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.
"Ratliff's style… goes down smoothly as a milkshake… I'll surely be coming back to this one."
Jazz Notes
"Ratliff is able to weave… fascinating and surprising portraits… Reading these chapters should remind us that the artists, like the music, are ones who continue to surprise us and delight us in so many ways. This marvelous addition to the jazz literature would make a wonderful [gift] for the jazz enthusiast, as well as a most enjoyable read for oneself as well."
Jazz & Blues
"The Jazz Ear will be a permanent part of learning how to listen inside the musicians playing."
