Customer Reviews

Chasin' The Trane (Da Capo Paperback)

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Think of this as the cliff notes edition of the life of John Coltrane. An alternate title could be "I Remember Trane." The book moves quickly over the first part of his life and concentrates mostly on his recording years. The early struggling years that were characterized by drugs is glossed over and pretty much picks up in ernest with his quiting in 1957. The best parts of this easy to read book are the lines attributed to his friends or those that knew him. The insights are clearly evident throughout the book as it is filled with little known tid bits as shared by people who crossed paths with the man. It seems everyone had an opinion or crossed paths with Trane. There are studio recollections, club dates, both on and off stage memories, diary excerpts but most of all reflections on the part of fellow musicians. Some of the encounters are remarkeable, like the time Gato Barbieri, the Argentine saxophonist, met him backstage in Europe and saw the sax case he had sent Coltrane. Coltrane exclaimed "you're from Argentina" and was unaware that Gato was the man who had sent the monographed leather case. The personal recollections make this a memorable book and a quick reference point for further and more detailed reading. The pictures are minimal but historically worthy. I would recommend this book to people who are interested in Coltrane and would like to get some quick and easy insights into the legendary sax great. This is Coltrane 1A, there is ample room for further knowledge, beginning with his music.

This book is easy to read and contains a lot of information but seems a little dated. It clearly illustrates that it was published in the '70s as it includes details of Mr. Coltrane's astrological chart and way over the top comparisions (like John Coltrane and Albert Einstein). This book is also not for cynics - I found myself rolling my eyes more than once at the overly flowery content. I did like that the book spoke of his personal problems in relation to the albums released and how the changes in his life affected his study of music. The best parts of the book are the short quotes from his family and friends.

I've owned this book since 1978 when my wife gave it to me as a Christmas present. I think at the time this was the only biography available. Much better biographies have come along since then. If you want to learn about Trane's life AND his music, you want the excellent Lewis Porter biography.

There's interesting stuff in Chasin' the Trane but there are also lots of goofy, silly passages that are sheer flights of fancy on the part of JC Thomas.

The passage where Thomas describes a compassionate Trane handing a couple of winos a ten dollar bill is just plain silly "Hey, that was Trane, handing me a ten when I have a million questions to ask him about music." Gimme a break. The only thing the wino wants to know is where the nearest liquor store is and whether his friend wants Thunderbird or Ripple.

There are also imagined scenes about his practicing and lots of stories about common people who are inspired by Trane who are no more special than you or me, so why do I want to read about them. I suspect some of them are simply friends and acquaintances of Thomas.

The book has several passages that are purely flights of fancy on the part of Thomas - highly speculative at best.

There is scant information about the man's actual music and absolutely NO analysis of Trane's methodology (such as the Giant Steps thirds). If you are a musician, like me, you what you REALLY want Porter's book, it is incredibly detailed with its analysis of Trane's music. You WILL probably learn something reading the Porter book. You can sit and read and follow along with the pieces to get the gist of what Porter is writing about.

Chasin' the Trane - while possibly the 1st Coltrane biography, is really quite trite compared to the Lewis book.

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.

I read this book on the recommendation of Eric Nisenson in his 1993 book Ascension: John Coltrane And His Quest, previously reviewed. This is a biography, but it is not a straightforward narrative. The author, I suspect, began with a large collection of quotations from others on Coltrane, or by Coltrane himself, or somehow relevant to his life, and wrote the book around them. They don't occur on every page, but nearly.

The author's style is of a type I find irritating until I grow accustomed to it and let it pass. He's of the sort that thinks it profound or dramatic to have one sentence paragraphs, rather than to include the line in the paragraph above or below. For example, on page 79 there is a paragraph with the single sentence: "He didn't." On page 83 we get the paragraph: "Except for tobacco." The book does not flow. It jerks along episodically like someone without stamina telling you a long story. The narrative, like a collage, is incessantly interrupted by those quotations set off in separate blocks and the author trying to be dramatic with those silly one sentence paragraphs. At the same time, there is not a single chapter break or header reference to tell you where you are in Coltrane's life.

There are several pictures, but no index or bibliography. There is a discography, which the publisher's blurb claims is complete. The book was first published in 1975.

I bought this book for the plane and it was perfect. An easy read. It seems that all the basics of his life and lifestyle are there, but not very much about the music. I don't have a problem with that because that subject could easily fill a few books.
This book is not divided into any chapters and has a stream-of-conscious feel to it. Makes for a nice read but sometimes his lead-ins to new topics can be kind of jarring. It's also not very detailed, a bit uneven at points, and he does go off on some tangents but otherwise it's a nice, basic introduction to the life of John Coltrane.

a very good intro to John Coltrane and his life. Short on details and extensive background but good quotes from peers and studio musicians he played with. His uncanny drive to practice and to play his sax the way he wanted to play it is captured here. All in all a very good book but there seems to be alot missing here.

JC Thomas mixes facts with imaginative accounts of Coltrane's life, for example, he writes about a practice session or two as if he is sitting and watching. It's really a tad corny, but you do get a lot of facts. Not enough attention to the Miles Davis Quintet years. I think you can do better. There was a time when this was the only biography available and we had to settle for this.

This biography of John Coltrane is the best book ever written about someone. This book gives you information about his childhood, his teen years, his life on the road when he was performing with various bands, and this book gives you 2-20 line paragraphs written by John's friends or people who new him very well. This book is a must if you are a musician and wondering about jazz history, or if you are a Coltrane fan. Buy it today.

This book is excellent all around, giving good background on John Coltrane's life, discussions of many of his albums, quotes from people who either played with Coltrane or were otherwise part of his life. There's a good discography, although so much new material has been issued since the book has come out, it's become rather patchy and dated. Thomas is a good writer (terrific for a music writer) but sometimes gets way off on tangents. That's my only criticism. But you get a good sense of the man, his music, his influence on other musicians, and his place in history. You can't ask for much more than that in a rock bio.