3 SHADES OF BLUE Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool

This absorbing audiobook looks at the lives of three jazz greats—Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans—from their growth as young musicians to when they collaborated on Davis’s 1959 album, KIND OF BLUE, and beyond. Their lives were challenging and full of pathos, which narrator Dion Graham captures with the empathy and vocal talent he’s known for. His vocal range and skill with dialogue are fascinating to hear in themselves—pauses, pitch patterns, and finely modulated intensity make his performance sing but never upstage the drama. This lyrical storytelling shifts seamlessly between eras, characters, the jazz scene in major cities, and the broader culture of mid-century America. It’s a sensitive look at the lives of three superheroes of the jazz world. T.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2024 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2024]