Round About Midnight: A Portrait Of Miles Davis by Eric Nisenson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"[Keith Jarrett] said that Miles would rather play music that was new and innovative than play older music even if the newer music was far less perfect. For perfection was never Miles's goal. It was the journey itself that his music was about, the process of growing and constantly arriving."

I have to admit that I have never been a fan of Miles Davis's jazz. While I almost immediately fell in love with John Coltrane's music and admire many works by Eric Dolphy and Sun Ra, Miles Davis leaves me quite cold, with the exception of Bitches Brew (but then many listeners would not exactly count that album as jazz) and Sketches of Spain. So when Eric Nisenson, the author of 'Round About Midnight. A Portrait of Miles Davis (1996) writes:

"[Kind of Blue] is one of the most beautiful works of art of this century. I am certain that this piece of music will still be listened to on the day the sun implodes. [...] It is amazing how it continues to stir my soul every time I hear it [...]"

I suspect that something is very wrong with me, with my reception of music. It must be my fault that I do not appreciate Kind of Blue.

Anyway, even if I am unable to share Mr. Nisenson's admiration of Miles Davis's works, I certainly appreciate the book. The author is passionate about the topic and writes very well, which makes this one of the best biographies I have ever read. This is almost as great a read as the Ascension. John Coltrane and His Quest that I have reviewed recently.

Maybe because of my lack of enthusiasm for Miles Davis' main works the early parts of the biography made strongest impression on me. Mr. Nisenson offers fascinating glimpses into Miles Davis' youth: his childhood in a well-to-do black family in East St. Louis, his first break with the Billy Eckstine band, the "apprenticeship" with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, a stint at Juilliard School of Music, and then the times of Birth of the Cool, meeting J.P. Sartre in Paris and an affair with Juliette Gréco.

By mid 1950s, Miles Davis - not even 30 years old - becomes a living legend. He carefully creates his own enigmatic persona: arrogant, opulently dressed, driving a white Ferrari. Miles as the embodiment of Ultimate Hip, the epitome of Ultimate Cool. Then comes the universally acclaimed album Kind of Blue (1959) as well as beautiful Sketches of Spain (to this day I remember how in the early 1980s, on Delaware Street in Berkeley, I listened to that album for the first time). Then the adventures with fusion (to oversimplify: fusion is a cross between jazz and progressive rock) and Bitches Brew with John McLaughlin, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea, and other famous musicians.

About 1975 Miles Davis retires to come back in 1980 for his 10 final years during which he is, unfortunately, mostly cashing on his fame and catering to pop tastes of the then audiences:

"Glamor and money meant everything in this age of Reagan. Miles had always had a heightened awareness of the currents of American life."

That period produced some of the least interesting music I have heard in my life, among others the album You Are Under Arrest, which even the critics consider a catastrophic failure.

To sum up, 'Round About Midnight is a compelling read, well-written and rich in detail. The author even manages to mention how my favorite rock band, Sonic Youth (1980s - 2010s) had been influenced by Miles Davis. Highly recommended!

Four stars.

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