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Summary: the definitive book on coltrane
Review: Lewis Porter, noted scholar and author, gave us not only the definitive book on Coltrane, including detailed biography and musical analysis, but also one of the best book about jazz altogether. Its only minor defect is a short and shallow psychological chapter
Rating: 
Summary: Very well researched and accurate but a little dry.
Review: Porter has done new research for this book, which means that this is the first book about Coltrane to be written since the '70's that provides real new information about Coltrane's life. I learned a lot of new things about his childhood and his early career before his time with Miles Davis. That said, the book is a little on the dry side, especially in comparison to "Ascension: John Coltrane and His Quest," which is much more passionate when it comes to its subject. Porter is at his best documenting how jazz develops out of the public eye, and his interviews with Trane's colleagues, such as Benny Golson and Jimmy Heath, provided him with a lot of excellent material. On the whole, I feel one of the problems with all the books written about Coltrane since 1975 (including Porter's)is that they all tend to assume that the reader has already read all the previous works on the subject (e.g. earlier books by Thomas and Simpkins.) While this didn't bother me since I ! had read the other works, I can imagine that it could be a problem for others. For all its faults, I enjoyed it very much(I read it almost non-stop for two days) and it seems a shame that it is only university presses that publish valuable work like this.
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Summary: A very thorough and scholarly treatment of Coltrane.
Review: Porter's book is easily the most meticulous and rigorous historical and musical assessment available of the life and music of John Coltrane, the most influential and fascinating jazz saxaphonist of all time.Porter has read everything, talked to everyone, and know musical theory inside and out. The latter virtue will--at times--leave behind some readers (such as myself) who are less educated in the techical aspects of music. But one may skip over these sections without destoying the flow of the book. The book engages in little cultural or biographical intepretation and instead is more of a detailed chonicle and analysis of Coltrane's life and incomparable music. Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Philosophy Denver Seminary
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Summary: A must for any music devotees!
Review: So far I've only read a 100 pages, but I can already, without a doubt, recommend this book to anyone interested in music. It's a must; intelligent, musical,all the things you wondered about Coltrane - his musical growth, how he developed his genius musical insights. No musician wanting to know more about music can do without this book. It should be standing in every music school and every devoted musicians library.
Rating:
Summary: A must for any music devotees!
Review: So far I've only read a 100 pages, but I can already, without a doubt, recommend this book to anyone interested in music. It's a must; intelligent, musical,all the things you wondered about Coltrane - his musical growth, how he developed his genius musical insights. No musician wanting to know more about music can do without this book. It should be standing in every music school and every devoted musicians library.
Rating:
Summary: The finest work on Coltrane so far
Review: This book has everything; the most thorough life biography, yet, and a musician's analysis of Trane's important works, with loads of playable examples. Occasionally the author toots his horn a bit much, but he knows what he's talking about. All in all, a fascinating read into Trane's life and music.
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Summary: Comprehensive bio better for musicians
Review: This was my first foray into reading about Coltrane and I found it to be incredibly detailed and informative. The better part of the book is spent following Coltrane as he grew and developed his talents and friendships in the jazz community. Anecdotes about and from friends and peers such as Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis help to paint a complete picture of one of the worlds premier jazz musicians. The book can get tedious at points for non-musicians, as the author, a jazz musician himself, spends much of the latter chapters analyzing Trane's better known pieces, complete with reprints of chords and notes. I found myself glossing over most of this analysis, and had hoped for more lightweight material instead.
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