LOOKING AT TRANE

Looking and listening to Trane is a visceral experience. I am never left unmoved at either the images that speak for his life as a musician or the music itself, which continues to take me to new places while lending deeper insight into the man.

I first fell in love with Trane listening to My Favorite Things, which I played over and over again in the bookstore where I worked at the time, the early 90s. Coltrane's music was exhilarating and inspirational at once, and I have been listening to it and reading about him ever since.

A friend recently shared with me a series of recently discovered photographs of Trane taken during a session for A Love Supreme, another favorite album. The photos are by Chuck Stewart and lend further insight into the intense, spiritual and gentle giant of jazz music and composition, who constantly strove for perfection with his instrument, the tenor sax. Coltrane worked in the bebop and hard bop idioms and later helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz. Although he left this world in 1967, his legacy continues to inspire listeners and musicians alike.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2014/03/28/295470520/a-love-supreme-comes-alive-in-unearthed-photos