3 SHADES OF BLUE

How three titans of jazz came together to create magic.

Kaplan, the author of the definitive biography of Frank Sinatra, gives us a peek inside group genius at work. In smooth, evocative prose, Kaplan memorably demonstrates the “thrill of this great and never-fading music” during the period between the mid-1940s and the early 1960s. After riffing on interviewing Miles Davis for Vanity Fair and Davis’ bumpy relationship with Wynton Marsalis, the author smoothly transitions to a host of meticulous narratives about the intersecting lives of iconic musicians. Davis, a highly gifted young trumpeter, joined Billy Eckstine’s star-studded band—Sarah Vaughn, Art Blakey, Charlie “Bird” Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie—after high school. Then it was on to New York City and Juilliard, briefly, before a series of club bands, playing alongside Parker and Gillespie and laying down new vibes and bebop. Then Kaplan digs deep into John Coltrane and the legendary jams and recording sessions, everyone’s frustrations at playing in Parker’s shadow, and mounting deaths from heroin. Throughout this vibrant text, the author captures the time and atmosphere perfectly—the music, the personalities, the fragrant aroma of weed in the air—and he brings us right into the performances, unwinding the subtle nuances in the music and keeping up with the always-fluctuating band configurations over the years in numerous cities. Heroin took a toll on Davis as well, and in 1955, Parker died at age 34. The third piece of this musical tale, the accomplished pianist Bill Evans, got “thrown into the deep end of the pool—and, to his own surprise, stayed afloat” in 1958, performing in the Miles Davis Sextet. A year later, they came together again, “heading for parts unknown,” and created a “timeless album,” Kind of Blue.

A marvelous must-read for jazz fans and anyone interested in this dynamic period of American music.