Coltrane: The Story of a Sound

John Coltrane left an indelible mark on the world, but what was the essence of his achievement that makes him so prized forty years after his death? What were the factors that helped Coltrane become who he was? And what would a John Coltrane look like now--or are we looking for the wrong signs?
In this deftly written, riveting study, New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff answers these questions and examines the life of Coltrane, the acclaimed band leader and deeply spiritual man who changed the face of jazz music. Ratliff places jazz among other art forms and within the turbulence of American social history, and he places Coltrane not just among jazz musicians but among the greatest American artists.

Biographies & Memoirs

Ratliff, Ben

Arts & Literature

Picador

A major work about the great saxophonist—and about the state of jazz. What was the essence of John Coltrane’s achievement that makes him so prized forty years after his death? What was it about his improvising, his bands, his compositions, his place within his era of jazz that left so many musicians and listeners so powerfully drawn to him? What would a John Coltrane look like now—or are we looking for the wrong signs?The acclaimed jazz writer Ben Ratliff addresses these questions in Coltrane. First Ratliff tells the story of Coltrane’s development, from his first recordings as a no-name navy bandsman to his last recordings as a near-saint, paying special attention to the last ten years of his life, which contained a remarkable series of breakthroughs in a nearly religious search for deeper expression. In the book’s second half, Ratliff traces another history: that of Coltrane’s influence and legacy. This story begins in the mid-’50s and considers the reactions of musicians, critics, and others who paid attention, asking: Why does Coltrane signify so heavily in the basic identity of jazz?Placing jazz among other art forms and American social history, and placing Coltrane not just among jazz musicians but among the greatest American artists, Ratliff tries to look for the sources of power in Coltrane’s music—not just in matters of technique, composition, and musical concepts, but in the deeper frequencies of Coltrane’s sound.

Farrar. Straus and Giroux

What does it mean to listen in the digital era? Today, new technologies make it possible to roam instantly and experimentally across musical languages and generations, from Detroit techno to jam bands to baroque opera―or to dive deeper into the set of tastes that we already have. Either way, we can listen to nearly anything, at any time. The possibilities in this new age of listening overturn old assumptions about what it means to properly appreciate music―to be an “educated” listener. In Every Song Ever, the veteran New York Times music critic Ben Ratliff reimagines the very idea of music appreciation for our times. As familiar subdivisions like “rock” and “jazz” matter less and less and music’s accessible past becomes longer and broader, listeners can put aside the intentions of composers and musicians and engage music afresh, on their own terms. Ratliff isolates signal musical traits―such as repetition, speed, and virtuosity―and traces them across wildly diverse recordings to reveal unexpected connections. When we listen for slowness, for instance, we may detect surprising affinities between the drone metal of Sunn O))), the mixtape manipulations of DJ Screw, Sarah Vaughan singing “Lover Man,” and the final works of Shostakovich. And if we listen for closeness, we might notice how the tight harmonies of bluegrass vocals illuminate the virtuosic synchrony of John Coltrane’s quartet. Ratliff also goes in search of “the perfect moment”; considers what it means to hear emotion by sampling the complex sadness that powers the music of Nick Drake and Slayer; and examines the meaning of certain common behaviors, such as the impulse to document and possess the entire performance history of the Grateful Dead. Encompassing the sounds of five continents and several centuries, Ratliff’s book is an artful work of criticism and a lesson in open-mindedness. It is a definitive field guide to our radically altered musical habitat.

Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty

Arts & Photography

Music

Coltrane

Faber&Faber

A connoisseur's tour through the great American art form A Love Supreme. Miles Ahead. Brubeck Time. Yardbird Suite. The Sidewinder. For newcomers just beginning their library of recordings, and for longtime fans looking to deepen their understanding, New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff offers an assertive, deeply knowledgeable collector's guide, full of opinions and insights on the one hundred greatest recorded works of jazz. From the rare early recordings of Louis Armstrong, through Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman's seminal Carnegie Hall concert, and the lions of the bebop era, to the transformative Miles Davis and several less-canonized artists, such as Chano Pozo, Jimmy Giuffre, and Greg Osby, who have made equally significant contributions, Ratliff places each recording in the greater context and explains its importance in the development of the form. Taken together, these original essays add up to a brief history of jazz, highlighting milestone events, legendary players, critical trends, and artistic breakthroughs.

The New York Times Essential Library: Jazz: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings

Times Books

The Jazz Ear: Conversations over Music

An intimate exploration into the musical genius of fifteen living jazz legends, from the longtime New York Times jazz critic
Jazz is conducted almost wordlessly: John Coltrane rarely told his quartet what to do, and Miles Davis famously gave his group only the barest instructions before recording his masterpiece “Kind of Blue.” Musicians are often loath to discuss their craft for fear of destroying its improvisational essence, rendering jazz among the most ephemeral and least transparent of the performing arts.
In The Jazz Ear, the acclaimed music critic Ben Ratliff sits down with jazz greats to discuss recordings by the musicians who most influenced them. In the process, he skillfully coaxes out a profound understanding of the men and women themselves, the context of their work, and how jazz—from horn blare to drum riff—is created conceptually. Expanding on his popular interviews for The New York Times, Ratliff speaks with Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, Branford Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Wayne Shorter, Joshua Redman, and others about the subtle variations in generation, training, and attitude that define their music.
Playful and keenly insightful, The Jazz Ear is a revelatory exploration of a unique way of making and hearing music.

"The Jazz Ear will be a permanent part of learning how to listen inside the musicians playing."―Nat Hentoff, Jazz Times
Jazz is conducted almost wordlessly: John Coltrane rarely told his quartet what to do, and Miles Davis famously gave his group only the barest instructions before recording his masterpiece Kind of Blue. Musicians often avoid discussing their craft for fear of destroying its improvisational essence, rendering jazz among the most ephemeral and least transparent of the performing arts.
In The Jazz Ear, acclaimed music critic Ben Ratliff discusses with jazz greats the recordings that most influenced them and skillfully coaxes out a profound understanding of the men and women themselves, the context of their work, and how jazz―from horn blare to drum riff―is conceptualized. Ratliff speaks with Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, Branford Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Wayne Shorter, Joshua Redman, and others about the subtle variations in generation and attitude that define their music.
Playful and keenly insightful, The Jazz Ear is a revelatory exploration of a unique way of making and hearing music.

Literature & Fiction

Essays & Correspondence

St. Martin's: Griffin

More than a simple biography of John Coltrane, this book is an in-depth examination of his unique sound and work, tracing the saxophonist’s career arc from a Navy band to his recordings just a few years before his death, at which point he was already a venerated figure within the music industry. The first part of this exploration focuses primarily on the roughly 10-year period before Coltrane’s death, during which he achieved an incredible series of musical milestones in an almost religious pursuit of perfection, and analyzes the evolution of his playing style and the critical reception to it. The second part of the book discusses Coltrane’s legacy and influence, not only within the context of jazz but also on other modern musical forms. Through research and investigation, Ratliff identifies Coltrane not just as a preeminent jazz musician but as one of the great creators and innovators of his time in any field. Más que una simple biografía de John Coltrane, este libro es un examen exhaustivo de su sonido y su obra única, recorriendo la trayectoria del saxofonista desde sus primeras actuaciones con una banda de la marina hasta los discos grabados a las puertas de la muerte, cuando ya estaba establecido como una figura venerada dentro de la música. La primera parte de esta exploración se enfoca principalmente en la década antes de la muerte de Coltrane, durante la cual había ido hilvanando una prodigiosa sucesión de hitos musicales en una búsqueda casi religiosa de la perfección, y analiza la evolución de su estilo de tocar y la recepción crítica de éste. La segunda parte discute el legado e influencia del artista, no sólo dentro del contexto del jazz, pero sobre otras expresiones musicales modernas también. A través de la investigación e indagación, Ratliff identifica a Coltrane no sólo como uno de los más importantes músicos del jazz, pero también como uno de los grandes creadores e innovadores de su época.

Coltrane: Historia de un sonido (Biorritmos) (Spanish Edition)

Global Rhythm Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ratliff, Ben. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Ratliff, Ben

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ratliff, Ben. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Coltrane: The Story of a Sound

Coltrane: The Story of a Sound

Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty

Coltrane

The New York Times Essential Library: Jazz: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings

The Jazz Ear: Conversations over Music

The Jazz Ear: Conversations over Music

Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty

Coltrane: Historia de un sonido (Biorritmos) (Spanish Edition)