So What: The Life of Miles Davis

Miles Davis was a pivotal influence in the evolution of modern jazz. His album, Kind of Blue, is automatically included in any critic's list of great jazz albums, often being the sole jazz record owned by those unfamiliar with the genre, and it continues to sell 250,000 copies annually in the US alone. However, Miles regularly shifted styles, leaving his unmistakable mark on numerous forms of jazz, whether he originated them or simply built upon the work of others. His impact stretched from modal jazz and be-bop, through his seminal quintet and big-band work, to the jazz-funk experiments of his later years.

Miles not only knew and collaborated with virtually every significant figure in jazz, from Coltrane to Monk, but he was also a friend of Sartre's, a lover of Juliette Gréco, and a musical collaborator with musicians ranging from Stockhausen to Hendrix. John Szwed is uniquely well-qualified to do justice to Miles, both in terms of his profound impact on jazz and his standing as one of the great Black Americans: a political figure, an icon, and an archetypal cool dude. His book meticulously fills in the gaps left by the myth-making surrounding Miles's life—both by Miles himself and by his previous biographers—telling the story of his childhood, his struggles with depression, and his relationship with heroin, as well as his more familiar public career.