Frances Taylor Davis - Miles's Wife, her story. Horrifying.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

One final thing that occurred to.me in all this is the CENTRAL role of women in jazz. Not as overlooked (often) players but as the bedrock of its existence. The emotional support and often the economic facilitator. The woman who worked and held things together while her partner pursued his "art". Or got high with his friends. Jazz is full of these invisible women. One of the concepts of anthropology is that narrative omissions are often a result of facts too inconvenient to socially acknowledge, or so all present they are not even considered. Plato's cave. I've always thought the economics of jazz massively unexamined. I'm beginning to realise now why.

[Serial_Apologist]

One final thing that occurred to.me in all this is the CENTRAL role of women in jazz. Not as overlooked (often) players but as the bedrock of its existence. The emotional support and often the economic facilitator. The woman who worked and held things together while her partner pursued his "art". Or got high with his friends. Jazz is full of these invisible women. One of the concepts of anthropology is that narrative omissions are often a result of facts too inconvenient to socially acknowledge, or so all present they are not even considered. Plato's cave. I've always thought the economics of jazz massively unexamined. I'm beginning to realise now why.

Indeed - there's a book or two waiting to be written on that subject.

[Quarky]

Interesting - it might put the incident outside Birdland August 25 1959 in which Miles was beaten up by the Police in a somewhat different light.

Francis married 1958 - cruelly treated - she did inform the police at one stage -

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Indeed - there's a book or two waiting to be written on that subject.

VAL WILMER. She once said that was the one aspect of "As Serious As Your Life" that needed revisiting. That she'd taken male musicians asertions about their relationships at face value, even when some were possibly exploitative. But to do so would require an entire rewrite, so she let the book stand as a product of its time. It's a great book and a great advocacy, but if anyone has the strength, maturity and insight to produce a much deeper piece on women's "place", it's her. I've got a huge respect for her.

[CGR]

One final thing that occurred to.me in all this is the CENTRAL role of women in jazz. Not as overlooked (often) players but as the bedrock of its existence. The emotional support and often the economic facilitator. The woman who worked and held things together while her partner pursued his "art". Or got high with his friends. Jazz is full of these invisible women. One of the concepts of anthropology is that narrative omissions are often a result of facts too inconvenient to socially acknowledge, or so all present they are not even considered. Plato's cave. I've always thought the economics of jazz massively unexamined. I'm beginning to realise now why.

And of course there is the old joke:

Q - What do you call a jazz musician without a girlfriend?
A - Homeless.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

And of course there is the old joke:

Q - What do you call a jazz musician without a girlfriend?
A - Homeless.

"If you're going up to the City, better find yourself a Lady" And don't mess around with dope.

[JimD]

Making excuses for the behaviour of someone like Miles on the grounds of his genius as an artist is a classic example of confusing the artist with his art ( ...) if that brutalisation found its way into his personality in the form of sociopathic behaviour that's something else that needs to be understood. His behaviour is horrifying but also tragic.

Is there an incipient tension between the statements on either side of (my) ellipsis?

[Richard Barrett]

Is there an incipient tension between the statements on either side of (my) ellipsis?

I don't think there is. Understanding something isn't the same as excusing it.