Review by Booklist Review
Attentive followers of jazz master Miles Davis will know that his visual art appeared on an album cover now and then when album covers mattered. But few are aware of the extent of Davis' commitment to sketching and painting. Beginning in 1980, when he was 54, until his death in 1991, Davis made art as much a part of his life as music, bringing to it the same inner-directed quest for fresh expression. Not that one can't detect elements of inspiration in this gorgeous volume of sharp and saturated colorplates, namely Davis' responses to Kandinsky, Basquiat, Picasso, and African tribal art. His subjects include highly stylized and powerful female figures, funky characters he called his robots, and totempole faces. A bold and skilled colorist, Davis kept everything in motion in his vibrant, dynamic, lushly textured compositions. Reflections by Davis' nephew and band member Vince Wilburn Jr. and two of Davis' children and a 1991 interview with music and art writer Scott Gutterman round out this exhilarating volume of dazzling and affecting testimony to Davis' many-faceted creativity.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Miles Davis (1926-91), one of the greatest American jazzmen, is renowned for the creativity of his music. While there have been some controversies regarding aspects of his private life, there can be no doubts about his artistry. It may surprise many people to discover that he also produced drawings and paintings. It is not unusual for famous people to dabble in art-President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Winston Churchill are two examples-but their work is generally considered amateurish and valued mostly by association with their creator. Arts and music writer Gutterman's (deputy director, Neue Galerie New York) volume suggests that Davis's artworks rise above the fame of their creator and reveal further evidence of his creative genius. Commentary accompanying what is primarily a visual catalog of drawings and paintings is provided by several friends, relatives, and an art critic, and there is a foreword by composer, producer, and musician Quincy Jones. VERDICT An intriguing look at a little-known aspect of Miles Davis. Any library with an interest in modern art or jazz music would find this book of value.-Eugene C. Burt, Seattle (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
