Griffin and Washington: Clawing at the Limits of Cool
Griffin, Farah Jasmine & Salim Washington. Clawing at the Limits of Cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and the Greatest Jazz Collaboration Ever (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008)
In Clawing at the Limits of Cool, Griffin and Washington have chosen a different tactic than most music writers: rather than writing about a particular person or style or record label--although each of those books has its place--they examine the unequalled collaboration of John Coltrane and Miles Davis. There are some wonderful bits of music trivia in this book, such as this passage:
On that recording ["Straight, No Chaser" from Milestones], Red Garland's solo pays tribute to Miles's earlier efforts on the F blues. He replays Miles's entire solo from "Now's the Time" at the end of his own improvisation, voicing the trumpeter's lines in block chords. (p. 65)
There is the occasional rhetorical overstatement, however, as when the authors overlook Dizzy in this passage:
Miles is the first jazz star to enter the ranks of those who are consistently recognized by a single name the way that contemporary stars, especially pop stars, are occasionally honored: Madonna, Janet, Tupac, even Wynton. Pops, Lady, Prez, Sassy, Fatha, Hawk, Duke, and Count are all honorifics. (p. 223)
Ryan Williams' review at PopMatters identifies a more serious issue:
Though Griffin and Washington's close reading of the recorded output of the Davis/Coltrane bands is often nuanced and insightful, there's not really a great deal of room for them to add much of significance to the already-rich critical discourse on the music of Davis and Coltrane. Instead, the greatest strength of their book comes in their perceptive analysis of the cultural meanings of the public images projected by both musicians. [...] Miles Davis and John Coltrane not only created great music, but also taught the world how to listen.
Considering that facet of their collaboration reminds us why their every note is still listened to, both rapturously and cerebrally, decades later. Clawing at the Limits of Cool is a good read, but probably not for the general reader. (The publisher's page has more information, as well as an excerpt from the book.)