Clawing at the Limits of Cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and the Greatest Jazz Collaboration Ever by Salim Washington

Clawing at the Limits of Cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and the Greatest Jazz Collaboration Ever Reviews

• 
  Dave

  Excellent. One of the writers is an English lit professor, and the other is a jazz musician and music teacher. They blend their strengths perfectly here. The idea of focusing on Davis and Coltrane's collaborations and comparing/contrasting the two men is inspired, and the authors pull it off beautifully. Highly recommend.
• 
  keith koenigsberg

  As one reviewer on Amazon.com said, both unreliable and uneccesary. Read Porter on Coltrane, and read lots of others including Davis himself on Davis. I myself found several errors of fact in this book, and I am no scholar, just an enthusiast. There really is nothing to recommend this book over others, except its brevity. Given that much of the info is wrong or misleading, and that the entire book has a bit too much emphasis on race - such that one begins to wonder about the agenda of the author - I would recommend skipping this one.
• 
  Adam Grearson

  This book offered a very unique perspective on what I agree is the greatest musical collaboration in the history of jazz. The anecdotes throughout this book are extremely interesting. The writing is very accessible to musicians such as myself, but also accessible to the general lay person who might not be a musician. This has been the most interesting non-fiction book I have read. I strongly recommend that fans of Coltrane and Davis read this book, as well as anyone who wants to learn more about the history and impact of their musical collaboration.
• 
  Steve

  I took an online class on John Coltrane with jazz musician and scholar Salim Washington, one of the authors of this book, which was so informative and insightful that I sought out this book. I have read other books on Miles and Coltrane and found so much in this book on their relationship and in an analysis of the music that compliments the other books. I love this music and so glad to have come across Salim Washington as a musician and teacher and to have read this.
• 
  Bakari

  I don’t have a strong background in the history of jazz, but this book seems to be a good one for studying the history and influence of two jazz greats, Davis and Train. I particularly like the second half of the book in which the authors devote extended interpretations and the cultural history of albums and single compositions, such as Milestones, Blue Train, Kind of Blue, A Love Supreme, Giant Steps, ‘Round About Midnight. The first half of the book delves more into the personal background of the two musicians.
  
  Washing and Griffin’s book is by no means a definitive study. It simply sheds light on the relationship between Davis and Coltrane. It ends with the emergence of Miles Davis and the jazz fusion era. But it provides an overview of the history of the two great giants, describing how so different they were—Davis, the cool and more confident jazz band leader, and Coltrane, the more spiritual, sometimes timid, gentler of the two. Of course, Coltrane by 1961 formed his own group, and that time he was jazz figure breaking new territory. I had not known about there differences until reading this book.
  
  This book focuses a little more Davis than it does on Coltrane, which makes me want to definitely read a full biography of Coltrane, because he seems such a complex figure, that there’s much more to him than what they book conveys.
  
  Finally, I would add, that in this era of digital technology, I really hope that jazz books like this do more to link readers to particular compositions that will be discussed in this book. It would be great if the authors had a website in which they list all the titles of compositions that will be discussed, and perhaps allow readers to listen to those songs on their website. I have several Davis and Coltrane albums, but I still needed to go on YouTube to find many of compositions that the authors write about. This book will be very accessible to those who have a strong background in jazz music, but it will be somewhat challenging to those of us who are just beginning to study the jazz, beyond just listening to it.
  
  Clawing at the Limits of Cool will be among several books on the history of jazz that I will be reading in the coming months.
• 
  Andrew

  There were parts of this book I liked a lot, but as a whole I was not as impressed. With tighter editing (and vigorous fact-checking), it could have been really excellent.
  
  The good parts:
  
  - Interesting background on the families of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Both had grandparents with personal memories of the Reconstruction-era South.
  
  - A similar focus on putting modern jazz in the context of contemporary culture, especially the civil rights movement.
  
  - Extended and musically-informed discussions of selected Davis/Coltrane performances from the 1950s. I'm glad to have a reason to listen to the "First Quintet" recordings again more closely.
  
  - Biographical details, such as how Davis and Coltrane both struggled with and overcame drug addiction, how Davis fired Coltrane temporarily then took him back after he cleaned up, Coltrane's brief but fruitful collaboration with Thelonious Monk.
  
  - Detailed commentary about the musical contributions of the Quintet's rhythm section of Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones.
  
  - The goofy side of John Coltrane: "As ever, Coltrane was practicing nonstop. He practiced in the hotels; he practiced on the bus; he practiced at the gigs in between sets. He was eating bananas by the bagful and practicing. Miles asked him why he practiced so much and was told, 'I'm trying to get it all out.' So Miles asked him, 'Why the bananas?' Trane replied, 'Gorillas eat bananas, and they're strong as a m*****f***er!'"
  
  Less successfully:
  
  - The book gets to be very repetitious, especially with regards to the personality contrast between Davis and Coltrane. This is really beaten to death in the concluding chapter.
  
  - Numerous factual errors and vague assertions that should have been challenged and sharpened up by an editor.
  
  - Some confusing verbiage in the musical sections. I wish I knew what it means when it says that Coltrane "stacked three chords on top of each other."
• 
  Vichmd

  There is no dispute that Miles Davis and John Coltrane had a profound influence on jazz history in the post-bebop era. Thus, it should come as no surprise that a book about these two jazz giants is as much a lesson in jazz history as it is an examination into their artistry. Clawing at the Limits excels as both an analysis of Davis’ and Coltrane’s contributions to jazz, as well as a survey of post-war jazz history.
  
  Fortunately, the authors provide just enough details of Davis’ and Coltrane’s childhoods and backgrounds to personify the artists, but without bogging the reader down with mundane details. Indeed, most of the details of their personal lives are provided for the purpose of providing insight into the musicianship.
  
  A little background in music theory on behalf of the reader is helpful to follow along with some of the analyses of the music. Such analyses may turn off some readers with no knowledge in music theory. However, a book about two jazz giants would seem incomplete without at least a little discussion of the more technical aspects of the music. The authors include a glossary of musical terms, which may make the book more accessible.
  
  I would recommend this book to anybody knowledgeable in music with an interest in jazz history. Although, because it is so well-written and informative, I would not hesitate to recommend it to anybody as an intro to jazz.
  
• 
  Sarah

  This book was a lot more technical than I thought it would be. That can be a good thing, but one must have knowledge of not only music terminology, but more specifically, jazz terminology and the components of a jazz song. The authors go into great detail in describing specific songs, some of which I was not familiar with. I think I would've enjoyed these passages more if I had the CDs at my disposal to listen along with while I read. I did, in fact, go out and get some of the recordings to listen to after the fact. My appreciation for the songs did deepen.
  
  I liked that I learned more about the jazz timeline, so to speak. Many jazz giants appear in the book along the continuum these two would follow.
  
  The parts I liked the best had to do with Coltrane's & Davis's personal lives, their relationship with each other, and the impact they've had on music and society. It was a very unique approach in trying to communicate how influential these two men were - not only together, but separately. The authors also do a nice job in differentiating the two men and contrasting their styles.
  
  Some of the passages are denser than others, but the payoff of finishing is definitely rewarding.
• 
  Don

  This book was very well reserached and very well written. It was extremely techincal at times, which was fantastic for a musician, such as myself. However, the long technical passages would be incomprehensible and even boring to someone who is not a musician. While the book is very well written, it could have benefitted from better editing. The authors often refer to musicians by only thier last names, and you often don't know whom they are talking about..."Powell" on piano...which Powell? Bud or Richie? Also, the authors go back and forth between using a musicians given name, last name, or nickname. I often found myself flipping back through the pages to try and figure out who the authors were taking about. The authors also repeated some stories and viginettes almost verbatim within a few pages. All of this would have been caught and fixed by a good editor. The book has a excellent glossary of musical and jazz tems to help the uninitiated and a passable index, to which you will have to refer often because of the editing problems. I found this book absolutely engrossing and very enlightening. It will go on my bookshelf as a valued resource for research and pleasure.
• 
  Dawn

  I enjoyed the book, but it was probably a bit over my level, as I actually know very little about jazz, and pathetically little about music theory - especially considering I played an instrument for 9 years. So the technical discussions about music rather sailed over my head (but has inspired me to attempt to teach myself music theory). The historical discussions were rather more comprehensible to me, and much more interesting because comprehensible. However, the authors have a tendency to jump around chronologically and switch willy-nilly between the musicians' monikers, which can get confusing at times. The book does not seem to be aimed at the jazz novice, as a certain amount of knowledge is assumed. Several times the authors mention various musicians as if of course anyone reading will know who that is immediately.
• 
  Frank Taranto

  A look at Miles Davis and John Coltrane together and seperately. The book explores how they came together, influenced each other, and then went their seperate ways. As a relative newcomer to Jazz, I found the information on their lives interesting.
  These were two distinct individuals who the book says blended their music together superlatively - I will have to listen to what I can find where they play together.
  Some of the discussions on the music itself were very technical, and I know nothing about music theory.
• 
  Greg

  Coltrane's collaborative period with Miles Davis and its place in history is covered. However this book looses me in conjecture and supposition. Not really interested in what Coltrane might have been thinking per the author's idea of what "might be" the facts. The writing is good and there are some valuable nuggets to be gleaned.
  
  Perhaps the true jazz enthusiast that hungers for a new approach to the Coltrane/Miles Davis period of collaboration will see it differently. Either way, try your local library before laying down the dough to buy this book.
• 
  Happyreader

  This short, very readable book covers so much -- mid-century African American history, jazz history, jazz music theory with compelling portraits of Miles Davis, John Coltraine, and the musicians they played with. It was so good that I put the book aside for a couple of weeks when I was in the last chapter because I didn't want it to end.
• 
  Rob Renteria

  wow..........this is a great piece of american history.......i got some very cool new insight for me on both miles and coltrane......even though someparts could get technical......it was a very easy and enlightening read......much love....
  
  rob
• 
  Philip

  I'm not in love with this book. As other reviewers have pointed out, there are definitely some inaccuracies. This book has some nice anecdotes about Trane's time with Monk, but I have to take it with a grain of salt, considering some of the things the authors have gotten wrong.
• 
  Thomas

  
  A polemical view of Miles and his time. But it did have some interesting biographical and historical information. Good book for any Jazz fan, especially a fan of Miles Davis.
  
• 
  Marian

  What a marvelous book! An extraordinary book, it runs deep & wide
• 
  Ryan

  one of the most intriguing books I have read in years. an education on two of the most prolific black minds of our time. black nerds should celebrate this book.
• 
  Zachary

  An otherwise insightful book unfortunately (carelessly, even) bogged down with arbitrariness.
• 
  Guy

  ***1/2