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Robert Iannapollo
JIM FARRINGTON(EDITOR)
The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis, 1980-1991. By George Cole. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005. 534 pp. Multiple appendices, Discography, Notes, Bibliography, Index. ISBN: 0-472-11501-4. $35
Head Hunters: The Making of Jazz's First Platinum Album. By Steven F. Pond. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005. 264pp. Notes, Bibliography, Selected discography, Index. 0-472-11417-4. $27.95
Miles Davis is one of the most recognized and highly regarded figures in jazz. From 1945, when he made his first recordings as a member of Charlie Parker's quintet, until his death in 1991, he occupied a position at the forefront of jazz, cutting new paths in the music almost seemingly on demand. At least that's the popular wisdom regarding Davis' career. The reality is that Davis' innovations, while clearly inspired, in part, by him, was also the product of the musicians with whom he chose to surround himself He knew the value of a good sideman and was usually able to corral the best and brightest the music had to offer, allowing them and their ideas to blossom within his group structures. The last ten years of his life (from 1981-1991) however tell another story, one that has been critically maligned by some but has also been vehemently defended by apologists.
From the outset, I have to own up to having little regard for the output from the era covered in this book. While his comeback after a hiatus from 1975-1980 was initially welcome, it was quite apparent about three albums into it that Davis was not at the peak of his game, both technically on his instrument and in his ability to pick group members with his formerly uncanny knack. These are problems that Cole seems to acknowledge somewhat but minimizes.
Cole, a freelance music journalist, is not just a mere apologist. He has obviously
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researched and studied this music exhaustively, interviewed most of the participants, including many marginal characters and presented as full a picture possible of Davis' final period. The era was also covered in Paul Tingen's book, Miles Beyond: The Electric Explorations of Miles Davis, 1967-1991 (Billboard Books,...