The John Coltrane Reference [Hardcover]

Lewis Porter (Author), Chris DeVito (Author), David Wild (Author), Yasuhiro Fujioka (Author), Wolf Schmaler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 20, 2007 | ISBN-10: 041597755X | ISBN-13: 978-0415977555 | Edition: 1

The BBC's Jazz Book of the Year for 2008.

Few jazz musicians have had the lasting influence or attracted as much scholarly study as John Coltrane. Yet, despite dozens of books, hundreds of articles, and his own recorded legacy, the "facts" about Coltrane's life and work have never been definitely established. Well-known Coltrane biographer and jazz educator Lewis Porter has assembled an international team of scholars to write The John Coltrane Reference, an indispensable guide to the life and music of John Coltrane.

The John Coltrane Reference features a a day-by-day chronology, which extends from 1926-1967, detailing Coltrane's early years and every live performance given by Coltrane as either a sideman or leader,  and a discography offering full session information from the first year of recordings, 1946, to the last, 1967. The appendices list every film and television appearance, as well as every recorded interview. Richly illustrated with over 250 album covers and photos from the collection of Yasuhiro Fujioka, The John Coltrane Reference will find a place in every major library supporting a jazz studies program, as well as John Coltrane enthusiasts.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The intensity and accuracy of the scholarship in this monumental effort cannot be praised enough ... To give Coltrane his due in book form is to be as painstaking in researching as Coltrane was in practicing. This book honors its subject through such exercise of care." - AllAboutJazz.com

"This opus is clearly the culmination of decades of dedicated and diligent resesarch and is wholly worthy of its illustrious subject. No serious collector of jazz literature can afford to be without it." - Bob Weir, Names & Numbers

About the Author

THE AUTHORS:

Lewis Porter is Professor of Music at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey, where he directs the Masters Program in Jazz History and Research. He is a well known author and jazz pianist.

Chris DeVito is a freelance writer and copy editor, and author of a published short story, "Notespinning."

Yasuhiro Fujioka is a freelance jazz writer, producer, and photographer who regularly contributes to Swing Journal and other magazines.

Wolf Schmaler has assisted Yasuhiro Fujioka since 1989 in Coltrane research.

David Wild has authored influential discographies of Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, written liner notes to many recordings on the Impulse! label, and has published in Down Beat, Coda, Cadence, Signal To Noise, and the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 848 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (December 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 041597755X
• ISBN-13: 978-0415977555
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #927,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The motherlode of all Coltrane discographies, March 15, 2008

By 

BluesFan (High desert Arizona) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The John Coltrane Reference (Hardcover)

There are a handful of Coltrane scholars around the planet who are recognized as the authorities on John Coltrane. Lewis Porter (who is one of them), well-known jazz scholar and jazz artist, gathered most of the true heavyweights together for this definitive guide to Coltrane's life and work.

This book encompasses, updates, expands upon and supersedes Fujioka's "John Coltrane: A Discography And Musical Biography".

If you are simply looking for a biography of Coltrane, I would recommend Porter's "John Coltrane: His Life And Music" [U of Michigan Press].

If, on the other hand, you want every bit of information there is about every recording ever made by Coltrane, including concert recordings that circulate among music traders, this is the book of your dreams. Until (and if) this book is ever updated, it is the definitive guide to Coltrane's work. Nothing else, save the Fujioka, even comes close.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The John Coltrane Bible, May 9, 2008

By 

P. L. Karting (Rotterdam, Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The John Coltrane Reference (Hardcover)

This book is for the John Coltrane connoiseurs their Bible. More than 800 pages, more than two and a half kilo weight. All the known recordings are mentioned, plus the service that via internet updates with new infomation will follow. The writers of this Bible are all experts in Jazz and especialy about John Coltrane. Lewis Porter did the editing.

I am glad to have this book in my collection.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive Coltrane, September 28, 2009

By 

Michael L. Slavin "HardBopper" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The John Coltrane Reference (Hardcover)

This superb book which weighs in at about 4 1/2 pounds is the culmination of tremendous scholarly research by the editor and contributors. Coltrane was born in 1926. This exhaustive reference covers highlights of his life from 1938 thru 1944. Then a timeline which briefly summarizes key events followed by a more detailed chronology of that year. These details are in yearly chapters from 1945-1967 (the year of his death). There are many anecdotes as well as published reviews by critics and columnists. A number of musician former collegues were interviewed to provide further information. Following that is a complete discography (as of the publication date which was 2008). That also follows the yearly format covering the periods from 1946-67. A lot of album covers are reproduced. It is amazing how many different reissues and repackagings have been made from these record dates. Also, many quite obscure releases are covered as well as private practice,radio broadcasts,club dates and concert performances that were recorded. Tremendous effort by the authors. With much original research.