
3 Shades of Blue
Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool
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Narrated by:
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Dion Graham
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By:
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James Kaplan
About this listen
The National Bestseller • One of The Minneapolis Star Tribune's Best Books of the Year
“A superb book...[Kaplan is] a master biographer, a dogged researcher and shaper of narrative, and this is his most ambitious book to date.”—Los Angeles Times
From the author of the definitive biography of Frank Sinatra, the story of three towering artists—Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans—and how they came together to create the most iconic jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue
In 1959, America’s great indigenous art form, jazz, reached the height of its power and popularity. James Kaplan’s magnificent 3 Shades of Blue captures how that golden era came to be, and its pinnacle with the recording of Kind of Blue. It’s a book about music, and business, and race, and heroin, and the cities that gave jazz its home, and the Black geniuses behind its rise. It’s an astonishing meditation on creativity and the strange environments where it can flourish most. It’s a book about the great forebears and founders of a lost era, and the disrupters who would take the music down truly new paths. And it’s about why the world of jazz most people know is a museum to this never-replicated period.
But above all, 3 Shades of Blue is a book about three very different men—the greatness and varied fortunes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans. The tapestry of their lives is, in Kaplan’s hands, a national odyssey with no direction home. It is also a masterpiece, a book about jazz that is as big as America.
©2024 James Kaplan (P)2024 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“[Kaplan is] a master biographer, a dogged researcher and shaper of narrative, and this is his most ambitious book to date . . . he shows his instinct for juggling and connecting multiple stories and characters without taking his eye off the big picture . . . a compulsively readable work of fine synthesis and perspective . . . a superb book.”—Los Angeles Times
“James Kaplan’s new effort, 3 Shades of Blue, raises the bar . . . At a time when jazz is reemergent and viral, seeping into virtually every musical genre (and vice versa), we are fortunate that the author has conjured this hothouse flower of a book—as rarified, intricate, and haunting as an orchid.”—David Friend, Vanity Fair
“‘This is the story of the three geniuses who joined forces to create one of the great classics in Western music,’ Mr. Kaplan writes . . . 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.”—Wall Street Journal
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Performance
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The story of jazz encompasses the story of American courtship and show business; the epic growth of cities, and the struggle for civil rights and simple justice that continues into the new millennium. If you haven't already, download the accompanying audio to Ken Burns' remarkable documentary!
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Good content but reading not clear
- By Ken on 02-07-03
By: Geoffrey C. Ward, and others
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The Jazz Standards
- A Guide to the Repertoire
- By: Ted Gioia
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 21 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Written by award-winning jazz historian Ted Gioia, this comprehensive guide offers an illuminating look at more than 250 seminal jazz compositions. In this comprehensive and unique survey, here are the songs that sit at the heart of the jazz repertoire, ranging from "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Autumn in New York" to "God Bless the Child," "How High the Moon," and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." Gioia includes Broadway show tunes written by such greats as George Gershwin and Irving Berlin, and classics by such famed jazz musicians as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, and John Coltrane.
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Great info, but not ideal in audio format
- By Patrick on 08-30-14
By: Ted Gioia
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The Coen Brothers
- By: Adam Nayman
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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From such cult hits as Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski to major critical darlings Fargo, No Country for Old Men, and Inside Llewyn Davis, Ethan and Joel Coen have cultivated a bleakly comical, instantly recognizable voice in modern American cinema. Film critic Adam Nayman carefully sifts through their complex cinematic universe in an effort to plot, as he puts it, "some Grand Unified Theory of Coen-ness." The book combines critical text with a visual aesthetic that honors the Coens' singular mix of darkness and levity.
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Brilliant companion!
- By Buretto on 12-05-18
By: Adam Nayman
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World Within a Song
- Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music
- By: Jeff Tweedy
- Narrated by: Jeff Tweedy
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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What makes us fall in love with a song? What makes us want to write our own songs? Do songs help? Do songs help us live better lives? And do the lives we live help us write better songs? After two New York Times bestsellers that cemented and expanded his legacy as one of America’s best-loved performers and songwriters, Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back) and How to Write One Song, Jeff Tweedy is back with another disarming, beautiful, and inspirational book about why we listen to music, why we love songs, and how music can connect us to each other and to ourselves.
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Jeff Tweedy’s Plain Spoken, Direct, Funny, Touching, Vulnerable, & Honest Meditation on Music is Perfection
- By A Picky Reviewer on 02-10-24
By: Jeff Tweedy
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Hearing Homer's Song
- The Brief Life and Big Idea of Milman Parry
- By: Robert Kanigel
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In this literary detective story, Robert Kanigel gives us a long overdue portrait of an Oakland druggist's son who became known as the "Darwin of Homeric studies." So thoroughly did Milman Parry change our thinking about the origins of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey that scholars today refer to a "before" Parry and an "after." Kanigel describes the "before", when centuries of readers, all the way up until Parry's trailblazing work in the 1930s, assumed that the Homeric epics were "written" texts, the way we think of most literature.
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Milman Parry
- By Stephen on 05-05-21
By: Robert Kanigel
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The Golden Thirteen
- How Black Men Won the Right to Wear Navy Gold
- By: Dan Goldberg
- Narrated by: Sam Manual
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Through oral histories and original interviews with surviving family members, Dan Goldberg brings 13 forgotten heroes away from the margins of history and into the spotlight. He reveals the opposition these men faced: the racist pseudoscience, the regular condescension, the repeated epithets, the verbal abuse, and even violence. Despite these immense challenges, the Golden Thirteen persisted—understanding the power of integration, the opportunities for black Americans if they succeeded, and the consequences if they failed.
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The Golden 13 is a must read for American history
- By BE on 03-24-21
By: Dan Goldberg
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Herbie Hancock: Possibilities
- By: Herbie Hancock, Lisa Dickey
- Narrated by: Herbie Hancock
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Hancock discusses his musical influences, colorful behind-the-scenes stories, his long and happy marriage, and how Buddhism inspires him creatively and personally. Honest, enlightening, and as electrifyingly vital as the man who wrote it, Herbie Hancock promises to be an invaluable contribution to jazz literature and a must-read for fans and music lovers.
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High Marks All Round
- By Joyce on 06-21-15
By: Herbie Hancock, and others
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A Light in the Dark
- A History of Movie Directors
- By: David Thomson
- Narrated by: David Thomson
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Directors operate behind the scenes managing actors, establishing a cohesive creative vision, at times literally guiding our eyes with the eye of the camera. But we are often so dazzled by the visions onscreen that it is easy to forget the individual who is off-screen orchestrating the entire production - to say nothing of their having marshaled a script, a studio, and other people's money. David Thomson, in his usual brilliantly insightful way, shines a light on the visionary directors who have shaped modern cinema and, through their work, studies the very nature of film direction.
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Thought provoking read on great filmmakers
- By Boxing Fan on 06-17-23
By: David Thomson
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Showdown
- Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed America
- By: Wil Haygood
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Thurgood Marshall brought down the separate-but-equal doctrine, integrated schools, and not only fought for human rights and human dignity but also made them impossible to deny in the courts and in the streets. In this stunning new biography, award-winning author Wil Haygood surpasses the emotional impact of his inspiring best seller The Butler to detail the life and career of one of the most transformative legal minds of the past 100 years.
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Haygood is master of the ticktock narrative
- By Jean on 12-12-15
By: Wil Haygood
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Frank
- The Voice
- By: James Kaplan
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 22 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Bestselling author James Kaplan redefines Frank Sinatra in a triumphant new biography that includes many rarely seen photographs. Frank Sinatra was the best-known entertainer of the twentieth century—infinitely charismatic, lionized and notorious in equal measure.
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Both fascinating and tedious
- By Brad on 12-12-10
By: James Kaplan
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I Am Dynamite!
- A Life of Nietzsche
- By: Sue Prideaux
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Nietzsche wrote that all philosophy is autobiographical, and in this vividly compelling, myth-shattering biography, Sue Prideaux brings listeners into the world of this brilliant, eccentric, and deeply troubled man, illuminating the events and people that shaped his life and work. I Am Dynamite! is the essential biography for anyone seeking to understand history's most misunderstood philosopher.
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Fascinating; tragic
- By Cineaste21 on 12-30-18
By: Sue Prideaux
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Madam
- The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age
- By: Debby Applegate
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 20 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Simply put: Everybody came to Polly's. Pearl "Polly" Adler (1900-1962) was a diminutive dynamo whose Manhattan brothels in the Roaring '20s became places not just for men to have the company of women but were key gathering places where the culturati and celebrity elite mingled with high society and with violent figures of the underworld - and had a good time doing it.
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Story of 20 through the eyes of a madam
- By HMY on 12-12-21
By: Debby Applegate
What listeners say about 3 Shades of Blue
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- VAJ
- 06-06-24
important American History
informative, enlightening and entertaining. An unfiltered view of American musical history. A must read/ listen for those interested in American music.
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- Christopher Cowan
- 07-12-24
One of the most important periods of Jazz history.
Great premise and execution about an important period of American music history. I really enjoyed this book.
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- Claudia I Saldi
- 05-14-24
Superb
Well researched and written. Great concept for a book that expanded my knowledge of Jazz and history. Beautiful and thoughtful narration. I will read other books by the author and will seek out the narrator's other work.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Dr. Mike McCann
- 12-18-24
Terrific interesting view of important era
This compelling narrative is a treasure trove of stories and biography of artists on the move. It also illuminates the sad history of lives of great artists ruined by drug abuse.
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- L. Sorogheye
- 04-14-24
The history of 3 jazz greats
I loved learning the back story of their lifestyle , character and of their natural talent .
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- Emmanuel Iroanya
- 01-25-25
Captivating story
You don’t have to be a lover of jazz music to appreciate the story about three of the most influential artists of the genre. Highly recommended
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- khgeiger
- 09-25-24
Short lifespan of jazz artists
Wonderful book about 3 great jazz musicians. Kind of Blue has been by favorite jazz album since I purchased the LP during December 1960.
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- Stephen W
- 07-13-24
Fantastic Telling of 3 Lives and Jazz Music
This book provides great background on modern jazz in general and the lives of the three principles leading up to the album, Kind of Blue. Dion Graham is super and a perfect narrator for this book. His phrasing added to the inherent drama of the story. With great strengths come great weaknesses. And sadly, this story is also about the self destructive behavior of the three principals, along with Bird, and others. The longest chapter of the book is an extended coda following Miles, Evans and Coltrane post 1959. It has moments of joy but is also a slow march to the inevitable ends of the three musicians. The first half of the book added needed context and background for, what turns out to be a brief interlude in the history of Jazz and music in general. All the more precious for its brevity. Highly recommended.
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- FUN AND GAMES
- 07-02-24
everything about this book stood out!
I loved the whole book from beginning to end. it gave me a lot of information about the artists that I did not know. this was an amazing book!
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- Anonymous User
- 10-10-24
A fresh look at three jazz giants
I deeply enjoyed this three part biography. It gave a fresh and unique look at the three giants of jazz. Most attention was spent on Miles, with perhaps too little on Evans. The treatment of Coltrane did not yield much new insights, but given the private nature of the man, the author should not be faulted for that. The story seemed to end too abruptly. Also, I was left longing for more knowledge of a link between then and now, or even whether one exists. The author often left the impression that the jazz art form is dead or almost so. I was left wondering if he had written a similar treatment of say Bach, Beethoven, etc would he also say that classical music is dead? Why must we always return to this proclamation about jazz? Certainly it has something to do with society’s radicalized treatment of the art form and musicians. Nevertheless, I learned much in this book about the epochs of the music and its leading practitioners. I have recommended it highly to my friends. Thanks much to the author for the incredible and tedious hard work putting this together. It deserves a serious read by the lovers of jazz and music art forms.
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1 person found this helpful