ePub Chasin the Trane by J.C. Thomas in Arts-Photography

Description

He was always elusive; on and off the stand; like his music; he was constantly moving; incessantly changing. Just as Charlie Parker stood astride the jazz world of the late 40s and 50s; so did John Coltrane in the late 50s and 60s. Trane was a giant of the saxophone and a major composer. His music also influenced rock and classical musicians; such as Roger McGuinn and David Amram. Yet he was more than a musician; there was a mystical quality; a profound melancholy that emanated from this quiet; self-contained man and moved listeners; some of whom knew little of music but heard something beyond musicrsquo;s boundaries from the sounds his saxophone created. Many even had their lives changed as a result. J. C. Thomas traces John Coltranersquo;s life and career from his North Carolina childhood through his apprenticeship under Dizzy Gillespie; Thelonious Monk; and Miles Davis; culminating in the saxophonistrsquo;s classic quartet that played to steadily increasing audiences throughout America; England; and Japan. The author has drawn on the recollections of those who knew Coltrane bestmdash;boyhood friends; band members like Elvin Jones; spiritual mentors like Ravi Shankar; and the women who loved him. Chasinrsquo; The Trane is the story of a man who struggled against drug addiction; studied African and Eastern music and philosophy; admired Einsteinrsquo;s expanding universe and the shimmering sounds a harp makes; and left behind the enduring legacy of a master musician who was also a beautiful man.