Bye Bye Blackbird — Richard Stevenson

Bye Bye Blackbird is an elegaic sequel to the celebrated Live Evil: A Homage to Miles Davis. There is a hint of sadness in these final poems, a completion of a life well-lived. From his beginnings as the doctor s son, listening to bebop artists such as Dizzy and Bird,. to the more expansive psychedelic jazz of his later years, expressed by his Bitch s Brew album, Miles Davis has had a profound influence on subsequent generations of musicians. Richard Stevenson writes like a true jazz fan, in poetic admiration for another artist, his imagination swelling with the music of jazz. This new volume is a compelling and fresh approach to the story of Miles Davis, the man and the musician, who has been called a musical genius: in an approachable and colloquial language, we hear the resonance of Miles Davis's voice speaking through the poetry. Stevenson unravels the intricate relationships of his life, to reveal the truth behind the man. In a colloquial and conversational tone, Bye Bye Blackbird is a farewell elegy to a jazz great who still seems vitally present.