Birth of the Cool: How Jazz Great Miles Davis Found His Sound - Hardcover

Berman, Kathleen Cornell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1624146902 ISBN 13: 9781624146909

Publisher: Page Street Kids, 2019

Synopsis

Miles can’t sleep.
Taps his toes,
snaps his fingers,
can’t stop thinking of ways
to make music his own.

As a young musician, Miles Davis heard music everywhere. This biography explores the childhood and early career of a jazz legend as he finds his voice and shapes a new musical sound. Follow his progression from East St. Louis to rural Arkansas, from Julliard and NYC jazz clubs to the prestigious Newport Jazz Festival. Rhythmic free verse imbues his story with musicality and gets readers in the groove. Music teachers and jazz fans will appreciate the beats and details throughout, and Miles’ drive to constantly listen, learn, and create will inspire kids to develop their own voice.

With evocative illustrations, this glimpse into Miles Davis’ life is sure to captivate music lovers young and old.

About this title

About the Author

Kathleen Cornell Berman is an assembler and sculptor of words and found objects. A former elementary school teacher, she now spends her time writing, creating art, and frequenting jazz concerts. This is her debut picture book. She lives in Queens, New York, with her husband.

Keith Henry Brown, debut picture book illustrator, got his start drawing super heroes, but jazz musicians like Miles Davis have always been heroes to him. A graduate of the High School of Art and Design as well as Parsons School of Design, he combined his love of art and jazz as the creative director at Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has designed and illustrated promotional graphics and several jazz album covers. Born and raised in Staten Island, he now lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

Gr 3-7-From a very early age, Davis was captivated by the music and rhythmic sounds around him. Nestled up to the radio to hear jazz legends like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, Davis longed to make his own kind of music. For his 13th birthday, he received a trumpet and never looked back, though his rise to fame was not easy. He faced discouragement in his ability to make the trumpet produce the particular sounds he wanted and exhaustion from attending Julliard while also playing in night clubs in order to learn from other musicians. His big break came when Dizzy Gillespie left Charlie Parker's band and Davis stepped in. Bebop wasn't enough for him; he yearned to develop his own style, eventually forming his own band to play music that was "cool, relaxed, with a lighter, lyrical feel." At this point in the narrative, the author references the "dark days" when Davis nearly gave up his craft, but no details are provided. The book ends after Davis receives an invitation to play at the Newport Jazz Festival where he stuns the massive audience. Within the text, the word listened is italicized every time it is used to emphasize how intently Davis engaged with the sounds he heard. The author effectively sprinkles in Davis's own words in larger, darker font. The lyrical prose is written in short stanzas that beg to be read aloud. Brown's art is warm, stylized realism that, along with the text, conveys the earnestness and enthusiasm of Davis's beginnings. ­VERDICT A great introductory biography to this musician's beginnings through age 29.­-Maggie Chase, Boise State University, IDα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Edition details

• Publisher: Page Street Kids
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1624146902
• ISBN 13: 9781624146909
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Brown Keith Henry
• Number of pages: 40