Ben Ratliff (born 1968 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) is an American journalist, music critic and author.

Biography

Ratliff is the son of an English mother and an American father, growing up in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and in

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state' ...

. From 1996 to 2016, he wrote about pop music and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. He is the author of five books: ''Run the Song: Writing About Running About Listening'' (2025), ''Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty'' (2016), ''The Jazz Ear: Conversations Over Music'' (2008), ''Jazz: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings'' (2002), and a critical biography of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

(''Coltrane: The Story of a Sound,'' 2007), which was a finalist for the

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

'', ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'', ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'', ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'' and ''Lingua Franca''. In 2005, he received the Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for "Excellence in Newspaper, Magazine or Online Writing" from the Jazz Journalists Association. From 2012 to 2016, he was a regular host of ''

'' popcast. He teaches cultural criticism at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Gallatin School of Individualized Study The Gallatin School of Individualized Study is a liberal arts school within New York University. Students at Gallatin design an interdisciplinary concentration based on their specific interests and career goals. Most courses can be taken at any ...

. Ratliff earned a B.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1990.

Publications

* ''Run the Song: Writing About Running About Listening.'' Graywolf Press, Minneapolis, 2025. * ''Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty.'' Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2016. * ''The Jazz Ear: Conversations Over Music.'' Times Books, New York, 2008. * ''Coltrane: The Story of a Sound.'' Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2007. * ''The New York Times Essential Library: Jazz''. Times Books, New York, 2002.

References

External links

Official website

Review of ''Run the Song'' by Becca Rothfield, ''Washington Post'', April 10, 2025

Interview with Pitchfork about ''Every Song Ever'', Feb 26, 2016

* ttps://fivethirtyeight.com/features/are-algorithms-ruining-how-we-discover-music/ Interview about music algorithms on "What's the Point" podcast, fivethirtyeight.com, April 21, 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratliff, Ben 1968 births Living people Jazz writers Journalists from New York City American music critics Writers from New York City Columbia College (New York) alumni