Coltrane: The Definitive Visual Celebration of the Legend by Ravi Coltrane with contributions from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wayne Coyne, Dev Hynes, Phil Lesh, Julie Mehretu, Carlos Santana, and Patti Smith
Coltrane book cover
Many thanks to Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press and NetGalley
for allowing me to preview an advanced copy of the beautiful and thoughtful
photographic collection Coltrane: The Definitive Visual Celebration of the Legend.
2026 marks the 100th birthday of John Coltrane, one of the most
significant jazz artists of the 20th century, and in my opinion, one
of the most important American musicians and composers. It’s been exciting to
see all of the celebrations of Trane’s life, music, and artistry, and this collection
of photographs is a beautiful addition to the celebration. This collection
includes nearly 200 pages of intimate, thoughtful, and live photographs spanning
Coltrane’s career from the 1950s through the late 1960s, before his untimely
death in 1967 at age 40. In addition to the photos, the book also contains
several brief essays from different artists and musicians that detail their
first encounters with Coltrane, as well as his influence on their own music,
art, and lives. Coltrane’s son, Ravi, pens a heartfelt essay to begin the book
that details his encounter with his father and his performance at Temple
University in a dream. Coltrane did perform at Temple about a year before his
death, but Ravi Coltrane was only about a year old at the time. For anyone who
has lost a parent, these kinds of dreams of encountering a lost loved one can
bring many different emotions, and Ravi explains how important John’s image and
music has been in understanding who his father was and shaping his legacy and
impact on music and jazz. I really enjoyed this essay, and Ravi’s reflections
made me appreciate the photos in the book even more, even those that I’ve seen
as album covers and artwork. There are other essays from an eclectic crew
including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wayne Coyne, Dev Hynes, Phil Lesh, Julie Mehretu,
Carlos Santana, and Patti Smith. Even though it seems like this may be a
disparate group, they all seem to share the same kind of profound experience of
first encountering Trane’s music, and how his music eventually shaped their own
music, art, or careers. I especially appreciated the different musicians’ takes
on Coltrane’s music and seeing how his evolution of sound encouraged them to
take their own creative risks and recognize the spirituality and emotion that
can be conveyed through music.
However, the book’s photos are central to conveying another
side of John Coltrane, where we are able to visually witness his evolution from
sideman to taking some giant steps to an ascension to become one of the key progenitors
of avant garde and free jazz. There are some great photos of Coltrane’s time
with Dizzy Gillespie’s band as well as his time with Miles Davis. Also included
in the 1950s collection are photos from the Blue Train session, Coltrane’s
first session as a leader. It’s fascinating to see him both in action, playing
the saxophone, as well as the thoughtful, introspective shots probably from in
between takes.
My favorite images in the book come from the 1960s, which is
also the era of Coltrane’s music that I most enjoy. There’s a great shot of
Coltrane at the Guggenheim, which I’ve never seen before. It’s a fascinating
shot and communicated his interest in art and modernism- the new thing- that he
shepherded through his music. The photos from the 1960s, especially the latter
1960s, feature many Coltrane performances, which often depict him playing as if
possessed by some holy spirit, proclaiming a message of peace and consciousness-
a love supreme. I also learned that Coltrane played with Wes Montgomery in the early
60s. Although it was never recorded, I would have loved to hear them play
together. I love the motion captured in these still images, and how despite the
freeze-frame nature of photographs, there’s a continual sense of fluidity and
energy that these images portray. There are some powerful images from the A
Love Supreme sessions, along with the cover image shot by Bob Thiele, with
a note from Alice Coltrane indicating the cover shot. One of the groups of
photos that resonated most with me was showing John and Alice collaborating at
the piano. I’ve never seen these photos before, but they depict the synthesis
of their artistic and spiritual visions for music. These are lovely images of a
true artistic marriage. As Andy Beta explores in Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane, Alice’s impact on John’s later music
was significant, and these pictures help to document this continued evolution
to higher spiritual realms. These images also depict that different side of
Coltrane, where he’s collaborating and sharing his vision.
This is an amazing collection, and although I previewed the
digital version, I can only imagine how lovely the physical copy is. The images
are high quality and well-organized in a chronological manner to depict
Coltrane’s growth and evolution from sideman to group leader to the spiritual
leader who shepherded the avant garde and new sound that revolutionized
American jazz and experimental music. Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press and NetGalley
for allowing me to preview an advanced copy of the beautiful and thoughtful
photographic collection Coltrane: The Definitive Visual Celebration of the Legend.
2026 marks the 100th birthday of John Coltrane, one of the most
significant jazz artists of the 20th century, and in my opinion, one
of the most important American musicians and composers. It’s been exciting to
see all of the celebrations of Trane’s life, music, and artistry, and this collection
of photographs is a beautiful addition to the celebration. This collection
includes nearly 200 pages of intimate, thoughtful, and live photographs spanning
Coltrane’s career from the 1950s through the late 1960s, before his untimely
death in 1967 at age 40. In addition to the photos, the book also contains
several brief essays from different artists and musicians that detail their
first encounters with Coltrane, as well as his influence on their own music,
art, and lives. Coltrane’s son, Ravi, pens a heartfelt essay to begin the book
that details his encounter with his father and his performance at Temple
University in a dream. Coltrane did perform at Temple about a year before his
death, but Ravi Coltrane was only about a year old at the time. For anyone who
has lost a parent, these kinds of dreams of encountering a lost loved one can
bring many different emotions, and Ravi explains how important John’s image and
music has been in understanding who his father was and shaping his legacy and
impact on music and jazz. I really enjoyed this essay, and Ravi’s reflections
made me appreciate the photos in the book even more, even those that I’ve seen
as album covers and artwork. There are other essays from an eclectic crew
including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wayne Coyne, Dev Hynes, Phil Lesh, Julie Mehretu,
Carlos Santana, and Patti Smith. Even though it seems like this may be a
disparate group, they all seem to share the same kind of profound experience of
first encountering Trane’s music, and how his music eventually shaped their own
music, art, or careers. I especially appreciated the different musicians’ takes
on Coltrane’s music and seeing how his evolution of sound encouraged them to
take their own creative risks and recognize the spirituality and emotion that
can be conveyed through music.
However, the book’s photos are central to conveying another
side of John Coltrane, where we are able to visually witness his evolution from
sideman to taking some giant steps to an ascension to become one of the key progenitors
of avant garde and free jazz. There are some great photos of Coltrane’s time
with Dizzy Gillespie’s band as well as his time with Miles Davis. Also included
in the 1950s collection are photos from the Blue Train session, Coltrane’s
first session as a leader. It’s fascinating to see him both in action, playing
the saxophone, as well as the thoughtful, introspective shots probably from in
between takes.
My favorite images in the book come from the 1960s, which is
also the era of Coltrane’s music that I most enjoy. There’s a great shot of
Coltrane at the Guggenheim, which I’ve never seen before. It’s a fascinating
shot and communicated his interest in art and modernism- the new thing- that he
shepherded through his music. The photos from the 1960s, especially the latter
1960s, feature many Coltrane performances, which often depict him playing as if
possessed by some holy spirit, proclaiming a message of peace and consciousness-
a love supreme. I also learned that Coltrane played with Wes Montgomery in the early
60s. Although it was never recorded, I would have loved to hear them play
together. I love the motion captured in these still images, and how despite the
freeze-frame nature of photographs, there’s a continual sense of fluidity and
energy that these images portray. There are some powerful images from the A
Love Supreme sessions, along with the cover image shot by Bob Thiele, with
a note from Alice Coltrane indicating the cover shot. One of the groups of
photos that resonated most with me was showing John and Alice collaborating at
the piano. I’ve never seen these photos before, but they depict the synthesis
of their artistic and spiritual visions for music. These are lovely images of a
true artistic marriage. As Andy Beta explores in Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane, Alice’s impact on John’s later music
was significant, and these pictures help to document this continued evolution
to higher spiritual realms. These images also depict that different side of
Coltrane, where he’s collaborating and sharing his vision.
This is an amazing collection, and although I previewed the
digital version, I can only imagine how lovely the physical copy is. The images
are high quality and well-organized in a chronological manner to depict
Coltrane’s growth and evolution from sideman to group leader to the spiritual
leader who shepherded the avant garde and new sound that revolutionized
American jazz and experimental music. Highly recommended!
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