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The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis, 1980-1991 (Jazz Perspectives) | 
| Author: George Cole
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $14.85
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 1058564
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 552
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.2
ISBN: 0472032607
Dewey Decimal Number: 781
EAN: 9780472032600
ASIN: 0472032607
Publication Date: July 17, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
“Cole does for Miles’s late work what Ian MacDonald’s Revolution in the Head does for the Beatles, examining each album in meticulous detail.”
—Time Out “As with any good musical biography, Cole . . . made me think again about those albums such as Siesta, You’re Under Arrest, and The Man with the Horn that are now stashed in my attic.”
—London Times “In the flurry of books since [Miles Davis’s] death, none has dealt in depth with the music of this period. Music writer George Cole fills this gap. . . . a rich and rewarding read.”
—Gazette (Montreal) “A fascinating book.”
—Mojo “A singular look into the last stage of Davis’s long, somewhat checkered career gained from various sources, which at the same time gives a picture of the modern music business.”
—Midwest Book Review “There are large chunks of fresh material here. . . . Fill[s] in quite a few gaps and dismisses blanket condemnations of [Miles’s] pop phase.”
—Jazzwise “Thank you for telling it like it was!”
—Randy Hall, singer and guitarist “Very moving, emotional material.”
—Gordon Meltzer, Miles’s last road manager and executive producer of Doo-Bop
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Dangerous Reading June 27, 2008
This, to me is a very good book. The reason I'm calling it dangerous is that while reading it I went out & bought some of the CDs & have since bought another book (the one by Paul TingenMiles Beyond : Electric Explorations of Miles Davis, 1967-1991). I had several live CDs fron this era but hadn't really got into the studio ones until I started reading this book. I must say that I'm quite glad that I did. This helped finally catch up with what Miles was doing. If you have any interest at all in Miles I can't recommend this book enough. It has lots of facts, stories (that sometimes don't agree from person to person) and a very good recording breakdown of the CDs covered. The only thing that I would have liked to see included is more on the many "bootleg" CD that can be found. I don't think anyone picking this up will be sorry that they did.
 Lots and lots of first-hand perspectives February 5, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Cole really went all out to get interviews with the band members and other key people in this phase of Miles' life. If you don't like the music of the period covered (1976-1991), this book isn't going to change your mind about the records. But you will still get a great deal of insight about Miles as a person from many voices (I think 31 band members, road crew members, producers, and others). In cases where memories have dimmed and conflicting accounts have been given by different interviewees, Cole puts those quotes together and makes a best guess about what really happened in the instance being discussed. It's extremely thorough writing--Cole also cross references his interview material with published accounts from magazines and other books on Miles. It's worth a look, and isn't a second rate rehash of the other books on the electric Miles period.
Enthralling Must Read for all Miles Davis and Music Lovers November 7, 2005
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The music covering the period 1980-1991 of Miles Davis tour de force career is perhaps the most overlooked and least documented of them all. In his book "The Last Miles", author George Cole meticulously documents this controversial period through countless interviews with the thiry-plus musicians of the period as well as producers, engineers and nearly anyone else who had a hand in the music of this time. Also included are interviews with members of Miles family as well as close friends.
I call it controversial because many critics didn't give Miles the respect he was due and much of the music was just immediately dismissed without further review. Cole writes the book in direct chronological order from recording session to recording session and from the shifting perspectives of the ever changing members of Miles Davis' bands throughout this period. Much insight is given to not only the music that was created and released, i.e., "Tutu", "Amandla" and "Doo Bop", but also all of the wonderful gems that are setting in the Warner Brothers vault mind-numbingly unreleased. Cole also goes in depth about the unreleased materials that are out there from this period available through imports and previously unreleased.
It's quite obvious that Cole is a writer that took his subject matter very seriously and was careful to be accurate with the facts and all quotations. I have read nearly every book written on Miles Davis in various states of his career including his famous autobiography written with Poet/Author Quincy Troupe. It is my opinion as an avid reader and jazz afficianado that Cole's book is the most objective look into this much neglected final phase of Miles brilliant career ever written. Cole gives detailed insight to each band member, the recordings, the tours and even details leading up to Miles' premature death with compassion, objectivity and accuracy.
I would recommend listening to each of the recordings which are broken down cut by cut as you read the book. I found this method of reading the book enjoyable and I listened to some recordings that I've heard a hundred times in a brand new light.
If you don't take my word for it, read some of the reviews that the reputable members of Miles last bands have written at www.thelastmiles.com
From John Scofield, to Kenny Garrett, Adam Holzman, Darryl "The Munch" Jones, Bill Evans and Mike Stern, just to name a few. This is a MUST read for all Miles historians and music lovers alike. Don't hesitate, order this book today!
The Last Miles August 2, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Well written and well researched book about the last years of Miles Davis. Typically, critics and listeners have downplayed the music of Miles after his comeback in the early 1980's. This book argues that the music of this period was of a high standard and should not be overlooked.
One interesting note - friends and colleagues of Miles Davis have some drastically different views of his retirement years - 1975-1980.
Miles Davis's music in the last phase of his career May 1, 2005
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Not a biography, "The Last Miles" rather concentrates on the music Miles Davis created and recorded in the last decade of his career as one of America's leading jazz musicians. Cole is interested especially in the sources of the music Davis produced in this last period of his prolific and influential career and how each piece was recorded. Such interests are related to Cole's writings as a journalist in the fields of music and technology. The author's keen interest in Davis's place in these fields extends to answering how Davis came up with the titles for each of his recordings. To answer this and other questions, Cole went to musicians who worked with Miles Davis and also the technicians who recorded his pieces. The business of promoting Davis's albums by Columbia and Warner is also covered. A singular look into the last stage of Davis's long, somewhat checkered career gained from varied sources; which at the same time gives a picture of the modern music business.
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