It's about That Time: Miles Davis on and off Record by Richard Cook

From the Publisher

Here is quite simply one of the most original books about a jazz musician ever published--a biography-cum-discography that focuses in turn on fourteen major albums recorded by Miles Davis, using them as a jumping off point for an illuminating discussion of the turbulent life and work of the "Evil Genius of Jazz."
Richard Cook, a veteran writer respected throughout the jazz world, looks at such landmark recordings as Birth of the Cool, Miles Ahead, Kind of Blue, The Complete Live at The Plugged Nickel, In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, and Live at Montreux. Each of these recordings is considered in detail, illuminating their contribution to Davis's development as instrumentalist, group leader, and composer. But Cook goes well beyond these fourteen albums, evaluating all the trumpeter's recordings (official and bootleg), and relating them to events in Miles's life as well as to wider currents in contemporary music. Cook helps us disentangle Miles the legendary figure from the music itself, to re-hear and reconsider this marvelous body of work ranging over four exhilarating decades. The author also highlights the indispensable contributions of sidemen such as John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, John Scofield, and many others, as well as calling for a reassessment of the importance of such "satellite" figures as Gil Evans, Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams and Chick Corea in the development of Miles's music.
A comprehensive and rigorous guide to the music and life of Miles Davis, It's About That Time is a stunning book that burns away the fog of myth that surrounds its complex and contrary subject.

Publishers Weekly

Though he didn't set out to write the definitive take on Miles Davis's discography, jazz expert Cook (Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia) has done just that. By chronologically organizing his material around 14 seminal recordings, Cook expertly traces Davis's evolution as an artist from his early days playing with Charlie Parker to his last official studio release, 1992's posthumous Doo-Bop, which Cook calls an "uneventful, rote hip-hop record which Davis often seems to have wandered into by accident." This candor and objectivity elevate the book above more pedestrian efforts to explore (and more often exalt) Davis's body of work; clearly an admirer, Cook has the wherewithal to laud works such as Porgy and Bess, counting the album as a monument to Davis and his collaborators, while conceding that some pieces are too long and too slow. Despite Davis's voluminous output, Cook puts both landmark studio releases and bootlegs into perspective while keeping the book on track, a seemingly effortless skill that allows him to analyze the details of Birth of the Coolor Bitches Brewwithout losing sight of the big picture-or the reader. Cook's thoughtful, illuminating criticism and boundless knowledge of his subject make this a rich and satisfying read for jazz aficionados and novices alike. (Jan.)

Library Journal

Cook, an engaging, credentialed jazz writer (he cowrote The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD), here takes a novel approach to the Miles Davis story. Coming at the trumpeter from the perspective of 14 important recordings-e.g., Birth of the Cool, Kind of Blue-he concentrates on the music and the musicians who made them, creating a portrait of Miles the musician in the context of the contributions of such sidemen and collaborators as John Coltrane and Gil Evans. Although those 14 recordings serve as the focal point, Cook offers perceptive commentary on dozens of individual cuts that span Davis's considerable recorded output. The close attention paid to the details of the recordings may prove tedious for some casual readers, but Cook is skillful at interweaving session anecdotes and incidents from Davis's life to create a readable and singular study that most readers will embrace and jazz fans will applaud. An excellent addition to the literature on the fascinating and enigmatic Davis and a fine complement to titles like Davis's and Quincy Troupe's Miles: The Autobiography and Ian Carr's Miles Davis: The Definitive Biography; recommended for all libraries.-Mark Woodhouse, Elmira Coll. Lib., NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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