Miles Davis and American Culture edited by Gerald Lyn Early (Missouri Historical Society Press) When East St. Louis-born jazz trumpeter Miles Davis is remembered, it is usually recalled that he was a great innovator, that he had several distinct creative periods like Picasso, that he was a prickly, often unpleasant, personality. Davis is talked about often as a product of Cold War America and the "containment" culture it produced. (Was cool or Davis's reformulation of "free" jazz with his 1960s quintet versions of "containment" music?) He is contextualizes within the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the height of jazz-rock fusion in the 1970s. He crossed several genres in his return to performing in the 1980s: hip hop, pop, smooth jazz, rock, world beat, probably none of them to the satisfaction of critics or even to hard-core fans of those genres themselves, although he was accorded an enormous respect and, of course, a sort of indulgence, by the last audiences he had before his death in 1991. He also made a great deal of money in the 1980s, more than he had ever made in his life. Curiously, his last project before his death was a new performance of some of his Gil Evans charts from the late 1950s under the leadership of longtime friend Quincy Jones. This might signal to some that he was ready to go back and revisit his past, and thus he had come full circle in some respect; but this is not likely. It was a project that he enjoyed but that he did with some reluctance, and it was not his idea to do it. For those who like to be especially antiquarian and source‑oriented, Davis is contextualized as a St. Louisan, a man who emerged with a particular attitude and sound from a particular regional culture.

Miles Beyond: Electric Explorations of Miles Davis, 1967-1991by Paul Tingen (Billboard: Watson-Guptill) is the first analysis of Miles Davis's controversial electric period, 1967-1991, and his unorthodox working methods. Based on new research as well as first-hand recollections by over 50 musicians, partners, producers, and artists, Miles Beyond offers hundreds of never-before-revealed facts, insights, and revelations about Miles's remarkable artistic and personal life. Readers will discover new perspectives on Miles's approach to music, his spiritual awareness, his working methods, the impact he had on those around him, and his neglected and misunderstood electric music.

Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life by Wynton Marsalis and Carl Vigeland (Da Capo) Experience the inspiration and joy of creation and performance in Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life, an intimate portrait of a unique artist and his audience. Set in the studio, on the stage, and in great cities and small towns across the country, this book captures life on the road for Marsalis and his musicians, evoking its ritual and renewal, energy and spirituality. Describing the art of improvisation, the book's two voices mirror the interplay at the heart of jazz-both among the musicians, and between them and the people they meet in their travels. "On the road and on the bandstand," Wynton writes, "something great may happen at any moment, something that might even change your life." Alternately luminous and boisterous, often poignant, and always passionate, Marsalis and Vigeland's extraordinary dialogue is a must for fans, musicians, and anyone curious about America's only indigenous art form.

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