Chasin The Trane

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 music’s boundaries from the sounds his saxophone created. Many even had their lives changed as a result. J. C. Thomas traces John Coltrane’s life and career from his North Carolina childhood through his apprenticeship under Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis, culminating in the saxophonist’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 best—boyhood friends, band members like Elvin Jones, spiritual mentors like Ravi Shankar, and the women who loved him. Chasin’ The Trane is the story of a man who struggled against drug addiction, studied African and Eastern music and philosophy, admired Einstein’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.

Always elusive, constantly moving, incessantly changing, John Coltrane stood astride the jazz world of the late ‘50s and ‘60s. He was a giant of the saxophone and a major composer. His music influenced both rock stars and classical musicians. There was a mystical quality, a profound melancholy emanating from this quiet, self-contained man that moved listeners—some of whom knew little about music but heard something beyond music's boundaries in the sounds his saxophone created. J. C. Thomas traces John Coltrane's life and career from his North Carolina childhood through his apprenticeship with Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis, to its culmination in the saxophonist's classic quartet that played to steadily increasing audiences throughout America, Europe, and Japan.The author has drawn on the recollections of the people who knew Coltrane best—boyhood friends, band members like Elvin Jones, spiritual mentors like Ravi Shankar, and the women who loved him. Chasin' the Trane is the story of a man who struggled against drug addiction, studied African and Eastern music and philosophy, admired both Einstein'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.

It's nineteen fifty-something, in a dark, cramped, smoke-filled room. Everyone's wearing black. And on-stage a tenor is blowing his heart out, a searching, jagged saxophone journey played out against a moody, walking bass and the swish of a drummer's brushes. To a great many listeners--from African American aficionados of the period to a whole new group of fans today--this is the very embodiment of jazz. It is also quintessential hard bop. In this, the first thorough study of the subject, jazz expert and enthusiast David H. Rosenthal vividly examines the roots, traditions, explorations and permutations, personalities and recordings of a climactic period in jazz history. Beginning with hard bop's origins as an amalgam of bebop and R&B, Rosenthal narrates the growth of a movement that embraced the heavy beat and bluesy phrasing of such popular artists as Horace Silver and Cannonball Adderley; the stark, astringent, tormented music of saxophonists Jackie McLean and Tina Brooks; the gentler, more lyrical contributions of trumpeter Art Farmer, pianists Hank Jones and Tommy Flanagan, composers Benny Golson and Gigi Gryce; and such consciously experimental and truly one-of-a-kind players and composers as Andrew Hill, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Charles Mingus. Hard bop welcomed all influences--whether Gospel, the blues, Latin rhythms, or Debussy and Ravel--into its astonishingly creative, hard-swinging orbit. Although its emphasis on expression and downright "badness" over technical virtuosity was unappreciated by critics, hard bop was the music of black neighborhoods and the last jazz movement to attract the most talented young black musicians. Fortunately, records were there to catch it all. The years between 1955 and 1965 are unrivaled in jazz history for the number of milestones on vinyl. Miles Davis's Kind of Blue, Charles Mingus's Mingus Ah Um, Thelonious Monk's Brilliant Corners, Horace Silver's Further Explorations--Rosenthal gives a perceptive cut-by-cut analysis of these and other jazz masterpieces, supplying an essential discography as well. For knowledgeable jazz-lovers and novices alike, Hard Bop is a lively, multi-dimensional, much-needed examination of the artists, the milieus, and above all the sounds of one of America's great musical epochs.

(Fake Book). This collection pays tribute to one of the most influential players in jazz history with over 125 of Coltrane's most memorable works arranged in fake book notation, including: Afro Blue * Alabama * Blue Train (Blue Trane) * Body and Soul * Bye Bye Blackbird * Crescent * Giant Steps * I Want to Talk About You * Jupiter * Lush Life * My Favorite Things * Oleo * So What * Summertime * and more.

(Artist Transcriptions). In the late 1950s, John Coltrane composed or arranged a series of tunes that used chord progressions based on a series of key center movements by thirds, rather than the usual fourths and fifths of standard progressions. This sound is so aurally identifiable and has received so much attention from jazz musicians that it has become known as "Coltrane's Changes." This book presents an exploration of his changes by studying 13 of his arrangements, each containing Coltrane's unique harmonic formula. It includes complete solo transcriptions with extensive performance notes for each. Titles include: Body and Soul * But Not for Me * Central Park West * Countdown * Fifth House * Giant Steps * Summertime * and more.