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UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI PRESS |
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Brash and brilliant, an icon of cool, Miles Davis was one of the
twentieth century's greatest artists. The East St. Louis trumpeter
had an enormous impact on jazz with such classic recordings as
"Kind of Blue" and "Sketches of Spain," and inspired artists,
poets, and other musicians with his musical conception and
mysterious persona.
Miles Davis and American Culture examines Davis in cultural context. In this new collection of a dozen essays, William Kenney explores the St. Louis jazz scene of Davis's youth; Eugene B. Redmond looks at East St. Louis's cultural history; Ingrid Monson examines Davis and civil rights; and Waldo Martin discusses Davis and his relation to the black avant-garde of the 1960s.Original interviews and classic photographs round out the volume, published to coincide with the 2001 Miles Davis Festival, celebrating what would have been Davis's seventy-fifth birthday.
About the Editor
Gerald Early is Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters at Washington University. He is also the editor of Ain't But a Place: An Anthology of African American Writings about St. Louis.