) before the mid-1980s. Written by a non-musician, it is accessible to laymen.

Unfortunately, there are significant shortcomings. Probably foremost is the author's bias against Davis's music from 1965 onward. Reading his commentary on the 2nd quintet and electric eras, you get the feeling that he doesn't "get" the music and is incapable of discussing it in an insightful manner. This is not the place to go for a substantive discussion of Sorcerer, B's Brew or Agharta. These shortcomings also come through in his commentary of the cultural context for post-1965 recordings.

There are also numerous errors in the discographical sections. Some of this couldn't have been avoided (when Chambers wrote the book, he didn't have the extensive online sessionographies we have today). Other mistakes are fairly obvious to serious listeners, and make me wonder whether Chambers actually listened to the recordings he reviews. Either way, for this information you're better off using another source.

Finally, Chambers uses no primary sources. This is a real shame as he wrote the book when Miles and a larger number of his sidemen were alive. His secondary sources are fairly wide-ranging, but surely we could have gotten more insight from the musicians themselves.

One aspect that was not a shortcoming to me, but may be more problematic to others, is the relatively cursory discussion of Davis's personal life. It's discussed when necessary, but Chambers is much more interested in the music than the man.

When I picked up this book, I had maybe 15-20 Miles Davis albums and this volume piqued my interest enough to pick up many more. In particular, his discussion of the Christmas Eve 1954 prompted me to run out and get "Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants". So if that's where you're at, go ahead and pick up this book. If, instead, you're interested, you're interested in picking a thoughtful, thorough and accurate discussion of Davis's music, you're better off going elsewhere.

I felt that this biography of Miles, as the previous viewer said, is very inaccurate. It really does seem like Chambers has not heard the music he is critisizing. Actually, I know so because a lot of the music he's critising has not been released. Also, there have been parts of the book where he reviews songs I'm not sure really exist. I am the biggest Miles Davis fan; I own every single song he has recorded, and am also saying that Miles didn't plageurize it for his autobiography. The books has some very different views; Miles tells some very gross stories (see the incident with prostitute Dorothy Cherry and the Charlie Parker incident, as I call it, as Bird gets oral sex from a prostitute while Miles was in the taxi cab with him, not that that's worth mentioning).

On the good hand, Jack Chambers covers the life of Miles extremely well, and he especially has a vast knowledge of Miles songs, which was very helpful. I enjoyed the book, even though it had its problems.