Customer Reviews
Not the easiest book....not the easiest man. - By: Humpty D, 19 Sep 2008 
I had a great deal of trouble starting this book, the colloquial tone didn't chime well for me (a personal thing, I know), and, as other reviewers have noted Miles Davis was not a nice chap. Despite his background - more privileged than most Black people at the time, something that he references quite a lot during the book - Miles comes across as an aggressive misogynist, who when rescued from addiction by his Father goes back to drugs pretty quickly. Is he racist? Maybe, but given the context of the timein American history that he writes about is his attitude to White people surprising? In all this, it's the misogyny I struggle with & was hoping all the way through for a bit of insight & regretin his reflection of his relationships with women. If it's there it's fleeting. The language is also a bit `choice' at times, especially his use of the MF word. I'm no prude but it takes a bit of getting used to & I'm not sure I'd lend the book to my Dad!
So why bother with this book? You don't need to be a jazz aficionado to enjoy this no-holds-barred trawl through the Birth of The Cool with legends like Coltrane, Rollins, Mingus, Monk et al. Sure, some of the lists of dates/gigs/line-ups/recordings may be for the nerds (Guilty!) but there's some great stories & anecdotes along the way and, whether you like him or not isn't really the point. He was a fascinating character, a product of his time who produced some amazing music, which becomes even more amazing when you learn how young he was & that he sometimes made five recordings a year, most of which would now be considered classics.
To paraphrase, love the music, hate the musician
A Great Musician - By: conjunction, 31 Mar 2007 
I am disappointed so many reviewers seem to regard Miles as a racist. Personally it seems to me he was born into a wealthy black family, son of intelligent & cultured parents, & wasn't prepared, as he often says, to take s--- from anyone particularly if they were white & doing it because he was black. That doesn't make him a racist, it makes him brave.
And contrary to one reviewer's comments, the book is full of stuff about the music, much of which I didn't understand because it was too technical. For anyone who knows anything about music, or who has studied it I should think this book would be fascinating.
For me too it was fascinating as a fine documenting of the history of jazz, & gives good insights into the character of many musicians, especially Parker & Coltrane. It also says a lot about the nature of racismin the USA much of which no doubt still holds.
Davis was an incredibly strong character, had to be to survive so many generations of jazz when so many didn't. He had to be decisive, I don't think this makes him unpleasantin itself although to me his attitudes to women were frankly primitive.
Despite this I found this an inspiring book & probably the best book I have read about jazz.
Uncompromisingly Brilliant - By: Dave Thompson, 11 Jun 2006 Those who know of Miles will expect will probably expect his harsh & aggressive nature to come throughin his autobiography, & you'd be right to assume this. Miles writes directly & honestly about his creative relationships with all of the people he worked with over an incredibly diverse musical career. For those just getting into jazz music, this book presents you with pretty much a who's who of jazz from the 40's onwards, basically because virtually anyone of any importance has played with Miles.
As a person, Miles comes across as a very unsavourary character to say the least, however by the end of the book I still found myself utterly facinated by him. His uncompromising hard work ethic towards his art is very admirable, & very inspriring to any musicians. However, his white rasism, (although intrigingly this didn't apply to white musicians who's style he liked) abuse of his various wives, various drug addictions, abuse of band mates, (although sometimes with jusifyable reasons) continuous swearing & materialism were the more unpleasant aspects of his personality.
In conclusion, if you want an honest, uncompromising, & historical account of one of the most interesting musicians to ever pick up a horn then READ THIS BOOK. However if your the sort of person who gets offended by the harsh realities of life or by the word "Moth******er" then i'd advise not bothering, cos well he'll probably describe you as the kind of person he hates, I know he did with me a few times...
Miles - Musician and man - By: , 14 Aug 2004 Far from me to understand how it feels to suffer discrimination for the colour of one's skin, nevertheless Miles comes acrossin this book as as an arrogant Misogynist. However, if you like autobiographies then score-settling & point scoring is an aspect that you put up with. That said, I didn't come away from reading this liking him as a man but that doesn't detract from his talent & sheer vision & I'm sure this wasn't the aim of the book anyway. Miles pushed the boundariesin every way & had the guts to do this when it could have finished him (and very nearly did). Just look at how he came back to give blistering performancesin concert &in the studio- just check out 'We Want Miles' or Aura for evidence of this. Even with it being hard to stomach some of Miles' opinions on women (and don't try & count how many times he uses the word "motherf*ck*r") this book is so entertaining & I think, revealing.
Unpleasant character. - By: , 24 May 2004 
Miles Davis may have been one of the most important musiciansin the history of jazz but this biography demonstrates that he surely must have been the most unpleasant. Not withstanding the constant stream of expletives, there is littlein this volume that sheds any light on the creative process as Davis seems content merely to slag off his colleagues. Clearly, there are few people that he ever liked & whilst you can understand his prejudices to a degree given the racist nature of American society, the man obviously had a terrible attitude. An independence of spirit may be a benefitin his chosen field, yet he comes across of being incapable of simple human interaction.
If you want to learn about John Coltrane picking his nose or Charlie Parker's even more unsavoury habits, this is the book for you. If you want to learn about the trumpet players art, look elsewhere. I would have liked to have read more about the music. Unfortunately, Miles seemed intent on playing the urban hipster & denigrates himselfin the process. Avoid.
