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Coltrane: The Story of a Sound | 
| Author: Ben Ratliff
Publisher: Picador
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
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Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 95086
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 0312427786
Dewey Decimal Number: 781
EAN: 9780312427788
ASIN: 0312427786
Publication Date: October 28, 2008
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Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Good Read December 20, 2008
A good read for anyone (musician, jazzophile, or neither) interested in Trane or curious as to why people are so devoted to his music. Well written and fresh perspective on Trane's musical evolution and its impact. Not a re-hash of his biography.
Trane's influence and legacy October 25, 2008
I swallow everything up John Coltrane, been listening to his music since the days when he walked the Earth and I must say this book is impressive. It is impressive because the author takes a different approach , he dissects the sound, or if you will, the different stages that produced different sounds, that were all bound together by the unmistakable end result and unique sound that is Trane, regardless of the period. At times the author rambles on ,over theorizing for the average, or for that matter, avid fan of Coltrane music. He postulates on certain things for discussion that in fact really have no basis in fact, like Coltrane's supposed use of LSD. His drug addiction was well known and verified but this is regarding heroin. The author theorizes the influence drugs had on his music which is arguable. What is certain is Coltrane's constant search to improve his sound, extending the limits of the sax, to the point where many argue, including the author, that the limits have been explored to the point of no return; in other words, Trane achieved it all and no one since, or in the future will achieve the magnitude of Trane's exploration of sound from the sax. The book is an exhaustive study of the various periods that led to Trane's development into the sax god that he became. If you like analysis and critique than you will enjoy this distinct view and take on the music of John Coltrane. So if you are so inclined, slap a copy of A Love Supreme or My Favorite Things into your machine and enjoy the music while you read the theories behind the music and the man that is John Coltrane. Highly recommended for aficinados of jazz and Trane.
Brilliant, contentious and absorbing March 3, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
John Coltrane is an endlessly fascinating musician, whether or not you like his music - he was both traditional and forward-looking, immensely disciplined and constantly striving for more freedom, technically brilliant yet willing to work with musicians considerably less able than himself. He made a series of relatively undistinguished recordings before suddenly emerging as a phenomenon when hired by Miles Davis, and then he went from one level to another, taking jazz to terrifying levels of complexity before breaking it down into something starkly simple.
Ben Ratliff's book is about two things: what Coltrane wanted to do, and what people have wanted from Coltrane. He is clearly a good listener, and someone acutely aware of how Coltrane was coming across at the time. He is also very sensitive to the depths people have sometimes sunk to in both praise and dispraise of the man, citing as evidence both Frank Kofsky's absurd description of 'Live at the Village Vanguard Again!' as the greatest recording in the history of jazz, and Philip Larkin's bilious and vindictive article, written shortly after Coltrane's death, about how much he hated Coltrane's music - Larkin surely wanted to make other people agree with him that it was worthless, which is never a very noble ambition in a critic.
Unusually for a jazz writer, Ratliff is also aware of how Coltrane's enormous influence has spread beyond jazz and into rock and punk (never thought I would see the great jazz-punk bass player Mike Watt mentioned in a book on Coltrane). He argues, if I take his point correctly, that Coltrane's influence has often been to make subsequent players sound like Coltrane, whereas the influence of an equally gifted player such as Sonny Rollins has worked more obliquely, helping players to sound more like themselves (perhaps because Sonny is not as imitable as Trane). It's true that, of the players (at least the sax players) who were most influenced by Coltrane, the majority have not been able to overcome his influence and develop truly distinctive voices - people on the level of Dave Liebman, etc., being the exceptions rather than the rule.
This book does not require a degree in music theory to read, or any musical talent whatever. It helps if you've listened to a lot of music. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and my only quibble is that it wasn't longer. I can read about Coltrane forever.
 This story needs more story February 25, 2008
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
I found this book disappointing and the subtitle misleading. Ratliff does not really provide a story or history of Coltrane's sound. He strings together some anecdotes and some opinions about Coltrane and that's about it. There was no coherent thematic thread drawing it all together. The fact that Coltrane's sound became pervasively influential is obvious to any jazz listener. The truly interesting story describing how that came to be, or even accurately describing this "sound" in the first place (Coltrane had a distinctive sound - what precisely made it distinctive? Also, since his sound changed over time, when did it really become "his" sound? Etc.), let alone the story explaining why this sound become so dominant, is sadly absent from these pages. There are some intriguing moments when Ratliff suggests that the Coltrane sound was actually a collective sounds generated by the "classic" quartet, but, like I said, that's about it.
a musical gem January 15, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
i love john coltrane's music. thanks to this book, i know i lot more the things these musical jazz giants went through and i understand why i could not always follow the chords. this author dies a good job. well done
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