Biography of Jazz Icon Miles Davis Released for His Centennial

Music journalist Stefan Hentz has authored a biography of Miles Davis, published in 2026 to mark what would have been the legendary trumpeter's 100th birthday. The book, titled 'Miles Davis. Sound eines Lebens,' offers a detailed account of Davis's life and career, tracing his evolution from early influences to his status as a pivotal figure in 20th-century jazz. Hentz structures the narrative unconventionally by starting with Davis's later period in the 1980s, when he embraced electronic funk-jazz after a hiatus, and then moving backward to explore his beginnings. The biography covers Davis's rise in the jazz world, including his early work with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in New York, his development of cool jazz with Gil Evans, and landmark albums like 'Kind of Blue,' which became the best-selling jazz record of all time. It also delves into his forays into jazz-rock in the late 1960s, his struggles with health and addiction, and his final creative phase influenced by digital sounds and artists like Prince. Hentz aims to contextualize Davis's artistic journey within broader cultural, social, and political history, while examining his complex personality, often referred to as 'Prince of Darkness.' The publication includes 385 pages with 35 illustrations and is released by Reclam-Verlag.