In the play, Clifford gives details about the chaotic, abusive lives of his father and several other jazz musicians. In Miles (1989), jazz great Miles Davis gives a candid, no-holds-barred discussion of his own experiences in the music industry, including his views on drugs, sex, women, and other aspects of a musician's life. Like Jonesy, Davis was a heroin addict who eventually overcame his addiction.

In But Beautiful: A Book about Jazz (1992), Geoff Dyer offers several essays about jazz greats such as Lester Young, Thelonius Monk, and Duke Ellington. While he discusses drug addiction and other negative aspects of their lives, Dyer also explores the situations that led many of these musicians into self-destructive behavior, including the negative racial atmosphere.

In The Best Damn Trumpet Player: Memories of the Big Band Era and Beyond (1996), Richard Grudens collects several interviews that he...