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Book	Synopsis/Review
Ascension : John Coltrane and His Quest by Eric Nisenson Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours. Paperback Reprint edition (September 1995) Da Capo Pr; ISBN: 0306806444 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.86 x 8.20 x 5.38 Amazon.com Sales Rank: 66,837	An examination of tenor saxophonist John Coltrane's influence on today's world music discusses how his music and style touched Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis, Roger McGuinn, and Bill Clinton. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title
Ascension : John Coltrane and His Quest by Eric Nisenson Availability: This title is currently on back order. Amazon.com does not have a reprint date for this title, but expects to be able to ship it to you within 3-5 weeks. Hardcover - 278 pages (October 1993) St Martins Pr (Trade); ISBN: 0312098383 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.03 x 8.50 x 5.79 Amazon.com Sales Rank: 209,529	An examination of tenor saxophonist John Coltrane's influence on today's world music discusses how his music and style touched Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis, Roger McGuinn, and Bill Clinton. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title
Chasin' the Trane : The Music and Mystique of John Coltrane by J. C. Thomas Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours. Paperback - 252 pages (May 1988) Da Capo Pr; ISBN: 0306800438 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.83 x 8.47 x 5.38 Amazon.com Sales Rank: 104,343	cohenf@fpc.edu; Frank Cohen from Rindge, NH , December 31, 1998 Entertaining doucmentary-style biography to read This book is not a scholarly monograph. It does not contain much in the way of music criticism. It is simply an entertaining documentary-style portrayal of one of the greatest American musicians of all time. That is not necessarily an argument the author is trying to make. You sense that he is one of the greats, in terms of his impact, by seeing what Coltrane's cohorts and colleagues say about him. Thomas connects the testimonies in an extremely fluid manner, with good prose, and plenty of context. I believe the book portrays well what Coltrane means to people as a person and artist.
John Coltrane by Bill Cole Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours. Paperback - 272 pages Reprint edition (September 1993) Da Capo Pr; ISBN: 0306805308 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.80 x 8.24 x 5.43 Amazon.com Sales Rank: 267,680	A reader from United States , June 4, 1999 Good source for stuff about Coltrane I enjoyed reading this book not only for it's comments on Coltrane but about the detail of his projects with other great musicians. It has a detailed recording list (includes dates, times, people involved, etc.)
John Coltrane : A Discography and Musical Biography (Studies in Jazz ; No. 20) by Yasuhiro Fujioka, Lewis Porter, Yoh-Ichi Hamada Availability: This title usually ships within 2-3 days. Hardcover (March 1995) Scarecrow Pr; ISBN: 081082986X Amazon.com Sales Rank: 149,167	Booknews, Inc. , December 1, 1995 A complete guide to the great jazz artist John Coltrane's (1926-1967) recordings and career. Every recording is detailed, along with over 30 live recording sessions that have never been listed elsewhere. For every session there is a complete listing of every issue worldwide through 1993, in every format including LP, cassette, video, and CD. Included are some 700 small photos of LP cover art, and about 110 larger photos, mostly unpublished, of Coltrane in and out of performance. Indexed by musicians, song titles, and recording companies. A project of immense value. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
John Coltrane : His Life and Music (Michigan American Music Series) by Lewis Porter Availability: This title usually ships within 2-3 days. Hardcover - 448 pages (January 1998) Univ of Michigan Pr; ISBN: 0472101617 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.36 x 9.27 x 6.34 Amazon.com Sales Rank: 28,311	Michel Forest forestm@mail.colba.net from Montreal , April 2, 1998 The best Coltrane bio so far Lewis Porter's bio of Coltrane is, so far, the best. After reading 4 bios of Coltrane, each new one more disappointing than the last, I've finally found a reliable source of facts. Mr. Porter has done his homework: the chronology, at the end of the book is worth the purchase alone. He does not get into interpretations, preferring to stick to the facts. He has also avoided the tendency to make Coltrane look like a saint, a tendency so common in other books about Trane. The musical analysis can be hard to follow if you're not familiar with musical theory, even though it looks as Porter has tried to make it as easy to understand as possible. This is the only biography of Coltrane worth reading.
The John Coltrane Companion : Four Decades of Commentary (Companion Series) by Carl Woideck (Editor) Availability: This title usually ships within 2-3 days. Paperback - 222 pages (August 1998) Schirmer Books; ISBN: 0028647904 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.75 x 9.25 x 6.16 Amazon.com Sales Rank: 102,178	Second only to Charlie Parker, John Coltrane was the most influential saxophonist of the postwar jazz years. This book covers his playing and life from his early years in the bands of Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk through his landmark groups of the '60s. This book gathers articles about Coltrane, interviews, and performance and record reviews to portray the man and musician. As both an introduction and a resource, it illuminates the life and career of one of this century's greatest musicians.
Spirit Catcher : The Life and Art of John Coltrane by John Fraim Availability: This title usually ships within 2-3 days. Paperback - 216 pages (January 1996) Greathouse; ISBN: 0964556103 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.64 x 8.40 x 5.40 Amazon.com Sales Rank: 181,456	Midwest Book Review Readers seeking a purely musical exploration of jazz musician John Coltrane's works might be disappointed in this focus on his spiritual side, but any who wants to round out prior knowledge with in-depth personal details will find this fascinating. This history of jazz developments and Coltrane's involvements includes plenty of spiritual insights on his different influences. An unusual approach, this combines scholarship with fine insights.
Coltrane : A Biography by Cuthbert Ormond Simpkins Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours. Paperback - 274 pages Reprint edition (December 1989) Black Classic Pr; ISBN: 0933121202 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.83 x 8.50 x 5.53 Amazon.com Sales Rank: 153,847	ejunge@bucknell.edu -eric junge from Rye, New York , July 2, 1998 A colorful portrayal of this incredible man and musician This is a book for those of us who find something majestic in John Coltrane's music. Simpkins does well in carrying the reader through Coltrane's life, starting with his childhood, and finishing with his death. Even though the author seems to show great excitement in telling us Coltrane's story, he fails to fully backup his research, reciting quotations from Coltrane's childhood which for all we know, could be utter nonsense and simply the author's imagination taking over to make the story more interesting. Additionally, the author, in this humble critics opinion, might have done better by perhaps discussing Coltrane's relationships with both Miles Davis and heroin, rather than attempting to verbally describe his music in many sections of the book, a feat that even Shakespeare would be unable to perform. Nevertheless, it is a book which most Coltrane enthusiasts should pick up at one point or another to fully appreciate the roots of Coltrane's music!!!! -Bravo, Mr. Simpkins
John Coltrane : A Sound Supreme by John W. Selfridge Hardcover (October 1999) ISBN: 0531115429 Not Yet Available: You may still order this title. Amazon.com will ship it to you when it is released by the publisher. Amazon.com Sales Rank: 933,679	Send me your review of this book and I'll place it here.
The Melodic and Polyrhythmic Development of John Coltrane's Spontaneous Composition in a Racist Society (Studies in the History and Interpretation Of) by Karlton E. Hester Hardcover (June 1997) Edwin Mellen Press; ISBN: 0773485740 Availability: This title usually ships within 4-6 weeks. Please note that titles occasionally go out of print or publishers run out of stock. Amazon.com will notify you within 2-3 weeks if they have trouble obtaining this title. Amazon.com Sales Rank: 921,819	Send me your review of this book and I'll place it here.
Dear John, Dear Coltrane : Poems by Michael S. Harper Availability: This title usually ships within 2-3 days. Paperback - 88 pages Rep edition (June 1985) Univ of Illinois Pr (Trd); ISBN: 0252011937 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.32 x 8.00 x 5.43 Amazon.com Sales Rank: 310,745	Send me your review of this book and I'll place it here.
John Coltrane and the Jazz Revolution of the 1960's by Frank Kofsky Availability: This title usually ships within 2-3 days. Paperback - 480 pages Expanded edition (January 1998) Pathfinder Press; ISBN: 0873488571 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.13 x 8.15 x 5.24 Other Editions: Hardcover Amazon.com Sales Rank: 164,859	Douglasgro@aol.com from Dener, Colorado, USA , February 20, 1999 This is a mixed effort at understanding the jazz revolution. Frank Kofsky (d. 1997) was a lover of jazz--particularly black jazz--and a Marxist ideologue. He goes to great length to argue that jazz is essentially an African-American phenomenon, and that whites are second-best or interlopers. (He does reluctantly grant that Bill Evans was a legitimate innovator and considerable influence...) That racial claim is questionable enough, but his political ideas intrude on his analysis repeatedly. His interviews with McCoy Tyner and John Coltrane attempt to pull political ideas out of them that they appear to have thought little about. The book is somewhat mistitled because it is not primarily about John Coltrane, but about the black jazz and political revolution of the 1960. Kofsky speaks almost as much about Archie Shepp (saxophonist influenced by Coltrane who played with him late in Coltrane's career) as he does about Coltrane, partially, I think, because Shepp was much more outspoken in his leftist political ideas than was Coltrane who was, I take it, basically apolitical--despite some of his ethical concerns expressed, for instance, in his piece, "Alamaba," which was written to lament the racially-based murder of several black children in their church during the civil rights movement. Nevertheless, the die-hard Coltrane fans may enjoy this book because of its analysis of Coltrane's music and influence. I appreciated the interviews with Coltrane, Tyner, and Elvin Jones, despite Kofsky's overly political insinuations. Kofsky gives some purely musical descriptions and explanations that I found noteworthy. Kofsky, to his credit, does integrate the black nationalist movement of the 1960s with certain aspects of jazz during that period. Although some of his connections are questionable, he does employ this construct to illuminate the jazz scene of the day in ways that some jazz critics have failed to recognize. The book suffers from poor editing, much repetition, and a sense that Kofsky is getting even after he was alienated from the jazz critics scene in the 1960s because of his political views. A kind of whining tone pervades much of the book, which becomes tiring. I give the book three stars more for its subject matter than for its author's insights or writing ability. The definitive factual biography on Coltrane is Lewis Potter's, "John Coltrane: His Life and Music." The best treatment of Coltrane's spirituality in relation to his music is Nisenson's, "Ascension: John Coltane and His Quest." Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Philosophy Denver Seminary Email: Douglasgro@aol.com
John Coltrane Plays Giant Steps by John Coltrane (Compiler) Paperback (December 1996) Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation; ISBN: 0793563453 Availability: This title is currently on back order. Amazon.com does not have a reprint date for this title, but they expect to be able to ship it to you within 3-5 weeks. Amazon.com Sales Rank: 845,638	Send me your review of this book and I'll place it here.
The Music of John Coltrane : Over 100 Compositions by Jazz Saxophone Great John Coltrane (Jazz Great) by John Coltrane Paperback (June 1991) Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation; ISBN: 0793504090 Availability: This title is currently on back order. Amazon.com do not have a reprint date for this title, but they expect to be able to ship it to you within 3-5 weeks. Amazon.com Sales Rank: 240,548	Send me your review of this book and I'll place it here.