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. "Mas que una simple biografia de John Coltrane, este libro es un examen exhaustivo de su sonido y su obra unica, 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 musica. La primera parte de esta exploracion se enfoca principalmente en la decada antes de la muerte de Coltrane, durante la cual habia ido hilvanando una prodigiosa sucesion de hitos musicales en una busqueda casi religiosa de la perfeccion, y analiza la evolucion de su estilo de tocar y la recepcion critica de este. La segunda parte discute el legado e influencia del artista, no solo dentro del contexto del jazz, pero sobre otras expresiones musicales modernas tambien. A traves de la investigacion e indagacion, Ratliff identifica a Coltrane no solo como uno de los mas importantes musicos del jazz, pero tambien como uno de los grandes creadores e innovadores de su epoca."

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. Ben Ratliff has been a jazz critic at "The New York Times "since 1996. The author of "The Jazz Ear" and "The New York Times Essential Library: Jazz," he lives in Manhattan with his wife and two sons. Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle AwardAn "Artforum" Best Book of the Year 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 drew so many musicians and listeners to his music? Jazz writer and "New York Times "music critic" "Ben Ratliff addresses these questions in "Coltrane." First Ratliff tells the story of Coltrane's development, from his first recordings as a 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. "Ratliff suggests, intelligently and persuasively, that Coltrane had, among other attributes, a 'mystic's sensitivity for the sublime, which runs like a secret river under American culture.' Ratliff patiently explicates Coltrane's legend, writing in short, aphoristic bursts, often as elliptically as his subject played tenor saxophone, but never less than lucidly."--Pankaj Mishra, "The New York Times Book Review" "Engaging . . . clear-sighted . . . Ratliff suggests, intelligently and persuasively, that Coltrane had, among other attributes, a 'mystic's sensitivity for the sublime, which runs like a secret river under American culture.' Ratliff patiently explicates Coltrane's legend, writing in short, aphoristic bursts, often as elliptically as his subject played tenor saxophone, but never less than lucidly."--Pankaj Mishra, "The New York Times Book Review
"""Coltrane: The Story of a Sound" is not a biography but an extended, deeply informed analysis of the qualities that make Coltrane and his music so meaningful to people today, four decades after his death."--Matt Schudel, "The Washington Post Book World
""Ratliff, a "New York Times" jazz critic, has written a book that's neither a biography nor a critical study, although it has elements of both. It is, rather, a kind of cultural history . . . Ratliff writes extremely well, with terse, assured brio, as when he refers to Coltrane's 'serene intensity' or the 'incantational tumult' of his vast, cathedral solos."--Mark Feeney, "The Boston Globe
""Ratliff has turned me on to more music over the last few years than any other writer . . . The listening skills of a great critic and the ability to convey what he hears are what he brings here."--R. J. Smith, "Los Angeles Times
""Brilliant, economical . . . sharp . . . [Ratliff] skillfully and convincingly places Coltrane as something of a man apart from most other musicians--a cultural comet, as much as a musical one."--Henry C. Jackson, "San Francisco Chronicle
""In his astute and unorthodox biography, "Coltrane: The Story of a Sound," "New York Times" critic Ben Ratliff pays as much attention to Coltrane's haunting absence over the last forty years as he does to his brief decade of renown . . . As attentive a reader as he is a listener, Ratliff charts the rapid expansion of the mythology in various, often contradictory tropes: the humble music student and theorist who never stopped practicing and learning, the Christian into Eastern religious for whom pride was a far graver sin than wrong notes, the wordless spokesman for black civil rights and revolution, the unbound thinker who tripped across inner and outer space."--Richard B. Woodward, "Bookforum
""Ratliff condenses the biography proper into the first part of the book in order to devote himself in part two to a lengthy consideration of the saxophonist's influence since his death. Even more important, the book is less about music than it is about sound--as jazz musicians understand it . . . Ratliff's book is intelligent and compelling. The text and its sources reveal how seriously he took his task. In addition to working with biographies and interviews, some of which must have been difficult to locate, Ratliff also draws on obscure radio programs, various unpublished materials, thirty-nine interviews he conducted with musicians and countless conversations with people knowledgeable about jazz, American culture and New York City. Throughout he tackles topics that might seem the province of academics--such as the merits of Theodor Adorno's and Edward Said's ideas about 'late style'--with considerable skill and clarity . . . While Ratliff avers in his introduction that he is a writer rather than a musician, his discussions of the sound of Coltrane and Coltrane's compatriots in performance are informative and compelling, especially when his own writing captures the spirit and feel of a recording in ways that a transcription never could . . . Most important, Ratliff focuses his observational eye again and again on the power and perils of repetition, both for Coltrane and the jazz musicians who have emerged since his death . . . Indeed, Ratliff's reconsideration of a musician who has already been the subject of countless books, poems, and documentaries is perhaps a subtle reminder of how much joy there is in repetition. Like the best writing on music, his book not only provides food for thought but also creates an insatiable desire to go back to the recordings, in hopes that we too might discover some elusive truth."--Travis A. Jackson, "The Nation
""Were it not for the power and breadth of saxophonist John Coltrane's legacy and the lithe prose of "New York Times" critic Ben Ratliff, "Coltrane" would be a scholarly

'A remarkable new book ... goes leaping from Beethoven to Big Black, from Morton Feldman to Curtis Mayfield, identifying continuities while delighting in contrasts' Alex Ross, New Yorker For the first time ever, we have all the music in the world to choose from. As Ben Ratliff, one of America's celebrated music critics, shows us, it's time to listen in a new way too. Opening our ears to unexpected connections, new experiences and little-known delights, this book will change the way you appreciate music forever. 'Masterly ... An instructive guide to opening one's mind and compiling a new kind of playlist ... succeeds brilliantly' John Clarke, Independent 'Smart, provocative ... in every case informative' August Kleinzahler, The New York Times Book Review 'Like a trip into the world's coolest record store' David Browne, Rolling Stone

""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.

Since it was founded in 1982, The Wire magazine has covered a vast range of alternative, experimental, underground and non-mainstream music. Now some of that knowledge has been distilled into The Wire Primers a comprehensive guide to the core recordings of some of the most visionary and inspiring, subversive and radical musicians on the planet, past and present. Each chapter surveys the musical universe of a particular artist, group or genre by way of a contextualizing introduction and a thumbnail guide to the most essential recordings. A massive and eclectic range of music is celebrated and demystified, from rock mavericks such as Captain Beefheart and The Fall; the funk of James Brown and Fela Kuti; the future jazz of Sun Ra and Ornette Coleman; and the experimental compositions of John Cage and Morton Feldman. Genres surveyed and explained include P-funk, musique concrete, turntablism, Brazilian Tropicalia, avant metal and dubstep. The Wire Primers is a vital guide to contemporary sounds, providing an accessible entry point for any reader wanting to dig below the surface of mainstream music.