Miles: The Autobiography
Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe
Music majors might want to read this book, which I consider to be the best book on jazz history despite it being an autobiography.
Miles Davis was one of the towering figures in popular music of the 20th century. From a middle class family in East St. Louis, his father sent him to NYC to study music at Juilliard. He dropped out, bored out of his mind, and decided to chase his hero Charlie Parker around town to learn the latest Bebop craze. That act of defiance gave birth to a legendary career and gave us some of the best jazz recordings in history.
Davis always managed to stay on top of the many shifts in the music industry and rarely rested on his laurels. His legendary temper, his women, and his fleet of Ferraris are only side notes to a grand career that spanned almost fifty years. Kind Of Blue, the album that made him world famous, is the best testimony of a man who knew how to incorporate materials from different worlds and create classic American music.
ALVARO LÓPEZ-PIEDRA
Library Assistant III/Receiving Specialist (Spanish/Italian/French/Portuguese/Catalan Collections)
Ordering & Monographs Receiving Unit
This book is part of the 2019 Berkeley Summer Reading List. Stay tuned for more weekly posts!