Got home a little while ago from the dry, cool dark of the cinema where they were showing the final local screening of Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary. If you care about music at all, I highly recommend checking it out. Nothing earth-shattering, and there are aspects of the direction that are just straight up too heavy-handed – there are aspects of the digitized visualizations which have the same grating effect as those goofy visuals they've kept on the late-era Grateful Dead documents like Truckin' Up to Buffalo; also, to paraphrase a reviewer, a little Cornel West goes a long way... – but the way that the narrative is structured (starting in the middle of his career, then going backwards in order to move forward), a good portion of the interviews, and of course the music (there's a respectable amount of archival footage here that is just gold, a lot of which you can find commercially or on Youtube, but some of which I've never seen before), as well as the candid photographs of Trane with his friends, bandmates and family are just fantastic.
It's not going to reveal anything to the hardcore jazz freak or particularly to a real serious Coltrane fan, but just to have this man's life and work in the public consciousness and at this level (there are some serious heavyweights, musical and otherwise, who are interviewed: Carlos Santana, Bill Clinton, Wayne Shorter) is a treat in and of itself. It's a good bio, not outstanding. If you want outstanding, try this on for size (in fact, parts of it are used in Chasing Trane; check out the straight-up steam coming off of these dudes bodies as they play)...
https://youtu.be/eqM36dB6j7U
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Furious E O1>11
on Friday, May 19, 2017 – 12:04 pm
I had to do the hour drive to
I had to do the hour drive to Chico last night to attended the one and only screening anywhere near me and felt it was worth it.
i agree with all the above criticisms but I do feel the film did a relatively good job of summarizing the majority of trane's musical, philosophical, personal and spiritual evolution.
the most worthwhile aspect for me, as a musician, was walking away with a perceived slightly greater insight into how he approached music; That an instrument really can b a mediator between an individual and his creator, a literal bridge between some type of subjective reasoning and objective reality, if u will.
I got the impression that trane really felt like he was playing to his creator every time he picked up his horn by the end of his life.
the mindset that creating art at its highest level should b a form of worship, therapy and almost type of martial art was a powerful take away for me.
this is all very difficult to put into words but when I got home I viewed my basses and the act of playing them a little differently and after almost 2 decades of dicking around on the instrument that type of fresh revelation is invaluable.
i was thinking of starting a jazz documentary thread to share and hear about Some favorites.
just picked up one on Rahsaan Roland Kirk I'm dying to watch!
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Furious E O1>11
on Friday, May 19, 2017 – 12:24 pm
I liked the poster:
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: jazfish Jazfish
on Friday, May 19, 2017 – 03:52 pm
Thanks for posting the link,
Thanks for posting the link, Aietx.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Furious E O1>11
on Friday, May 19, 2017 – 06:47 pm
Yeah, that footage is
Yeah, that footage is insanely good
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: aiq aiq
on Friday, May 19, 2017 – 06:49 pm
Looking forward to seeing
Looking forward to seeing this one.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: _ ateix
on Monday, May 22, 2017 – 12:35 pm
Been`listening to a lot of
Spoilers below:
Been`listening to a lot of Alice Coltrane since seeing this documentary. I can't understand how the director could fit in John Densmore telling a story about seeing Coltrane while he was leaving the bathroom, but couldn't work in any footage of Alice discussing their shared interest in spirituality, or at least a moment with Pharoah Sanders, or why he decided to tone down more of the input from Trane biographer Lewis Porter (I saw him at a speaking engagement once, and the guy bursts at the seams with interesting anecdotes about as well as a comprehensive knowledge of J.C.).
That said, I do agree with you Furious E, there was a solid summation of Trane's alchemy of philosophical and spiritual beliefs through his music, and there is a clear narrative that begins with a guy who loves the brilliant, angular musical phrasings of Coleman Hawkins and (to a far greater extent) Charlie Parker and evolves into a genius that is using that kind of next-level composition to deliver a musical sermon.
What's the Roland Kirk bio? I'll scope that out.