fuche_bu's Full Review: Ben Ratliff - Coltrane: The Story of a Sound
Few jazz artists inspire awe like John Coltrane. Coltrane was a legendary saxophone player who died too young. He also left a staggering body of work both as bandleader and sideman. He learned under legends like Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. He also inspired many younger musicians like Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler and Rashied Ali.
In Coltrane: Story of a Sound, author Ben Ratliff attempts to chronicle Coltrane's musical career. This book is not meant to be a biography. Ratliff is presenting an analysis on Coltrane's musical sound and how that sound evolved during his career. Ratliff will include some biographical notes throughout but he makes the effort to make this book about the music.
Coltrane got his early start with The Melody Masters in 1946. This was a navy band stationed in Hawaii. They did recordings secretly. This was an all white band and integrated bands were not allowed in the Navy at that time. After the military, Coltrane returned to Philly and played with Ray Bryant and Joe Webb. As Ratliff notes, Trane was heavily under the influence of Lester Young and Charlie Parker at this time. Trane had met Parker as a teenager and the influence stuck.
Coltrane would then gain fame playing with Dizzy Gillespie. This was his first opportunity to play with a legend. He also gained a lot through stints with Miles and with Thelonious Monk. Throughout the book, Ratliff stresses the way Coltrane studied, practiced and absorbed the influences around. Ratliff is trying to illustrate the evolution of Trane's sound. He avoids using too many technical terms so non-musicians can appreciate what he is writing about. He is trying to analyze the creative process.
There is some good analysis of Coltrane's playing on different points in his career. I liked some of the analysis of Trane's interaction with different musicians. The book delves into the way Miles albums like Milestones and Kind of Blue reveal some of the directions that Trane would take. There is also much attention paid to the time Trane spent with Monk. Ratliff reveals that Monk was more of a mentor to Trane and also helped imbue some discipline in his playing.
The book avoids dealing too much with the personal part of Trane's life. Of course, it would be hard to completely divorce the two marriages, the drug addiction, health problems and spirituality from the equation. These were all aspects that had strong influence on his playing. The great composition Naima is named after his first wife. His second wife Alice was a pianist who would become a member of his later bands and continue his legacy after his death.
Coltrane quit the drugs in the early 60s but he had numerous health issues that followed him through his remaining years. There is a good amount of ink devoted to what is known as the classic John Coltrane Quartet. That would be McCoy Tyner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums and Jimmy Garrison on bass. They discuss classic recordings such as Giant Steps, My Favorite Things and Blue Train. These are some of my all time favorite recordings.
There is much coverage of live performances. Because so much of jazz is rooted in improvisation, it stands to reason that the live performance would be paramount. I like that they get into the shows at the Village Vanguard and some of the performances at Newport and Monterrey. This includes audiences that weren't always tolerant of Trane's changes.
Ratliff also devotes a couple chapters to the years that have passed since Coltrane died in 1967. He writes of the jazz world in the 70s and how Coltrane continued to have an enormous impact on younger jazz musicians. There is also the influence on rock music and punk rock. It was interesting to note how The Doors draw from Ole on Light My Fire. I was surprised to learn how much Iggy Pop dug Coltrane.
I found this to be an immensely rewarding read. It was fascinating to read thoughts from other musicians. It was also great to read about the way the audience grew with, and grew apart, from Coltrane. It had a lot of interesting analysis of the music. I think this would be a good book for a jazz fan or a Trane fan. This book does a good job of revealing Coltrane's enormous position in the world of jazz. This is a great music style with many giants. John Coltrane is still one of the biggest of these giants. I recommend this book for those who wish to understand the music and the process behind the music.
"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...More at HotBookSale
"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...More at HotBookSale
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