Carr has talked with the people who knew the man and his music best; and for this edition, updated since Davis's death, he has conducted new interviews with a number of jazz greats, including Ron Carter, Max Roach, and John Scofield.From the early New York apprenticeship with Charlie Parker, through Davis's drug addiction of the early 1950s, to the years (1954-1960) during which he signed with Columbia and recorded masterpieces with John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, and Cannonball Adderly, Carr sheds new light on Davis's life and career. His reclusive period (1975-1980) is explored with firsthand accounts of his descent back into addiction as is his dramatic return to life and music.

    PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. Illustrated throughout by Cliff Roberts' stylized bebop drawings.

    The book is not intended to be either an arranging or improvisation text, but a pedagogical reference providing the information musicians need to pursue any activity they wish.

    Looking in detail at the great jazz figures of the 20s and 30s as well as their classic recordings, Humph provides plenty of lively historical background, often taken from the reminiscences of the musicians involved.