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The Last Miles The Music Of Miles Davis 1980-1991
open our order pageGeorge Cole
Equinox, 2005
Hardback. 546pp. b&w illustrations
£25.00

The Last Miles Miles Davis was one of the musical giants of the twentieth century. In a career that spanned more than five decades, Miles transformed the face of jazz four or five times and his music resonates for beyond the bounds of his genre. Miles made the most famous album in the history of jazz, Kind of Blue, formed one of the greatest jazz quintets in the 1960s and fused jazz with rock.

Including almost one hundred interviews with Miles' closest colleagues, many of whom have never before been interviewed about their time with him The Last Miles concentrates on the final period of Miles's life, after he had emerged from a five-year lay-off from the world of music. Right up until the end of his life, he was still searching, still exploring and still refusing to play it safe. The focus is on the music Miles recorded and played, and how it evolved in the eyes of the musicians he played with. Those interviewed include George Duke, Teo Macero, Tommy LiPuma, Marcus Miller, Darryl Jones, Branford Marsalis, Chaka Khan, Wallace Roney, David Sanborn and East Mo Bee. There are also interviews with musicians who played with Miles before the 1980s, including Dave Liebman, Dave Holland, Pete Cosey, Michael Henderson and Mike Zwerin, who give their own assessment of the music Miles played during the final period of his life. Cheryl Davis, Miles' only daughter, is also interviewed.

The Last Miles is full of fascinating new facts and stories about Miles. For the first time, every member of the group of young musicians from Chicago who helped bring Miles back into the music scene gives their story. George Cole also reveals for the first time the full story behind a lost Miles Davis album recorded in 1985, tells you about a song Miles co-wrote for Mick Jagger, how he worked with Prince, and discovers new and unreleased music that Miles recorded. If you have ever wanted to know how Miles recruited his band members, what it was like working with Miles in the studio or to play with him on-stage, The Last Miles has the answers. There is at least one chapter devoted to each album that Miles recorded during this period. Full track-by-track descriptions contain many new and interesting tales behind the songs, including how Sting came to record on one of Miles's tracks, why Prince dropped a song slated to appear on the Tutu album, how Gil Evans helped Miles compose many of the tunes on the album Star People, what "Splatch" means and who Ursula was.

GEORGE COLE was educated at Homerton College, University of Cambridge. He is freelance music and technology journalist whose work has appeared in Music Week, Jazzwise, The Financial Times, The Times, The Sunday Times, Newsweek, The Guardian, Empire, Gramophone, The Daily Telegraph, The Observer and The Independent.

CONTENTS:
1. Prelude
2. Introduction
3. Miles - The Man
4. Miles - His Life And Music Before 1973
5. Into The Shadows
6. The Man With The Horn
7. We Want Miles
8. Star People
9. Decoy
10. You're Under Arrest
11. Aura
12. The Road To Tutu: The Background
13. The Road To Tutu: Rubberband - The Lost Miles Davis Album
14. The Road To Tutu: Miles And Prince
15. Tutu
16. Siesta
17. Amandla
18. Doo-Bop
19. Miles Alive
20. Live Around The World
21. Miles's Other Recordings
22. Miles's Guest Recordings
23. The Verdict On The Music Of The 1980s
24. Notes
25. References
26. Compilations
27. Tribute Albums
28. The Eighties Music - Cover Versions
29. Unreleased Miles - The Music In The Vaults
30. Miles's Live Repertoire 1981-1991
31. Miles's Band Line-Ups 1981-1991
32. Miles's Album Discography 1980-1991
33. Books And Websites
34. Index

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US EDITION also available

FURTHER READING

other books about Miles Davis' electronic period:

Miles To Go by Chris Murphy, Miles' road manager
Miles Beyond by Paul Tingen

Miles Davis by Ian Carr
A Miles Davis Reader a collection of articles
Miles Davis and American Culture a collection of essays edited by Gerald Early
Kind of Blue Ashley Kahn's account of this masterpiece
Footprints: The Life & Work of Wayne Shorter by Michelle Mercer

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