The story of how jazz arrived at the pinnacle of American culture in 1959, told through the journey of three artists--Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans.
A compelling biography ... While the thrill of being a fly on the wall for these historic hours provides the core of Kaplan’s undertaking, the book’s most enlightening passages detail the cosmic coincidences, historic displays of hubris and relentless substance addictions that, for better and worse, defined his subjects’ lives.
A bracing reminder of when jazz represented a widely relevant culture ... Kaplan knows some music theory, enough to conjure the ideas behind specific styles and sounds without getting inaccessible. But mostly, he’s a master biographer, a dogged researcher and shaper of narrative, and this is his most ambitious book to date ... It’s a compulsively readable work of fine synthesis and perspective that draws on others’ previous work and the author’s own interviews.
3 Shades of Blue does not tell any new stories ... But Mr. Kaplan does a wonderful job synthesizing sources to produce a compelling narrative history. His own interviews add a lot as well. His technical descriptions of the music are accessible and useful.
