Book on Miles Davis’ “Lost Quintet” Coming in 2016

The Miles Davis Lost Quintet and Other Revolutionary Ensembles, a new book by author, historian and musician Bob Gluck (You'll Know When You Get There: Herbie Hancock and the Mwandishi Band), will be published next year by University of Chicago Press. The forthcoming title centers on the Davis outfit that included saxophonist Wayne Shorter, keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette, and later added percussionist Airto Mireira and second keyboardist Keith Jarrett. (Shorter was succeeded by Steve Grossman and at the very end Gary Bartz.) 

According to the publisher's press release, Gluck “explores the performances of this revolutionary group—Davis’s first electric band—to illuminate the thinking of one of our rarest geniuses and, by extension, the extraordinary transition in American music that he and his fellow players ushered in.”

Gluck also tracks the ways that other exploratory outfits of the period, including Circle and the Revolutionary Ensemble, drew equally upon the musical legacy of Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane.