Ian Carr (1) (1933–2009)

This morning I was listening to a recording of Miles Davis concert performance at the Carnegie Hall in 1961. It was the concert that also featured Gil Evans big band as well as Davis's working quintet. On the CD it is evident that for some tracks Miles played solo backed by the band, on other tracks his quintet was playing out in front of the band and on others just the quintet was performing. I wondered how the concert was arranged, because it was clear that the original record did not include all the pieces played that night. I could not find the order of the performances on the internet, but I remembered I had an unread biography by Ian Carr. I still did not find the answer, but I could not put down the biography and finished it tonight.

The biography that I read was published in 1982 when Miles Davis was still alive. It was subsequently repackaged with additional information and called The Definitive Biography in 1998 after Davis had died in 1991. The Critical Biography concentrates on the music, Ian Carr is a well known jazz trumpeter and would have an inside track on both the music and some of the musicians that played with Miles. Where Davis's private life impacts on the music then Carr gives us the necessary information; for example Davis was critical of the treatment of black people in America and wanted his music to speak to them and sometimes for them. His music appealed mainly to the white jazz listening public and Miles, as he became more well known tried to shift the balance. There are of course instances of Davis falling foul of the police, the authorities and white service men, but this is not the main focus of this book. Ian Carr is a white jazz musician and he writes about what he knows best and that is the music.

The musical development of arguably the greatest jazz trumpeter is well documented. His early association with Charlie Parker in the bebop groups, and then moving beyond that to leading his own groups in what is now known as cool jazz. The winning of most jazz accolades quickly followed and then his first great quintet with John Coltrane. We follow him searching to take his music further after the break up of this group and the next great quintet with Wayne Shorter. The music has changed with the personnel and Miles is forging his own path steering away from the avant garde players and looking over his shoulder at the younger rock musicians. He takes on board electric instruments and once again a period of transition where the rhythmic pulse drives him towards more skeletal stripped down music; his music becomes funkier taking on board some of the sounds from rock music and he becomes more interested in group improvisation. Ian Carr takes us through all the important recording sessions, describing the music played and the people playing it. He includes comments from Miles' sideman digging to try and get inside Miles' own thoughts on the music he was making. The critical bit of the biography is criticism of the music, not the lifestyle of the musicians

Ian Carr gives musical examples and there is an appendix at the back with written musical examples. Some knowledge of how jazz and music works will enhance the reading experience, but it is not essential because Carr explains as well as he can the sound created and how the musicians went about their work. For me this was the perfect biography, yes it does concentrate on the music, but there is enough background to give a feel for the characters of the individuals who make that music. There are some of Miles famous quotes scattered through the text and one at the start of each chapter:

"When it comes to human rights, these prejudiced white people keep on acting like they own the damn franchise"

" I don't buy polish .......Polished negroes are acting the way they think white people want them to act, so they can be accepted"

" An artists first responsibility is to himself"

I am glad that I read the original publication of 1982, which stops while Davis was still alive with the last item in the discography being the 1981 session that produced Man with the Horn. Miles was still making music, but his health was failing and his important work was behind him. I don't like being in at the death when I read a biography. Ian Carr's love of the music is evident all through the book, but he is critical of some of music without being prejudiced against a certain style or trend. I can vouch for the accuracy of some of his observations because he describes a Miles Davis concert in London in 1967 where I was in the audience and it was just how I remembered it. This is a fabulous biography for anyone interested in jazz and/or Miles Davis 5 stars.… (more)