Author:John Szwed
Miles Davis was one of the crucial influences in the development of modern jazz. His Kind of Blue is an automatic inclusion in any critic's list of the great jazz albums, the one record people who own no other jazz records possess, and still sells 250,000 copies a year in the US alone. But Miles regularly changed styles, leaving his inimitable impact on many forms of jazz, whether he created them or simply developed the work of others, from modal jazz to be-bop, his seminal quintet and his big-band work, to the jazz funk experiments of later years.
Miles not only knew and worked with everyone who was anyone in jazz, from Coltrane to Monk, he was a friend of Sartre's, lover of Juliette Greco and musical collaborator with musicians who ranged from Stockhausen to Hendrix. John Swzed is uniquely well-qualified to do justice to Miles, both in terms of his impact on jazz, and as one of the great Black Americans: as political figure, icon and archetypal cool dude. His book fills in the gaps left by myth-making about Miles' life - both by Miles himself and by his previous biographers - telling the story of his childhood, his depressions and his relationship with heroin as well as the more familiar public career.
Szwed mixes terrific musical analysis with a deep insight into Davis's life, character and collaboration
—— Evening StandardSzwed is an accomplished sifter of wheat from the chaff. He is not only a musicologist, he is an anthripologist
—— The TimesRemarkable...excellent
—— TelegraphImpressive - Szwed succeeds magnificently
—— FTA seamless, authentic, exhilarating read, without a single slack paragraph. I inhaled it like WD40 round the back of Lidl
—— Camilla Long , Sunday TimesThis is a rare book on magic: it doesn’t unmask tricks. Instead, it exposes the strange subculture surrounding magicians and magic and the murky realms they rub up against…This book is clever and winning — and it’s well written, too...In turning our attention away from the magic and towards the magicians, Stone has pulled off an excellent trick.
—— Sunday TimesA journalist with a background in science neatly describes the tricks of the magician’s trade…The book, of course, treats magic more as science than superstition, and here Stone’s point is well made…A peek behind the curtain…As he shows us the limits of our logic, Stone’s enthusiasm rubs off.
—— Financial Timesfascinating … As an American science journalist, Stone is certainly interested in what magic reveals about our mental make-up – and very good indeed at writing comprehensibly about it. But as a magician himself, he’s a huge and infectious fan of the whole business. As a result, he plunges us deep in the history, traditions and lore of a world that, by its very nature, is normally kept secret from the layman. He exposes the techniques used by people who pretend not to be magicians – including psychics of all kinds. He also introduces us to an enormous cast of colourful characters, past and present.
—— Readers DigestThe book is not a how-to guide, but it delves into the psychology and cognitive science behind magic…Aspiring pick-pockets will enjoy his explanation of how to misdirect someone’s attention while removing their watch.
—— Times 2The real pleasure of his beguiling, meandering narrative is not the destination but the rococo scenery en route. ****
—— Francis Wheen , Mail on Sunday
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