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Miles by Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe is a wonderful book. Based off of long conversations with Davis about his life, Troupe manages to capture Davis' passionate voice very accurately. If you have ever wanted to know the story of Jazz from the inside, this is the book to read. Although because Davis has had some very public spats with other artists, critics, and even his family, Miles seems more about setting the record straight then telling a story.

Miles Davis' was born to be a musician, and his journey to the top of the jazz world is filled with a picture of America that few people care to remember. Segregation and racial tension are constant themes from the book, especially Miles resentment of white jazz critics refusing to acknowledge new forms of jazz until it was played by white players. Of course he equally criticizes the people who resented him working with white musicians like Bill Evans (Piano Player on Kind of Blue).

Miles was quite self-promoter and that ego carries over into the pride that has for his work. Each step of his career is reviewed along with quite a lot of name dropping. Two of his relationships stand out though; the tragic figures of Charlie "Bird" Parker, and John Coltrane. Miles played with Charlie Parker for a huge part of his early career, even when he was breaking out as a solo artist. Bird of course was a junkie, and seemed to be the catalyst for a lot of the problems with heroin that ran throughout the scene. Miles speaks of Bird like he was a second father; it seems to break his heart that they ended on such bad terms. John Coltrane and Miles Were very close, as Trane developed his signature style while playing with Miles. They had a tense friendship, and Trane descended into his drug addiction, which was after Miles had kicked his own habit. This tension was out of love, but their friendship suffered in the end.

The details of Miles' own struggle with heroin are long and sordid. This part of the book is not for the sensitive, as the reality of a junkie's life is quite harsh. His road to recovery was one of unrepentant sin, on par with anything Irving Welsh could conjure up. Of course you slap your head when he ends up strung out again this time on Cocaine.

The later part of the book tends to drag, as Miles took a back seat to the guys in his bands, working more to create group ensembles that pushed the boundaries of Jazz. While Miles still had quite a bit to do with the music, but it was more in managing new talents, and pushing players to try new ideas.

Any fan of Jazz should pick up this book simply for the wealth of who's who type information and the inside story on the evolution of American Jazz. The final chapters paint a portrait of a man ready to live another 60 years, and keep making music for its own sake. It's sad that he died because his voice and unique story shouldn't fade away. ( )