Book Review: 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool by James Kaplan

A Journey Through the Creation and Impact of Jazz’s Timeless Masterpiece

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James Kaplan’s 3 Shades of Blue is a riveting exploration of three iconic musicians—Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans—who shaped the landscape of jazz during its most transformative era. Kaplan’s writing captures the complexity of their lives and their art, blending historical context, personal anecdotes, and musical analysis into a compelling narrative. By focusing on their individual contributions and their intersections, particularly in the creation of the landmark album Kind of Blue, Kaplan offers readers a nuanced portrait of an art form in perpetual motion and reinvention.

The Essence of Cool and the Empire It Built

Kaplan’s work begins with a thoughtful prologue that addresses jazz’s evolving cultural position. Once feared and misunderstood, jazz became America’s native art form, but it also faced cycles of decline and resurgence. Kaplan highlights how the genre’s shift from dance music to a more intellectual and expressive form coincided with the rise of bebop and later hard bop, creating fertile ground for artists like Davis, Coltrane, and Evans. The “lost empire of cool” refers to the fleeting dominance of jazz as both a cultural movement and an artistic revolution, encapsulated in the years between 1940 and 1960.

This historical framing sets the stage for Kaplan’s main thesis: that Davis, Coltrane, and Evans represented three distinct shades of this empire, each contributing a unique voice to its enduring legacy.

Miles Davis: The Visionary

Kaplan devotes considerable attention to Miles Davis, portraying him as both a musical innovator and a cultural icon. The book delves into Davis’s early life, including his privileged upbringing in East St. Louis and his formative years at Juilliard, where he studied music theory while immersing himself in the burgeoning bebop scene of 52nd Street.