Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool
October 1, 2023
Author of the multi-best-booked Sinatra, Kaplan assays three jazz giants--Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans--to show how jazz reached dizzying heights in terms of popularity and creativity in the 1950s even as these musicians joined to create what many consider the greatest jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue. Prepub Alert.
Copyright 2023 Library Journal
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from January 1, 2024
How three titans of jazz came together to create magic. Kaplan, the author of the definitive biography of Frank Sinatra, gives us a peek inside group genius at work. In smooth, evocative prose, Kaplan memorably demonstrates the "thrill of this great and never-fading music" during the period between the mid-1940s and the early 1960s. After riffing on interviewing Miles Davis for Vanity Fair and Davis' bumpy relationship with Wynton Marsalis, the author smoothly transitions to a host of meticulous narratives about the intersecting lives of iconic musicians. Davis, a highly gifted young trumpeter, joined Billy Eckstine's star-studded band--Sarah Vaughn, Art Blakey, Charlie "Bird" Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie--after high school. Then it was on to New York City and Juilliard, briefly, before a series of club bands, playing alongside Parker and Gillespie and laying down new vibes and bebop. Then Kaplan digs deep into John Coltrane and the legendary jams and recording sessions, everyone's frustrations at playing in Parker's shadow, and mounting deaths from heroin. Throughout this vibrant text, the author captures the time and atmosphere perfectly--the music, the personalities, the fragrant aroma of weed in the air--and he brings us right into the performances, unwinding the subtle nuances in the music and keeping up with the always-fluctuating band configurations over the years in numerous cities. Heroin took a toll on Davis as well, and in 1955, Parker died at age 34. The third piece of this musical tale, the accomplished pianist Bill Evans, got "thrown into the deep end of the pool--and, to his own surprise, stayed afloat" in 1958, performing in the Miles Davis Sextet. A year later, they came together again, "heading for parts unknown," and created a "timeless album," Kind of Blue. A marvelous must-read for jazz fans and anyone interested in this dynamic period of American music.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from February 1, 2024
Kaplan (Irving Berlin: New York Genius) impressively tells the story of how Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans came together for the recording session that produced the 1959 album Kind of Blue. When pianist Evans joined Davis's band in 1958, he was the only white member in an all-Black group; Davis's musical ability lifted them above the era's pervasive racism. Evans's lyrical improvisation skills and talent on the keys sparked a revolutionary idea in Davis's mind: there's no need to play all those chords to play jazz. Evans lasted only a few months in the group: the band's rigorous schedule, his discomfort as the only white player on stage, and other personal concerns eventually drove him out. But the following year, he came back to collaborate one last time on an album that's not only jazz's best seller but a minimalist reworking of the jazz lexicon. The book follows the three musicians from the starts to ends of their careers--a sad story for Evans, a triumphant one for Coltrane, and a complicated but creative one for Davis. VERDICT A compulsively readable book about three jazz legends who came together for one glorious moment to produce one of the best, most influential jazz records ever.--David Keymer
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
March 1, 2024
Kaplan, author of a lauded two-volume biography of Frank Sinatra, tells the stories of three jazz geniuses, offering new and revelatory perspectives on Miles Davis, born to and repeatedly saved by privilege; John Coltrane, whose "watchful sadness" was rooted in an impoverished childhood; and the less-known Bill Evans, "an incessantly analytical human being." All three were present at the landmark 1959 recording of Davis' Kind of Blue, an album Kaplan expertly locates on the continuum from big band to bebop, cool, free jazz, and fusion. Kaplan seamlessly combines vibrant biography (including portraits of fellow jazz greats Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Cannonball Adderley, and Ornette Coleman) with insightful music history, all set within a sharply drawn social context. He tracks each musician's role in the expansion of jazz, detailing the nature of their artistry and innovations, profound commitment, major recordings, key relationships, and dire entanglements with heroin. Kaplan's crucial profiles of the women in their lives includes a cameo of Davis' spectacular second wife, the singer, songwriter, and model Betty Mabry, who propelled him toward the radical heat of Bitches Brew (1970), the brilliant, surging opposite of his cool masterpiece. Writing with acumen and lyricism, Kaplan conjures the moods and milieus, breakthroughs and performances, temperaments and drama that generated this endlessly enthralling music.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.