MILES ON MILES > Interviews and Encounters with Miles Davis edited by Paul Maher Jr. and Michael K. Dorr

As an interviewee, Miles Davis has often been regarded as, at best, aloof and uninterested, and, at worst, cantankerous and uncooperative. But as this collection of interviews with the “Prince of Silence” reveals, it’s more accurate to say that he was simply a man who didn’t suffer fools gladly.

Label: LAWRENCE HILL BOOKS
[RATING: 5]

As an interviewee, Miles Davis has often been regarded as, at best, aloof and uninterested, and, at worst, cantankerous and uncooperative. But as this collection of interviews with the “Prince of Silence” reveals, it’s more accurate to say that he was simply a man who didn’t suffer fools gladly. Of course, it’s fun to see him shoot down interviewers with a well-timed observation, as when he chides one for “talking nonsense.” But despite his protestation that “if you understood everything I said, you’d be me,” the interviews are nonetheless revealing. Spanning a range of over 30 years (1957 to 1989, along with a few pieces published after his death), Davis is blunt and sometimes shocking in his pronouncements (a recurring theme is his insistence that the word “jazz” is “a nigger word…it means ‘nigger’”), but always willing to meet a sincere question with a thoughtful answer (and his views on race are at least as interesting as his views on music). And though some pieces are drawn from mainstream outlets like Newsweek, there are a number of rare acquisitions from radio station interviews and long-defunct magazines.