John Coltrane and the Jazz Revolution of the 1960's

by Frank Kofsky

Coltrane's role in spearheading the last major innovative development in jazz, and how the 1960s jazz revolution reflected an intense cultural, political, and ideological ferment -- marked especially by the rise of resistance to racial discrimination. Also contains the best-known interview with John Coltrane -- recorded in 1966, a year before his death.

Genres: Music, Jazz

582 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1997

Reviews

[Rob the Obscure · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, so there was some useful information in this book. It was just hard to get at. The issue with the book, for me, is that the title is misleading. This book is not primarily about John Coltrane. Rather, it is primarily about Kofsky's thesis that what happened to jazz in the 60s, with the "New Thing", and "Free Jazz", was a direct result of the African American community's struggle for justice, and that jazz in general was a music that grew out of oppression.

Not that there is not truth in this statement. However, Kofsky takes it too far. While reading the music, jazz as pure creativity starts to recede into the background, and jazz as socio-revolutionary tool ascends to a point that is probably not warranted.

That said, there are some great interviews with Trane, Elvin Jones, and McCoy Tyner. That, alone, makes it worth cracking the book open. If you have an intrepid streak, you can also pick up interesting and useful nuggets nested deeply here and there in Kofsky's continual drone of Marxist ideals that filters all the jazz he hears.

[Marc Lichtman · Rating 3 out of 5]

While many of Kofsky's polemical writings in this are important, Coltrane was not all that political, as Kofsky suggests. He was actually more religious. Most importantly, he was a great, innovative musician.

[Chris Landry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't get on with this.