Reading Miles Davis’s Autobiography I could imagine what he would sound like in real life. My man used obscenity in every other word. But that’s the Prince of Darkness, and he spoke his mind whether the subject is music, women, drugs or racism. He held nothing back. One of the skills that made Miles a jazz legend was his leadership. He not only was able to get the sounds he wanted from his musicians, but he also was capable of bringing out their chemistries working together as a unit despite their distinctive styles. He had issues with the police and white men when it came to politic, but was fair and square when it came to music. Davis wouldn’t pick out a black player over a white one just because of the skin color. He would go for the cats that could play jazz. While I respect him as an artist who constantly pushed his art to another level, and who listened and learned from the older (Bird, Diz, Monk and Bud) as well as the younger (Tony, Wayne and Herbie) musicians, I detested him as a misogynist who mistreated and even slapped women. Before reading this book, I picture Miles Davis as a cool brother. After reading it, I still find him to be a cool musician, but not quite a cool gentleman.

Translating Vietnamese into English is hard; translating Vietnamese folk poems into English is much harder, or nearly impossible. I applaud John Balaban for taking on the challenge, but some of his interpretations in Ca Dao Viet Nam don’t do it for me. The folkloric tradition, witty wordplays, and lyrical esthetics are lost in transformation.

He translates, “Gio dua trang” as “The wind plays with the moon.” Why plays, and not swings? When he switches the order of “Lon len co hoc, em oi” to “Study hard, little one, grow up,” he has changed the meaning of the sentence, and it sounds quite awkward. As if we’re telling the little one to hungry and grow up so that we don’t have to take care of him anymore, instead of telling him to study hard when he grows up.

“Perhaps I must leave you” is too disruptive and harsh compares to “Co hoi nay anh danh doan bo em.” And “Bad beer soon sends you home” is nowhere near the lyrical harmony of “Ruou lat uong lam cung say.” Why bad beer for ruou lat, and not plain wine? Yet, what baffles me the most is: “Uong an kham kho biet phan nan cung ai? / Phan nan cung truc, cung mai” (“The body is pain. I can’t complain. / My food is bamboo shoots and plums”). Where do the bamboo shoots and plums come from? Besides, those two aren’t classified as kham kho (poverty-stricken) food either.

I am in no way of trying to castigate Mr. Balaban for what he did. In fact, for a foreigner to come up to the people during the war and ask them to sing their favorite folk tunes takes tremendous courage, and he did it. I have respect for him; therefore, I am just simply pointing out the things that don’t work for me. So it is nothing personal.

Philip Freeman’s Running the Voodoo Down: The Electric Music of Miles Davis is a detailed analysis of the Prince of Darkness’s fusion albums including Bitches Brew, On the Corner and Doo-Bop. Freeman who is a jazz critic has done a marvelous job of breaking down Davis’s masterpieces to help readers understand not only what they listen to, but also Davis’s artistic vision, and how he chose his musicians to get the sounds he wanted. In addition, Freeman delves into the controversial issues of Davis’s music, his influence on other musicians, as well as his musical openness. Freeman’s beautiful descriptive language combined with his meticulious observation makes Running the Voodoo Down a fantastic read for anyone interested in Davis’s ingenious and organic sound.

I picked up Jazz: A Century of Change for my plane rides, and it turns out to be an invaluable reading on jazz criticism. From defining the word jazz to the analysis of early jazz, swing era, and bebop to the drug and race issues, jazz scholar Lewis Porter pulls together informative essays and incorporates them into specific topics to illustrate his presentation. One of my favorite pieces is “The Technique of the Jazz Singer” by Richard Rodney Bennett, in which the author uses Billie Holiday to demonstrate what it takes to be a true jazz vocalist. Bennett writes, “I feel simply that a singer who is at his best with jazz accompaniment and who naturally sings freely and ‘swing’ is singing jazz.” In addition to positive articles, Porter also includes negative excerpts to give readers both sides of the controversies, including a letter from Wynton Marsalis responses to the Voice’s jazz critic Kevin Whitehead. A Century of Change is highly recommended for those who are interested in the discussions of jazz beyond the music and the history.

Jazz, poetries, and illustrations, don’t they make a great combination? From Armstrong to DiZ, Jazz ABZ is a collection of jazz portrait paintings by Paul Rogers, and each piece is complemented by Wynton Marsalis’s words. Roger is a fine artist, and his artworks are rich, vibrant, and expressive. Furthermore, his typography skill—bold, playful, and captivating—provides his visuals with jazz characteristics. Although studying Rogers’s type treatment alone is worth the price of the book, the witty (sporadically silly) wordplays trumpeter Marsalis enhance the aesthetic of the graphics, or vice versa. And for those who aren’t familiar with jazz history, Phil Schaap’s brief biographies of the twenty-six featured musicians are both informative and helpful. Jazz ABZ is a children book; however, jazz enthusiasts and graphic designers of any age will also appreciate this little precious work of art.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White is a book that I read every now and then to refresh my mind on writing. With Maira Kalman’s gorgeous visuals complementing the texts, the illustrated edition is an invaluable gift for anyone who wishes to write clearly and concisely. It’s a classic material.

Gentlemen, if you still don’t know what to get your significant others anything this Christmas, you might want to think about The Cosmo Kama Sutra : 77 Mind-Blowing Sex Positions. It’s an ideal gift because you will guarantee to get something special in return. With clear illustrations and simple language, your girls will show you how to rock in bed with kinky positions including “Rock-a-Bye Baby,” “Head Over Heels,” “The Passion Pretzel,” “G-Spot Jiggy,” “Row His Boat,” “Lusty Lean,” “Sofa Spread-Eagle,” “Electric Slide,” and “Standing Tiger/Crouching Dragon.” My only complain is no tips on blowing.

A fellow designer lends me Thich Nhat Hanh’s Being Peace, and I read from cover to cover in a couple of hours. In a nutshell, the book shows us how to find peace within ourselves and bring peace to the world around us. One of the forms of Buddhism that strikes me the most is the Tiep Hien (Interbeing) Order, which is to live and to appreciate the moment. The word “Tiep” is “to be in touch” and “Hien” is “the present time.” This practice is something I have been striving for the last couple of years. I have tried my best to not worry about the future and to free my mind from unnecessary burdens. I still haven’t found that peacefulness inside of me yet, but I am much calmer and mellower than before. So turn off television, log off cyberspace, kick back, relax, and enjoy a mindfulness experience of Being Peace.

I am plowing my way into Visions of Jazz: The First Century. The 690-page text featured 79 essays on jazz musicians and their works written by Gary Giddins, one of the finest jazz critics. Although I am only up to the eleventh piece, “Louis Armstrong (The Once and Future King),” I like what I have read so far. Giddins’s passion for the music and knowledge of the history make his writings personal and informational. In the introduction, he states, “Everyone has his or her vision of jazz, and this is mine.” His vision is an inspiring if not an important one.

Robert Brownjohn was a graphic designer, but he lived his life like a jazz musician. To be specific, his lifestyle was more like Charlie Parker’s. Was Bj also under Bird’s influence? According to Robert Brownjohn: Sex and Typography—a book written by Emily King on the life and work of a bold, brilliant graphic designer as well as an addictive, heavy drug-user—he did hang out with Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday and Miles “Prince of Darkness” Davis.

In the “Life” part of Sex and Typography, Brownjohn’s story—from Chicago to New York to London—is pieced together through the voices of his family, friends, colleagues and associates. Even though King has done a marvelous job of placing the interviews in a chronological order, the transition from one dialogue to the next is still choppy. Nonetheless, the individual accounts provide different perspectives of Bj’s personality, and how his behaviors shaped his design.

The “Work” section featured distinctive, innovative and provocative pieces of design including Pepsi-Cola World magazine covers, Obsession and Fantasy poster, Goldfinger title sequence and Rolling Stone’s Let it Bleed album cover. My personal favorite is the Watching Words Move experimental typography booklet. For instance, the playfulness of words, such as “addding,” “subtrcting,” “multimultiplying” and “div id ing,” is clever. One of the most striking pieces is Bj’s Peace poster. The design is minimal, but the message speaks loud. The poster is consisted of two handwritten letters PE laid next to the centered Ace of Spades followed by a scribbled question mark. Despite the controversial issues behind the work, the design concept is ingenious.

Although Bj lived ten years longer than his musician friend Parker, he, too, died young from excessive drugs abuse. Also like Parker, Bj’s had left behind invaluable works that guarantee to inspire the new generation. Mad kudos to King for sharing the life and work of a remarkable contemporary designer.

West Coast Jazz is another noteworthy reading on jazz written by Ted Gioia, author of the invaluable History of Jazz. Unlike hip-hop, there was no beef between east and west jazz. Gioia is not interested in defining the territory, but the music itself: the sound of the West and the musicians. He delves into the lives of major jazz phenomena, whose works flourished in the west, including Dave Brubeck, Chet Beker and Art Pepper. He also mentioned the avant-garde sounds of Charles Mingus and Ornette Coleman as important contributors not only to the west but the entire jazz world.