Miles: The Autobiography
Miles Davis is well respected for his musical abilities. He was a very talented player, with an ever changing sense of creativity. I have always enjoyed his music, from the birth of cool to kind of blue to bitches brew, so I decided to read his autobiography to see if there where any lessons that could be learned From Miles, where he found his inspiration and what type of a person he was. Well Miles the autobiography doesn't disappoint. Miles: the autobiography is written by Quincy Troupe. Troupe is a university professor who taught at Columbia University and the University of California. He received a American Book Award in 1990 for this book. In the Afterword section of the book Troupe states “Miles chose [Troupe] to write his book”(413). He first interviewed Miles in 1985 for Spin magazine. During that time Troupe interviewed him for two days and “felt a kinship” with Miles (413). Troupe goes on to list many things they had in common such as “music, art, hip clothing, basket ball, football, and boxing”(413). A quick Google search on Troupes reveals he himself may not be the most credible author. He faked a bachelor degree from Grambling in order to land himself a Poet Laureate at University of California (http://www.houstonpress.com/2010-02-18/calendar/quincy-troupe/). Troupe admits in the afterword that the book comes from not only miles as the prose would imply but “many others who knew him intimately and some who didn't”(414). He also admits some of what miles said “ had to be edited out of the book for legal reasons(414). Troupe still says the book is still “truly Miles”(414). The book itself was an easy read. It reads very intimately. The way Miles talks just kinda feels like your sitting down having beers with a friend. It was no problem reading a couple of chapters a night. Miles has a certain charisma. Some issues people might have is that Miles likes to swear. That's just the way he talks, if you are easily offended you will be missing out on the story of arguably the greatest jazz icon to ever live. Another issue that I had was when Miles freely talks about his long-term drug use; how accurate are his memories? That paired with Troupe's questionable credibility really makes it hard to take everything in the book as truth. Miles has also got a lot of racial issues that come up in the book. Its hard for me to speculate on the accuracy of his views. I wasn't around and in the scene when this was going on. I know that the world has got a lot better regarding equality between races since then. Through the whole book I kept thinking Davis is so cynical but he could be right. Plus reading this you know he has a huge ego, how much of this has he embellished to perpetuate his legendary status? The book goes through Davis' childhood. How he was close with his father and had a strained relationship with his mother. His time in st. Louis in Eddie Randall's band. His first encounter with Dizzy and Bird. Miles moving to New York to supposedly go to Juilliard but really going to searching for Bird. Miles calls Dizzy the “head and hands” of bebop if Bird was “the Spirit”(64). Dizzy made Miles “really learn to play piano”(64). Dizzy had an undeniable effect on young Miles' trumpet playing and his understanding of jazz. He came searching for Bird but his relationship with Dizzy really benefited him more, as he learned and improved greatly. Miles also talks about meeting longtime collaborator and friend, Gil Evans, and how they got to be real friends on Birth of the Cool. The book talks about his use of drugs although sometimes he just mentions using some coke or drinking but only a few times does the book really dive into how bad his addictions actually were. Cab Calloway told the public about Miles and others being “Junkies” to Ebony magazine (163). After this for a while Miles “couldn't buy a job” (163). It also goes into how he got clean and continued to be an innovator up until his death. It is a very interesting read. You find out about the relationships between the jazz musicians and who knew who. Miles didn't hang out much with Coltrane “ once [they] left the bandstand” because they were into different things(224). Coltrane being into heroine when Miles wasn't and then Coltrane's life consuming practicing. His musical relationship with Gil Evans and how he was “real important to [Davis] as a friend” (386). Davis got into a argument with Charles Mingus over leaving Bird in L.A. While Davis went back to New York with Billy Eckstein's band and how the “Argument really hurt [there friendship]”(96). Its really interesting to see how all these jazz legends interacted with each other as people. One also learns a lot about other important events that happened to other jazz musicians. How Bud Powell got got a brain injury from getting hit from a bouncer “upside [Bud's] head” outside the Savoy Ballroom(112). Miles got very personal and talks about his relationships with all the women in his life. How he never “had any trouble finding women”(403). He goes on to talk about his preferences about women. The book goes into his marriages and many significant relationships. He always seemed to be doing to many drugs to really be present in his relationships. I thought the book was an entertaining read. It was hard to put down the book and get some sleep at night. Miles really lived an interesting life. He's recorded many albums and the book often talks about the sessions and the bands on the sessions. He really is a band leader, right from the beginning you can tell he really wouldn't be happy being someones sideman. He surrounds himself with musicians that can play whatever his uncompromising creativity dishes out. He really pushes people to play their best or he doesn't hire them. The book is an autobiography so it's essentially Miles' view of himself. I think it succeeds at being that. I don't think it's a fair view but its the only view really possible when a book is written like this. The book kinda inspired me to go to read more jazz biographies for three reasons. The first is that it was very informative about jazz and the formations of bebop and how it evolved into jazz today. The second reason is I'm really interested in the credibility of the book. At least if I read other bios I can perhaps find out how true parts of the book are. The last reason is I want to see how other people view Miles. He really comes across as a pompous jerk in some parts and other times he seems like a really cool guy. Its hard to tell what other people thought of him. I think Troupes main reason for writing this book is that Miles and him generally got along well. It would be hard to get all this info out of a person if they didn't have some sort of trust between them. I would suggest every jazz lover or musician give the book a read. At the very least the book was entertaining. You find out a lot about one of jazz's greatest players and band leaders. On a bigger level you find out about the relationships between people, and the drive one needs to make a living out of playing music. Sources Alvarez, Olivia. Quincy Troupe. Feb. 2010. http://www.houstonpress.com/2010-02- 18/calendar/quincy-troupe/ . Nov.28 2012. Web Troupe, Quincy. Miles: The Autobiography. Simon and Schuster. New York, New York. 1989. Reissue September 2011. Print. Comments are closed.
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