Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary
2018; Oxford University Press; Volume: 105; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1093/jahist/jay136
ISSN1945-2314
Autores Tópico(s)Literature, Film, and Journalism Analysis
ResumoThe saxophonist John Coltrane (1926–1967) was always circumspect when he talked about his music. He never talked about race or politics, even though he lived through the revolutions of the 1960s. His low-key statements contrast strikingly with the complexity and fury as well as the romance and spirituality with which he played. His 1963 recording of “Alabama,” for example, was a heart-rending dirge recorded just two months after racists bombed a church and killed four children in Birmingham. In subsequent recordings, Coltrane moved beyond the accepted practices of jazz improvisation, cracking notes, squealing in the upper register, producing sounds that suggest human desperation. In 1964 he recorded the tour de force declaration of his religious conversion with the suite A Love Supreme. Coltrane actually contributed liner notes and a poem to the LP release of A Love Supreme. He wrote, “In the year of 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening, which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life.” This is a moving statement, but it says very little about what we hear on the album.
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