Miless early search for Bird is documented in "Milesthe Autobiography." In this fictionalized account soft-tinted water colors evoke New York in the forties-skyscrapers fire escapes bridges subways newsstands the Staten Island ferry and 52nd Street. Lookin" for Bird just everywhere. And bop! "Notes came to me as jagged as the city skyline and far away as where the sun goes down "cause I wanted my music to soar as high as hisand I had to be ready. Ba-do-ba-doba-beeba-do." The spirit of jazz appears appropriately as a bird. The story ends happily.
New generations of jazz musicians have filled the ranks as the masters have passed on. However this great music's survival depends on a similar renewal of audiences. We should be grateful to the jazz-loving author and artist who have filled a gap in juvenile literature. The publisher recommends this book for ages 6 to 9 but the poetic text and lmaginative illustrations have an appeal to older children including this grandfather. Give one to a child. Bird lives!'Two jazz lovers, an artist and an illustrator,have filled a gap in childrens literature with this beautifully produced account of a youthful Miles Davis searching for his idol.'