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Miles Davis bibliography

The Miles Davis literature, as you might expect, is enormous. Here is a sampling. If you know of good books or articles that aren't listed below, send me a message and I will add them.

  • Chris Albertson, "The Unmasking of Miles Davis," Saturday Review, November 27, 1971, pp. 67-87 (with interruptions).
  • Frank Alkyer, "The Miles Files," Down Beat, December 1991, pp. 22-24.
  • ------ (ed.), The Miles Davis Reader. New York: Hal Leonard, 2007.
  • Amiri Baraka, "Miles Davis: One of the Great Mother Fuckers," in Amiri and Amina Baraka (edd.), The Music: Reflections on Jazz and Blues. New York: William Morrow, 1987, pp. 290-301.
  • Bob Belden and John Ephland, "Miles... What was that note?" Down Beat, December 1995, pp. 17-22.
  • Ian Carr, Miles Davis: A Biography. New York: Morrow, 1982.
  • Franck Bergerot, Miles Davis: introduction a l'ecoute du jazz moderne. Éditions du Seuil, Paris, 1996.
  • Luca Bragalini, "Miles Davis e la Disgregazione dello Standard, parts 1-2" Musica Jazz, 53/9 (Agosto-Settembre 1997) and 53/10 (Ottobre 1997). (English translation available on this website)
  • Howard Brofsky, "Miles Davis and My Funny Valentine: The Evolution of a Solo," Black Music Research Journal 3, Winter 1983, pp. 23-34.
  • Gary Carner, The Miles Davis Companion: Four Decades of Commentary. New York: Schirmer Books, 1996.
  • Ian Carr, Miles Davis: A Critical Biography. New York: Morrow, 1982; London: Quartet Books, 1982.
  • Luca Cerchiari, Miles Davis: Dal Bebop all' Hip-Hop. Milan: Feltrinelli Editore, 2013.
  • Jack Chambers, Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles Davis. New York: Da Capo Press, 1998. Previously published by Quill/Morrow, 1989. Originally published in two volumes, 1983 and 1985.
  • Bill Cole, Miles Davis: The Early Years. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994.
  • George Cole, The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis, 1980-1991. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005. [website]
  • Kwami Tain Coleman, The "Second Quintet": Miles Davis, The Jazz Avant-Garde, and Change, 1959-1968. Stanford University PhD Disseration, 2014.
  • Todd Coolman, The Miles Davis Quintet of the Mid-1960s: Synthesis of Improvisational and Compositional Elements. New York University PhD dissertation, 1997.
  • Richard Cook, It's About That Time: Miles Davis On and Off Record. London: Atlantic Books, 2005.
  • Julie Coryell and Laura Friedman, Jazz-Rock Fusion: The People, The Music. New York: Delta Books, 1978.
  • Laurent Cugny, Electrique Miles Davis 1968-1975. Marseille: André Dimanche Éditeur, 1993. [reissued 2019]
  • Michael Cuscuna and Michel Ruppli, The Blue Note Label: A Discography. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988.
  • Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe, Miles: The Autobiography. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989.
  • Miles Davis with Scott Gutterman, The Art of Miles Davis. New York: Prentice Hall Editions, 1991.
  • Stephen Davis, Miles Davis 1973: My Ego Only Needs a Good Rhythm Section. New York: Vigliano Books, 2014.
  • Scott DeVeaux, The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History. Berkeley and London: University of California Press, 1997.
  • Chris DeVito, Yasuhiro Fujioka, Wolf Schmaler, David Wild, edited by Lewis Porter, The John Coltrane Reference. New York and London: Taylor and Francis, 2008. [website]
  • Massimo Doná, La Filosofia di Miles Davis. Milan and Udine: Mimesis Edizione, 2015.
  • Gerald Early (ed.), Miles Davis and American Culture. St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society Press, 2001.
  • Leonard Feather, "Miles and the Fifties" (Classic Interview), Down Beat, March 1995, pp. 36-39. (Interview originally appeared in Down Beat July 2, 1964.)
  • Leonard Feather and Miles Davis, "Blindfold Test." Davis did five Blindfold Tests with Feather in Down Beat magazine: September 21, 1955 (pp. 33-34); August 7, 1958 (p. 29); June 18, 1964 (p. 21); June 13, 1968 (p. 34); and June 27, 1968 (p. 33).
  • Larry Fisher, Miles Davis and Dave Liebman: Jazz Connections. Stroudsberg: CARIS Music Services, 1999.
  • Phil Freeman, Running the Voodoo Down: The Electric Music of Miles Davis. New York: Backbeat Books, 2005.
  • Yasuhiro Fujioka, Lewis Porter, and Yoh-Ichi Hamada, John Coltrane: A Discography and Musical Biography. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1995. Rutgers University Institute of Jazz Studies, Studies in Jazz, Volume 20.
  • Alain Gerber, Miles Davis et le blues du blanc: La ballade du honky-tonk man. Paris: Éditions Bayard, 2003.
  • Ralph J. Gleason, "Miles Davis," Rolling Stone, December 13, 1969.
  • Bob Gluck, The Miles Davis Lost Quintet and Other Revolutionary Ensembles. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017.
  • Frédéric Goaty, Miles Davis, Editions Vade Retro, Paris, 1995.
  • George Grella, Jr., Bitches Brew. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015.
  • Farah Jasmine Griffin and Salim Washington, Clawing at the Limits of Cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane and the Greatest Jazz Collaboration Ever. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008.
  • Gregg Hall, "Miles Davis: Today's Most Influential Contemporary Musician," Down Beat, July 18, 1974, pp. 16-20.
  • Alex Haley, "The Miles Davis Interview," Playboy, September 1962.
  • Max Harrison, "Sheer Alchemy, for a While: Miles Davis and Gil Evans," Jazz Monthly, December 1958 and Febraury 1960.
  • Don Heckman, "Miles Davis Times Three: The Evolution of a Jazz Artist," Down Beat, August 30, 1962, pp. 16-19.
  • Clarence Bernard Henry, Miles Davis: A Research and Information Guide. London and New York: Routledge, 2017.
  • Michael James, Miles Davis. London: Faber and Cassell, 1961.
  • Ashley Kahn, Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece. New York: Da Capo Press, 2000.
  • James Kaplan, 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool. New York: Penguin Random House, 2024.
  • Barry Kernfield, Adderley, Coltrane, and Davis at the Twilight of Bop: The Search for Melodic Coherence (1958-1959). Ann Arbor: University Microfilems, 1981.
  • Bill Kirchner (ed.), A Miles Davis Reader (Smithsonian Readers in American Music). Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997.
  • Tobias Lemkuhl, Coolness: Über Miles Davis. Rogner & Bernhard, Berlin, 2009
  • Ruud Kuyper, Miles Davis dichterbij. Utrecht: Luyting, 1988.
  • Steve Lajoie, Gil Evans and Miles Davis: Historic Collaborations 1957-1962. Advance Music, 2003.
  • Jan Lohmann, The Sound of Miles Davis: The Discography 1945-1991. Copenhagen: JazzMedia ApS, 1992.
  • Daryl Long, Miles Davis for Beginners. New York: Writers and Readers, 1994.
  • Serge Loupien, Miles Davis. E.J.L. Librio no. 307. Paris: Flammarion, 1999.
  • Jeffrey Magee, "Kinds of Blue: Miles Davis, Afro-Modernism, and the Blues," Jazz Perspectives vol. 1, no. 1 (May 2007): 5-27.
  • Paul Maher, Jr. and Michael K. Dorr (edd.), Miles on Miles: Interviews and Conversations with Miles Davis. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2009.
  • Howard Mandel, "Sketches of Miles," Down Beat, December 1991, pp. 16-20.
  • Gary Marmorstein, The Label: A Story of Columbia Records. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2007.
  • Walter Mauro, Miles et Juliette. Rome: Giulio Perrone Editore, 2018.
  • Barry McRae, Miles Davis. London: Apollo Books, 1988.
  • Franck Médioni, Miles Davis – 80 musiciens de jazz témoignent. Arles: Actes Sud, 2009.
  • Enrico Merlin, "Code MD: Coded Phrases in the Early Electric Period" (Prepared for Miles Davis and American Culture II: May 10-11, 1996, Washington University, St. Louis). (Copy available on this website)
  • ------, Miles Davis 1959: A Day-by-Day Chronology. Privately printed, 2017. (Details on his website)
  • Enrico Merlin and Veniero Rizzardi, Bitches Brew: Genesi del capolavaro di Miles Davis. Milano: Il Saggiatori, 2009.
  • Guido Michelone, Miles Davis: Il Sound del Futuro. Siena: Libra Barbera, 2011.
  • Dan Morgenstern, "Miles in Motion," Down Beat, September 3, 1970, pp. 16-17.
  • Tore Mortensen, Miles Davis: Den Ny Jazz. Aarhus: n/a, 1976.
  • Brian Morton, Miles Davis. London: Haus, 2005.
  • Chris Murphy, Miles to Go: The Lost Years. New York: Da Capo Press, 2006.
  • Yasuki Nakayama, Miles Davis Complete Discography. Tokyo: Futabasha, 2000.
  • ------, Listen to Miles, Version 6. Tokyo: Futabasha, 2004.
  • ------, Miles Davis: We Love Music, We Love the Earth. Tokyo: Tokyo FM, 2002.
  • Eric Nisenson, 'Round About Midnight: A Portrait of Miles Davis. New York: Da Capo Press, 1996.
  • ------, The Making of Kind of Blue: Miles Davis and his Masterpiece. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.
  • Takao Ogawa a.o., Jazz Hero's Data Bank. [sic] Tokyo: JICC, 1991.
  • Toyoki Okajima (ed.), The Complete Blue Note Book: Tribute to Alfred Lion. Jazz Critique Special Edition, No. 3 (1987). Tokyo: Jazz Hihyo, 1987.
  • ------, The Prestige Book: Discography of All Series. Jazz Critique Special Edition No. 3 (1996). Tokyo: Jazz Hihyo, 1996.
  • Harvey Pekar, "Miles Davis: 1964-69 Recordings," Coda, May 1976, pp. 8-14.
  • Bret Primack, "Remembering Miles," Jazz Times, February 1992, pp. 17-88 (with interruptions).
  • Michel Ruppli and Bob Porter, The Prestige Label: A Discography. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1980.
  • Michel Ruppli and Bob Porter, The Savoy Label: A Discography. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1980.
  • Jimmy Saunders, "An Interview with Miles Davis," Playboy, April 1975.
  • R.B. Shaw, "Miles Above," Jazz Journal, November 1960, pp. 15-16.
  • Chris Smith, "A Sense of the Possible: Miles Davis and the Semiotics of Improvised Performance", in In the Course of Performance: Studies in the World of Musical Improvisation (edd. Bruno Nett and Melinda Russell), University of Chicago Press, 1998.
  • Jeremy Smith, Sound, Mediation, and Meaning in Miles Davis' A Tribute to Jack Johnson. Duke University PhD Dissertation, 2008.
  • Michael Stradford, Miles Style: The Fashion of Miles Davis. London: Smith Stradford Services, 2020.
  • Victor Svorinich, Listen to This: Miles Davis and Bitches Brew. University Press of Mississippi, 2015.
  • John Szwed, So What: The Life of Miles Davis. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2002.
  • Greg Tate, "The Electric Miles: Parts 1 and 2," Down Beat, July and August 1983.
  • Matthieu Thibault, Bitches Brew ou le Jazz Psychédélique. Marseille: Éditions Le mot et le reste, 2012.
  • Paul Tingen, Miles Beyond: Electric Explorations of Miles Davis, 1967-1991. New York: Billboard Books, 2001. [website]
  • Gary Tomlinson, "Miles Davis: Musical Dialogician," Black Music Research Journal 11/2, Fall 1991, pp. 249-64.
  • Quincy Troupe, Miles and Me. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
  • Ken Vail, Miles' Diary: The Life of Miles Davis, 1947-1961. London: Sanctuary Publishing, 1996.
  • Robert Walser, "Out of Notes: Signification, Interpretation, and the Problem of Miles Davis," Musical Quarterly, Summer 1993, pp. 343-65.
  • Peter Weissmüller, Miles Davis: Sein Leben, Musik, Schallplatten. Berlin: OREOS, 1988.
  • Keith Waters, The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-1968. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
  • Richard Williams, The Man in The Green Shirt. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1993.
  • ------, The Blue Moment: Miles Davis' Kind of Blue and the Remaking of Modern Music. London: Faber and Faber, 2009.
  • Masaya Yamaguchi, Miles Davis: New Research on Miles Davis and His Circle. New York: Masaya Music, 2019. (Available as an e-book from Amazon.com)
  • Jeremy Yudkin, Miles Davis, Miles Smiles and the Invention of Post-Bop. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008.

Miles Davis websites

Here are some Miles Davis websites. Some of these sites -- especially George Cole's and Paul Tingen's -- contain much more information about Miles Davis' later recordings than you will find here.

If you know of other good internet resources about Miles Davis and his music, please send me a message and I will check them out.

Official Miles Davis Website
The Official Miles Davis Website, with MP3s, biography, and lots of merchandising links.

The Wikipedia entry for Miles Davis
An extensive article about Miles Davis covering all periods of his career

The Wikipedia entry for Miles Davis discography
A basic discography for Miles Davis from Wikipedia

Miles Davis discography at Discogs.com
Extensive discography of Miles Davis from Discogs.com

Miles Davis (formerly Kind of Blue)
An extensive site with comprehensive details for recordings, session, books and articles, etc. Maintained by Peter Probst.

The Music of Miles
Tommaso Urbano's remarkable website with hundreds of transcribed Miles Davis solos, plus insightful essays about sessions.

George Cole's The Last Miles
A website companion to George Cole's The Last Miles (University of Michigan Press, 2004), "the first book to focus exclusively on the final decade of Miles’s life and music."

Paul Tingen's Miles Beyond
Maintained by Paul Tingen, whose book Miles Beyond: The Electric Explorations of Miles Davis, 1967-1991 came out in May 2001.

Miles Davis on Screen
Eric Jooris' extensive videography: a nicely-curated collection of "filmed appearances of Miles Davis, whether live on stage, during interviews or other performances and events."

The Heat Wraps
Jeremy Erwin's exhaustive analysis of live recordings from 1969-1975, with setlists, photos, posters, etc.

The Electric Mile
"The Electric Miles Davis Virtual Museum"

Record Reviews
David Bertrand Wilson and John Alroy's reviews of Davis recordings.

Aloha Miles: 1988-1989 Waikiki Shell Concerts
Maintained by Jerry S. Justianto, with photos.

CD Japan Miles Davis List
CD Japan is a good resource if you're interested in Japanese compact discs, movies, etc.

All original content on this website is licensed by Peter Losin under a Creative Commons License