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.

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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.

72 of 80 found the following review helpful:

The End of IdolatryNov 11, 2005
By My Uncle Stu
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.

19 of 20 found the following review helpful:

An important work of history and honest soul searchingSep 28, 1999
By Earl Hazell
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.

13 of 14 found the following review helpful:

The whole truth, nothing but the truthDec 06, 1999
By Donny Thompson
This book is a gospel for all true jazz lovers. Miles tells all about the jazz scene in such a vivid manner, that you will feel like he is talking directly to you. you will laugh, you will cry, you will learn about all the heavy hitters of the 30s, 40s,50s, 60s,and beyond. miles was so on the money on a lot of issues and he didnt pull any punches when he talked about his own much publicized short comings. He will tell you about every band,every recording session and what impact that it had on his life at that time. Every musician that he ever played with is included in this book. This is a great biography. You will truly understand what a powerful musician miles really was, and the great impact that this trumpet giant made on the music world. This book is a must read for all true jazz lovers.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

Absolutely Searing AutobiographyFeb 03, 2003
By R. J. Marsella
Miles davis pulled no punches when he wrote this incredibly honest memoir. His candor about himself and other luminaries of the jazz world is indispensible reading to jazz fans and anyone with an interest in music. He reveals many unflattering characteristics but also freely praises other musicians with whom he played and clearly describes why they deserve such praise. One can learn a great deal about the creative process and the environment that drove these musicians to explore and expand musically. Miles Davis is equally honest about heroin addiction and his and others struggle to overcome it. Some succeded, many more failed. Characters like Charlie parker, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, Dizz Gillespie, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane , Monk and countless others float in and out of the story as Miles Davis and others were forming and reforming combinations due to a variety of circumstances. The music scene in New York in the late 40's and early 50's was overflowing with soon to be legendary performers. Davis had a vision of what his music should sound like and he relentlessly pursued that sound through the decades and evolved as an artist moving one step ahead (if not several steps ) of everyone else. I've always loved Davis' music but after reading this it is impossible not to admire the man's artisitc integrity. This guy was clearly a Giant of American music and nothing in this book will diminish his stature artistically. I feel that I understand the records and the context of the music much better for having read this. Highly recommended.

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