Coltrane on Coltrane The John Coltrane interviews

Born on September 23, 1926, in Hamlet, N.C., John Coltrane came from a musical family. His father played the violin and ukulele as a hobby, and his mother, who wanted to become a concert singer, played the piano and sang in the church choir. He didn't study music seriously until after high school; after a brief stint in the navy in 1945-1946, where he played with the navy band, he was soon playing tenor and alto sax and clarinet in a band that included Eddie Vinson, Red Garland, and Johnny Coles; he joined Dizzy Gillespie's band and by the mid-1950s was playing with Miles Davis before embarking on his own storied career. Although this collection of interviews-some of them published for the first time-is repetitious, DeVito's (The John Coltrane Reference) volume at least lets Coltrane tell his own story in his own words. The highlight of the entire collection comes from a 1966 Newsweek article in which Coltrane declares: "My goal is to live the truly religious life and express it in my music. My music is the spiritual expression of what I am-my faith, my knowledge, my being." (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

DeVito, coauthor of the award-winning discography/chronology/commentary The John Coltrane Reference, expands upon his previous work with this fascinating and important compendium of the jazz icon's own words. He comprehensively compiles all the known interviews of Coltrane, some familiar and others previously unpublished or published only in French, Japanese, or British journals. He also includes articles and liner notes that quote the tenor sax giant extensively, a few of Coltrane's personal writings, and reminiscences from a childhood friend. He arranges the material in chronological order, allowing readers to see clearly the evolution of Coltrane's music from his chordal sheets of sound to his modal period to his free explorations. Through these gripping and revealing interviews, Coltrane comes alive as a serious, compulsive innovator who desperately wanted to communicate his philosophical underpinnings and feelings to his audience. Verdict Though many solid books have been written about Coltrane-from J.C. Thomas's Chasin' the Trane (1975) to Ben Ratliff's recent Coltrane-this compilation of source materials provides an intimate view of the man and his music. Certainly one of the best music books of the year.-Dave Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.