The Life of Miles Davis by John Szwed, Book Review Example

Miles Davis’s popularity continues as does his music. His recording “Kind of Blue” is considered a classic. Although his image remains as cool as always, he himself remains as much of a puzzle as ever; and all sorts of stories about him continue, probably in an attempt to answer the public’s questions. People seem curious as to why Davis changed styles so frequently, why he was so difficult and even hostile to a lot of people and why he turned his back on his audiences while on stage. Probably the greatest curiosity revolves around why Miles Davis ceased to perform at the height of his career and seclude himself into the darkness of his home.

Many adjectives and verbs are used in the book to describe Davis with, perhaps, the most essential one being “change,” which he did often in both his music and his life. For Davis, his music and his life were so closely intertwined as to be virtually one and the same. As he changed his personal life, so he changed his music and the musicians with whom he played. He played with such top-notch musicians as Charles Parker and Thelonious Monk, as well as attendants such as John McLaughlin, John Coltrane, Keith Jared, Keith Corea, and Wayne Shorter. While he seemed to thrive on close musical relationships, his imagine remains that of a lone figure. It seems that as quickly as he developed a new musical mode and a new self, he changed them both. Davis—like many other great people (and not so great ones)—was a very complex man; and to understand his actions would be to understand the man, which nobody really does inspite of attempts to analyze his personality, his aspirations for jazz as an art, etc.

This most influential and enigmatic American musician of our time has been referred to

as a genius, a junkie, a wife beater, and a demigod. In fact for four decades, critics and jazz fans were quite willing to give Davis equal billing with God. John Szwed, is, however, not one of them. While his best recordings have received much attention, so, however, have his bad marriages, his affairs, his band breakups, and his drug use. Living in the fast lane in New York, Davis became addicted to heroin from which he never recovered. Szwed does not, however, dwell on those things. Instead, he calls his book, “a meditation” on Davis’s life and influence, attempting to establish his place in American music, which is mainly why this student likes this book. Davis was humour impaired when remarks were directed at him, but not in delivering them to others. When John Coltrane was rationalizing his lengthy solos, saying that he did not know how to stop, Davis responded with, “You might try taking the horn out of your mouth.”

This book made this student very sad because it seems that so often—as in Miles Davis’s case—talented, smart, and well-known individuals go down the path of self-destruction. Although most of these individuals do not want to be on that road, it seems that most cannot get off it. Perhaps that is why Davis became a recluse, which was for him a refuge from the fast lanes in which he travelled of necessity as a top-notch performer. He remained addicted to heroin, he could not—even if he tried—to undo his bad marriages, but towards the end, he at least became a good father. The book was definitely thought provoking and reinforced this student’s belief that people such as Davis need empathy for their actions, not condemnation.