Summary
Here is the illustrated history of Miles Davis, the world's most popular jazz trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and musical visionary. Davis is one of the most innovative, influential, and respected figures in the history of music. He's been at the forefront of bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, and jazz-rock fusion, and remains the favorite and best-selling jazz artist ever, beloved worldwide. He's also a fascinating character--moody, dangerous, brilliant. His story is phenomenal, including tempestous relationships with movie stars, heroin addictions, police busts, and more; connections with other jazz greats like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, Gil Evans, John McLaughlin, and many others; and later fusion ventures that outraged the worlds of jazz and rock. Written by an all-star team, including Sonny Rollins, Bill Cosby, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Clark Terry, Lenny White, Greg Tate, Ashley Kahn, Robin D. G. Kelley, Francis Davis, George Wein, Vincent Bessières, Gerald Early, Nate Chinen, Nalini Jones, Dave Liebman, Garth Cartwright, and more.
Sonny Rollins is one of the greatest living saxophonists, famous for honing his chops practicing on the Brooklyn Bridge. He first recorded with Miles Davis in 1951.
Francis Davis is the jazz critic for The Village Voice, a contributing editor for The Atlantic Monthly, and author of numerous books on jazz and the blues.
Jazz promoter and producer George Wein is one of the world's most famous jazz impresarios and the most important non-player in jazz history. He is the founder of the Newport Jazz Festival.
Vincent Bessières is a member of the French l'Académie du Jazz and an author and editor who writes frequently and with expertise on jazz.
Gerald Early is Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters, Professor of English and of African and Afro-American Studies, Director of the Center for Humanities, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
Comedian Bill Cosby has been a jazz fan since way back when.
Keyboardist Herbie Hancock joined Miles Davis's second great quintet in 1963 and played a starring role in redefining the jazz rhythm section and launching the post-bop sound.
Ashley Kahn has written books on the making of two major jazz albums, Kind of Blue by Miles Davis and A Love Supreme by John Coltrane, as well as a history of Impulse Records.
Robin D. G. Kelley is the author of the landmark biography Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original .
