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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:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 125090
Media: Paperback
Edition: First Edition
Pages: 272
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 0312427786
Dewey Decimal Number: 788.7165092
EAN: 9780312427788
ASIN: 0312427786
Publication Date: October 28, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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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Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
 Chasing the trane in vain April 22, 2010
Mandrill (definitely USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Another jazz critic (i wonder what the current ratio of jazz critics vs players is?) wrote another book about one of jazz greats- this one trying to straddle academic and pop material and ultimately falling between two chairs. There are better books written either about free jazz, Coltrane or post-Coltrane "withdrawal" in jazz. Lots of cliches (Don Ellis as "a blond white man" criticizing (how dare he!) one of Coltrane albums, etc.) and mundane generalizations.
I ultimately wasted an hour or two drudging through it, so you don't need too.
 Helps me to understand my own vision of Coltrane October 20, 2009
fortheoppressed (Lima, OH USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Like most people my age, one of my first introductions to jazz was with the music of John Coltrane. Even before I heard his music, I knew his name. Growing up as a child of the 80's, Coltrane was everywhere in pop culture references. From the decadence and excess of that decade came a vision of jazz that was almost too superficial in some respects. It became "high society" to listen to the music, even if a person didn't really understand it. Musicians talked about Coltrane constantly...being a big U2 fan, I remember the criticism when they used his name in the lyrics to "Angel of Harlem": "John Coltrane and A Love Supreme...Miles and she's got be an Angel".
More recently, as I've been reading African-American philosophy and history, it has slowly become impressed upon me - as someone who wasn't actually there - just how important Coltrane's music was to a decade of protest, the drive for equality, and as a statement of indictment against American Imperialism. All of these things can be derived from Coltrane's SOUND. That's the main concept of this book. Ben Ratliff does an incredible job of explaining extremely complex jazz theory to the average reader and listener of jazz. Even growing up playing jazz in high school and college, I still consider myself of - at best - having a limited understanding of jazz. I played off of written music, and wasn't that good at improvisation. Jazz is truly one of the most complex yet free forms of music that exist in our world. Classically trained musicians often have a hard time with jazz because of the FEELING that is required to truly grasp the music. Coltrane understood FEELING and SOUND like no other. Ratliff illustrates how musicians look at Coltrane as having exhausted almost every conceivable form of expression capable of being said musically. His playing was like a conduit to The Higher Power. In many ways, jazz hasn't been the same since, Ratliff says. There seems to be a period (and I find this true in my own listening habits) during the 50's and 60's of when most of the jazz music we value today was recorded. This is when much of the classic quartet jazz sound was made. Coltrane, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, Dexter Gordon, and countless others all survive today and are revered as almost saintly sounds and recordings when compared to modern jazz artists. There seems to be no one to take Coltrane's place at the moment, and Ratliff illustrates why at the end of the book. I will not repeat everything the book says here, but if you ever wondered why Coltrane had such an influence, if you ever wanted to know about how he actually achieved the classic sound, or if you ever wondered why it is that you can listen to "A Love Supreme" over and over again and get something new out of it every time, then this is the book to explain it to you.
Coltrane: The Story of a Sound July 1, 2009
Sam Adams (Minnesota. USA)
The focus of this book is the evolution of John Coltrane's sound and (in part two of the book) the adulation and reverence that many jazz musicians have had for his music after his death. This book is not a rehash of previously published books on Coltrane: the author thinks for himself, writes very well, and has intelligent things to say about Coltrane and his influence on jazz.
Allow me a proviso. I haven't yet read or looked into Lewis Porter's John Coltrane: His Life and Music, which I understand is the current standard biography on Coltrane (I try to buy most of my books used and haven't come across it yet, and I prefer to read chronologically, if possible), so if the book under review is derivative in any significant way from Porter's, I don't know it. Of the four books I've recently read on Coltrane (see my reviews) I recommend Eric Nisenson's Ascension: John Coltrane And His Quest as a complement.
 Nothing new to me........disappointed June 26, 2009
John Davis
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I bought this Coltrane book written by Ben Ratliff just only because it's recently published.
The writer is smart enough to work for New York Times column and I can agree that he is an excellent writer.... but not a good researcher - there is nothing new in this book.
Read Lewis Porter's book. That one is still the best among Coltrane books.
Good Read December 20, 2008
Tad Parzen (San Diego, CA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
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