Ron Carter Esperanza Spalding - Downbeat

Holiday Gift Guide 2012 [ books
nother book on Miles Davis? The folks
behind Miles Davis: The Complete Illustrated
History (Voyageur Press) have
come up with two distinct angles. First,
of course, there are the photographs.
Also included are some big (and not so big)
names to write copy to accompany different sections
of the book. Among the scribes: Sonny Rollins,
Bill Cosby and Herbie Hancock. The names
of writer Francis Davis and Davis biographer Ashley
Kahn also grace the cover.
What we don’t see until we are just inside the
book are the names of some of the more notable
and prolific photographers whose shots were the
putative drivers to this whole endeavor. Archival
photos come courtesy of Francis Wolff, William
Gottlieb, Bob Willoughby, William “Popsie” Randolph,
Lynn Goldsmith “and more.” Needless to
say, there are lots of photographs, most of them
familiar to those who have read and seen many of
the books and articles about Miles Davis.
Between the introduction and afterword—including
an index—are eight chapters, organized
chronologically, beginning with “The Young Artist:
1926–1948” and a nice remembrance from former
colleague and friend from Davis’ early years
Clark Terry (“There Was A Time”). The book concludes
with “Tutu And Farewell: 1986–1991” as
well as essays by journalist Greg Tate (“Miles In
The 1980s”) and former bandmate, saxophonist
Dave Liebman (“Timing”). Of particular interest is
a chapter that includes an article by impresario
George Wein entitled “Miles, Newport, And The
Business Of Jazz.” One chapter, “Kind Of Blue:
1958–1963,” covers years when Davis performed
at Wein concerts but also went through various
critical business and artistic transitions.
At the end of the day, this book pegs its novelty
in the Miles Davis canon of books with the
words “The Complete Illustrated History.” Indeed,
and despite the ambitious shepherding of big
names on the textual front, the book ultimately
rises or falls on the strength of its photographs
(there are some illustrations, including magazine,
program, label logos and album covers). Graphically,
this 224-page book has the trendy look and
feel of a magazine pictorial. No doubt, one could
flip through this book and get a speed-dial history
of the man, the text supporting the photos
instead of the other way around.
Rare items include great early studio shots
of Davis with Howard McGhee (Davis on piano),
Jackie McLean, Stan Getz and Percy Heath (Davis
again at the piano). Later, an aerial shot appears
from the CBS-TV program Davis filmed
with his Kind Of Blue band and Gil Evans’ orchestra.
There’s also a shot of Davis’ band with Dave
Holland, Jack DeJohnette and Chick Corea.
There’s the complete photo of the now-famous
cover to the album Jack Johnson (and a new U.S.
postage stamp) with Gary Bartz. A smattering of
rare images of the always stylish Davis from his
last stretch during the 1980s and early ’90s closes
out what is clearly the flashiest chronicle (thus
far) of the Prince of Darkness. —John Ephland
teven Roby’s Hendrix On Hendrix: Interviews
And Encounters With Jimi Hendrix
(Chicago Review Press) takes a page
from Chris DeVito’s similarly titled interview
book about John Coltrane. Instead
of striving to be a comprehensive source of Hendrix
interviews (DeVito included every Coltrane
interview in existence), Roby presents a curated
look at the guitarist’s life through articles in magazines
and newspapers; radio and television interviews;
and the occasional court transcript.
The interviews and articles start in 1966 as
Hendrix, a young Seattle transplant, is getting his
feet wet in Europe, and end with the last interview
he gave before he died in 1970. For a quick
reference, Roby also offers a Quotable Hendrix
reference section, where the guitarist expounds
on everything from money and ambition to relationships.
Taken as a whole, the interviews piece together
the important details of Hendrix’s life.
Roby has been careful to select pieces that rarely
backtrack over well-worn material; everything
here presents something new. Each interview
or article is preceded by a few interesting paragraphs
of context.
The only other material Roby adds is an insightful
interview with Hendrix confidant Eric Burdon.
Burdon serves as an interpreter for Hendrix,
filling in ideas from the interviews and offering
details on the guitarist’s untimely death. Hendrix
could provide cryptic, nonsensical answers just
as easily as he could open up about his life and
dreams and hardships. For these frank interviews,
Hendrix tended to show preferential treatment.
“It is always a plus if the reporter was a woman
and the interview took place in a hotel room or
at his flat,” Roby writes in the introduction. In fact,
one of the most fascinating interviews—Jane
de Mendelssohn’s 1969 chat—happened under
exactly these circumstances. Roby has done his
homework, composing a thorough, thoughtful
look at an enigmatic performer. The book excels
in providing a portrait, through Hendrix’s own
words and the filter of other journalists, of the guitarist
as a lonely musician, beset by hangers-on,
trying to deal with fame and success.
Countless writers and interviewers in the
collection cover Hendrix’s predilection for
smashing instruments and generally being violent
on stage; in this book, however, Hendrix
comes across not as a showman, going through
the motions of burning his guitar or wrecking
his amplifiers, but as a lost, intensely frustrated
musician, trying to make the world hear what exactly
he heard in his head. —Jon Ross
74 DOWNBEAT DECEMBER 2012