Search - John Coltrane - The World According to John Coltrane on DVD

Coltrane is great - movie is weak

Dimitry Feigin | Coconut Creek, FL USA | 01/02/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Coltrane and his music is really genius. The same I expect from the movie about him.
Why I consider it weak:
1. It is only 60 min and not all the time is for his music. DVD can fill > 3 h.
2. Comments are interrupting his performance. The sessions are cut at the middle.
I think I need to wait for DVD writer and create the movie that I want by myself. I want to have whole session of performance from Jazz Casual (weak picture, but the sound recording is good). I want to see as much as possible from Kind of Blue, My Favorite Things, Giants Steps and Love Supreme. I saw the parts from these sessions but I want to have all of it. I don't care that the picture can be weak, but I want to see Coltranes fingers and hear his sax.
Also for music DVD it should be the option to play only music without comments, because after couple of times you probable want to hear only music and not listen to the story."

Astounding...

Will Flannery | Berkeley, CA | 06/13/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is it folks. This is as close as you'll get to a John Coltrane solo, and hence, according to some, as close as you will get to God in this lifetime. Not only can you hear the notes, but you can see the riveting intensity that consumed Coltrane when he was playing. All the great jazz players can play lots of notes, but Coltrane can tear you up with one note. In addition to ferocious runs up and down the horn Trane plays lots of long searing notes. Just one note, but the attack, the tone, the intensity, the release, are unparalleled in jazz. If you are new to jazz, listen to these notes, they embody the essence of Coltrane, they will tell you all you need to know, for now.In the tape of "So What" the camera is right in Miles face as he finishes his solo. The picture is perfectly clear, you can see the minutest detail of the expressions on his face as he creates in the moment classic jazz. As he finishes he steps aside as Trane moves up to the mic, playing a few casual notes. Then, immediately, Coltrane reaches white hot intensity, playing long screaming notes alternating with arpeggios defining his harmonic concept. This is it. The Ultimate. It is interesting to see the other players nonchalantly standing about as Trane plays, Occasionally one will look over. The world had never heard music like this before, and Trane was scandalizing critics and fans by the thousands, but these guys were cool. What a moment! The video is about the music, and are several extended cuts included, along with commentary by musicians that played with Trane, this commentary is not too compelling, but, it does give some idea of how Trane's contemporaries related to him. The only way I can think of to make it better would be to make it longer. Another astounding thing to me is that this footage of Trane in action exists. It appears from this video that there is lots of it. How about a sequel, now that we really need one! I like the DVD edition, first, because it's digital, indestructible, etc., and second because you can have immediate access to the individual `chapters' making up the disc without scanning through the commentary, etc."

Vey well done

A. Hogan | Brooklyn, NY USA | 03/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Coltrane keeps growing larger each year. Prestige, Atlantic and Impulse all have massive box treatments of this man. there are30 books in print from ... that deal with him{from Lewis Porter's definitive biography, to a collection of poetry dedicated to him, DEAR John Coltrane} There is an African Orthodox Church in San Francisco that is called the church of St. John Coltrane.So ,it would seem, there is soemthing profound about coltane that touches many people at their very center. this Video, done in cooperation with Alice Coltrane{hence the somewhat reverant tone] is a compilation of mostly muscial clips taken from the early 60's, with soem nice moments of coltrane with the Miles davis quintet. Some grainy black in white footage{though the sound is surprisingly good},compliments the color footage of Newport ,and the interviews{Tommy FLanigan, Rashid ali}are helpful. The music, though is the real star here. look at Coltrane as he goes into a loong, long solo,what passion and energy he consumes. he was looking, we are told, for God, and the sound of God.With the legacy he left, I think he may have found it. Well done, far from definitive, though a good part of the canon."

"He integrated all of the music of the world"

rballjones | Des Moines, IA USA | 07/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've watched quite a few documentaries lately and this is one of very best. It is straight ahead--covering Coltrane's background and musical journey through the years. There is a lot of excellent footage of him and other musicians playing--a real treat for those who like jazz from his era, as I do. There are short clips of Charlie Parker, Monk, and Ravi Shankar. In addition, one gets exposure to members of Coltrane's bands including solos by Eric Dolphy and Roscoe Mitchell, and plenty of good footage of Elvin Jones on the drums. Early on, there is a clip of Coltrane when he was in the Miles Davis band. Miles plays a bit, then Coltrane steps into a solo and the viewer can immediately see what a powerful force he was. This film includes a long solo of Coltrane and his band playing "My Favorite Things"--where he works himself into a feverish mood. The film effectively draws a comparison between Coltrane's playing and a spiritual trance, not unlike what he would have experienced in church as a young person in North Carolina. There are some great interviews with Rashied Ali, Tommy Flanagan, Jimmy Heath, Wayne Shorter, LaMonte Young and Alice Coltrane. In addition to the well-chosen footage, I like this film so well because it treats the viewer as intelligent. It isn't filled with superlatives and excessive fawning. It isn't condescending. "A Love Supreme" is barely mentioned. The interviewees talk to the camera (to you) like you're a real person who's curious about the life and the music of Coltrane. For a jazz fan, this is a real treasure. For someone who doesn't know much about Coltrane, it would probably be an excellent introduction. The length is about one hour."