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Miles Davis and American Culture
Miles Davis and American Culture examines Davis in cultural context. In this new collection of a dozen essays, William Kenney explores the St. Louis jazz scene of Davis's youth; Eugene B. Redmond looks at East St. Louis's cultural history; Ingrid Monson examines Davis and civil rights; and Waldo Martin discusses Davis and his relation to the black avant-garde of the 1960s.Original interviews and classic photographs round out the volume, published to coincide with the 2001 Miles Davis Festival, celebrating what would have been Davis's seventy-fifth birthday.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 28, 2009
Some of the essays in this collection shed new light on old controversies about Miles Davis, while others do nothing but rehash tired arguments about the music-- electric Miles vs. acoustic Miles, for example. Overall I found it a good read, admittedly because I'm a big Miles Davis fan.
Particularly interesting was Martha Bayless' essay "Miles Davis and the Double Audience," an essay that provides a unique look at Miles' career long balancing act between his black audience, his white audience and his commercial viability. Good stuff-- Bayless' piece alone made the book worth reading.
Particularly interesting was Martha Bayless' essay "Miles Davis and the Double Audience," an essay that provides a unique look at Miles' career long balancing act between his black audience, his white audience and his commercial viability. Good stuff-- Bayless' piece alone made the book worth reading.
March 16, 2024
I found this book, published back in 2001 in conjunction with the Missouri History Museum's exhibit on Miles Davis, at an estate sale just a few blocks from my home recently. You never know what you'll find if you go poking around these things.
This book, published ten years after Miles Davis's death, lets a number of blind people describe the elephant that was this brilliant musician. They look at the ways St. Louis and East St. Louis music and culture influenced him, and at the ways it was difficult to find his home area acknowledging him after his passing. (I had forgotten the embarrassment of the Post-Dispatch not running an obituary on page one the day after he died, though at least Harper Barnes had a good piece published the next day - I'm wondering why I didn't write anything myself around that time, though that wasn't really the function of my column.)
Chapters about Davis and politics, Davis and the avant-garde, Davis and African-American audiences vs. white audiences, Davis and critics, Davis and women alternate with interviews with the likes of Quincy Jones, George Avakian (the A&R guy at Columbia who signed Davis), Ron Carter, Ahmad Jamal, and Joe DeFrancesco. There's also a wonderful poem by Eugene Redmond, who I used to see read back when I went to poetry events in the 80s, which really ties Davis to St. Louis music history. Early's own essay, which talks about Miles and boxing, and about Miles and his musical evolution, is so strong that I wish he had written a whole book on the man.
We are reminded often throughout the book of the many flaws of Miles Davis, most especially in his relationships with women. The many writers also have distinctly different takes on his music - some love the electric period, some hate it. All make interesting arguments, though.
A complicated man, Miles Davis. His music continues to impress and there will never be a single way of talking about what he did.
This book, published ten years after Miles Davis's death, lets a number of blind people describe the elephant that was this brilliant musician. They look at the ways St. Louis and East St. Louis music and culture influenced him, and at the ways it was difficult to find his home area acknowledging him after his passing. (I had forgotten the embarrassment of the Post-Dispatch not running an obituary on page one the day after he died, though at least Harper Barnes had a good piece published the next day - I'm wondering why I didn't write anything myself around that time, though that wasn't really the function of my column.)
Chapters about Davis and politics, Davis and the avant-garde, Davis and African-American audiences vs. white audiences, Davis and critics, Davis and women alternate with interviews with the likes of Quincy Jones, George Avakian (the A&R guy at Columbia who signed Davis), Ron Carter, Ahmad Jamal, and Joe DeFrancesco. There's also a wonderful poem by Eugene Redmond, who I used to see read back when I went to poetry events in the 80s, which really ties Davis to St. Louis music history. Early's own essay, which talks about Miles and boxing, and about Miles and his musical evolution, is so strong that I wish he had written a whole book on the man.
We are reminded often throughout the book of the many flaws of Miles Davis, most especially in his relationships with women. The many writers also have distinctly different takes on his music - some love the electric period, some hate it. All make interesting arguments, though.
A complicated man, Miles Davis. His music continues to impress and there will never be a single way of talking about what he did.
November 20, 2010
Great book. I really love Miles Davis, and I enjoyed this collection of essays.
April 10, 2011
Though it's occasionally marred by painfully academic examinations and endless repetitions of generally known facts, this set of new essays and interviews about jazz's so-called "Prince of Darkness" succeeds in helping even seasoned Miles-o-Philes see the trumpeter differently--a complex man even by usual artistic standards, I'm sure there's additional depths of the well to be tapped. It does pass my rule of thumb about music books: "Does it send you DIRECTLY to the subject's recordings?" Well, I've got "Lonely Fire" playing right now.
September 26, 2014
The title of this compilation is a little misleading, as it doesn't really focus specifically on Davis and his influence/connection to American culture. What this book does provide is a testament to the enigmatic nature of Davis. Thankfully, many contributors argue with the complexity of Davis' genius and his violence against women. There are also many interesting interviews with other musicians. The best part of the book, however, is the way it illuminates one of the most important aspects of creativity-constant change.
March 26, 2015
Nice collection of essays, interviews, etc. on Miles Davis published by Missouri Historical Society for a Miles retrospective they had back in 2001. Interesting focus on his roots in St. Louis, including a brief history of pre-Miles St. Louis jazz by William Howland Kenney.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews