Coltrane on Coltrane: The John Coltrane Interviews (Musicians in Their Own Words)

5 page Preface, 1 page Prelude (which is a very important statement), 369 pages of interviews (including 33 pages of Appendices with two interviews with a boyhood friend and music teacher of Coltrane's), 5 pages of Credits, and a 15 page index. There's a few b&w photographs throughout the book. The author, Chris DeVito, is the lead author of THE JOHN COLTRANE REFERENCE, which was the BBC jazz book of the year in 2008.This wonderful book, as the title suggests, contains interviews with John Coltrane, one of the most important musician/composers in, not only jazz, but music itself. And not just a few interviews, or several cherry-picked articles-but virtually every known interview Coltrane gave. Some are published as they originally appeared, some are new transcriptions, and importantly, some are previously unpublished. The one negative point is the 1961 interview by Ralph J. Gleason. Due to other factors this piece had to be heavily edited, which is a shame. Gleason's knowledge of jazz and his probing questions make for a great interview, especially with someone as thoughtful in his answers as Coltrane.Beginning in 1952, after a concert, Coltrane and his drummer, Specs Wright, sat down for the first interview that was in conjunction with a two page report on the concert, in THE BALTIMORE AFRO-AMERICAN paper. The interviews conclude in 1966, with a Nat Hentoff interview for the liner notes for the album "Kulu Se Mama", released in 1967. Also included is a section entitled "Quotable Coltrane", which includes short pieces by/about Coltrane from/to various musicians(Thelonious Monk, Sunny Murray) and others (Ralph J. Gleason,Nat Hentoff, LeRoi Jenkins, and others), and 'Tranes "three wishes" from the great jazz book "Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats".The interviews themselves, obviously by different writers, are of sometimes varying quality. However, even the slightly lesser interviews have useful, interesting information, that help bring a larger picture of Coltrane into sharper focus. Taken as a whole, these articles are about as close to something approaching a Coltrane autobiography that we'll ever see.In these interviews (some lengthy) Coltrane expounds on his approach to music, and his unending quest to find his own voice through music. His thoughtful answers to questions are full of insight into both his music and the inner workings of a man known for his off-stage gentleness-which, at times, could be the extreme opposite of his music. With the inclusion of a "Blindfold Test" conducted by Leonard Feather, correspondence to both fans (including an inquiry about job opportunities in Ghana), journalists, and liner notes from several albums, this is a full, rich picture of Coltrane.For anyone who has been captivated by the music-the sound, the combination of both gentleness and fury found in his playing-this is a book worth having in your library. Having these interviews in one volume, where the impact of Coltrane's thoughts and ideas is much greater than a single interview, is well worthwhile. No matter if you've read several interviews, or one or two, the total weight of Coltrane's responses to probing questions are brought together in an easy to read, chronological order. His influences are still being felt today-find out why in this book.

Coltrane on Coltrane consists of more than 50 interviews and articles. this is not a novel in the sense of a good guy, bad guy unless one thinks of drugs as the bad guy. fortunately, this collection is longer on music than drugs. John Coltrane was one of the most important figures in aframerican music. he experienced extreme and ignorant criticism from "jazz" writers. as a musician once said, that's what their job is to criticize and i could add categorize. some of these critics and biographers take an attitude superior to the artist or ego trip one might say. most accept that music is a language with notes, chords, melodies and rhythm like language has letters, words, sentences and phrases. aframerican speech has rhythm, and this can be heard most distinctly in the west african languages. although the difference between speech patterns among different american groups has become less distinct, it was often easy to distinguish aframerican from euroamerican or even asianamerican speech. this is reflected in the voices of the music; this idea is mostly rejected by the critics who are outsiders even though they might know the language, it's still babble or sheets of sound. supposedly, coined by ernest hemingway, sheets of sound is a reflection of not understanding the language. even musicians can't always connect, because of bias against new ideas or the threat of the way they are playing becoming obsolete. as saxophonist bill wiggins said, "maybe you can't hear it." this is the dilemma of the critic, he might not hear it because of ignorance or preconceived ideas. we all know that people can't repeat what they were told, so in a sense they didn't really hear it. it's interesting that the loss of individuality so highly sought by the ancestors has been lost parallel to the loss of characteristic speech patterns. the value of this book is that mr coltrane describes what he is doing and reveals that he is not speaking in tongues. nevertheless, the emotional impact is the same for mr coltrane was schooled in the tradition as well as the theory of music. this is why mr coltrane speaks of the central role of the spirit. and like most aframerican music, it cannot be transcribed in the western system. mr coltrane or trane was a very humble musician as noted by harold mabern and others. he was also very open and defended nontraditional musicians like albert ayler, ornette coleman and eric dolphy. i recommend the book whole heartedly. it's long, but not for lovers of mr coltrane.

This is a great gift. Everyone that loves jazz, loves this gift when I give it. Coltrane is so alive in his interviews. He is as alive as his music. So down to earth, easy to read and understand who Coltrane is as a man and musician.

Boy, this is a great read! I love Mr. Coltrane's music--all of it! And this book has so many great little anecdotes. Mr. DeVito's little editorial corrections to the casual slips of memory Mr. Coltrane made in correspondence and interviews are interesting, too. But it is the character of Mr. Coltrane that emerges in these pages that is most interesting. He is humble, somewhat shy and gracious. And so fiercely dedicated to his craft. I was especially interested to see a casual reference to an after-hours session in some woman's attic Mr. Coltrane attended (early in his career) where Messrs. Art Tatum & Slam Stewart, and Oscar Peterson & Ray Brown were all playing. Considering the amazing finger-busting playing that probably took place there, I wonder how all of that affected his own attitude toward developing a technique that led to the "sheets of sound" identity that later occurred? Also, the way an interviewer prepares to interview someone like him is also revealed. That in itself is interesting...It is a tough one to put down, and also one you can open anywhere and start reading and find something great!

Despite the terrible cover art, this book does contain valuable information about Coltrane's musical goals and thought process. While including liner notes from his many albums may seem like unnecessary filler, they do help put into context the critical opinions of the time. And as in many musician interviews, the same questions are asked and again answered, which gets a tad bit tedious.

Super!

Excelente libro para conocer la personalidad y el pensamiento musical de John Coltrane, además de datos biográficos. La calidad del pasta blanda es intermedia, el papel no es de lo mejor, pero vale 100% el precio.

Dense et passionnant, un témoignage à la première personne, une quasi-autobiographie.

With this book and all the interviews inside, it is easy to follow the mind and concepts of Coltrane, one of the greatests (if not the greatest) musician and improviser of modern times.

If you love Coltrane's music, then this is a worthwhile purchase. It is a well laid out & edited collection of interviews with the man, liner notes, & personal recollections of people around Coltrane. You get to hear Coltrane candidly, sincerely & always respectfully do his best to answer questions from journalists, critics & others.He left behind so much great music, & the contributions from the classic quartet & later quintet should not be underestimated. It's a real loss that he left the world just when he was looking to truly expand & musically engulf the universe.Now, excuse me, while I put on Interstellar Space.