Author: Ashley Kahn
Publisher: Viking Press
Year Published: 2002
Type: Biography
Format / Pages: / 260 pages
Review: Ashley Kahn, author of KIND OF BLUE , has written yet another book in
tribute to a recording. That recording is A LOVE SUPREME, naturally the title
to the book.
The reader need only to look at image on the cover of the book which is
also the cover of the album to view Coltrane in a now everlastingly famous
photograph. Coltrane believed that this was the best photograph taken of him.
It shows his intensity, his fortitude midst the storm of his inner being and
impending demise, his drive behind the music.
A Love Supreme was the turning point recording for John Coltrane. Kahn
characterizes it as a "Signature Album". I agree with this assessment in a
manner of speaking; however, I also believe that Kahn has exploited this
album for his own use. It is so patently obvious that the book was timed
with the re-release of the heretofore unheard sound recording uncovered from
the Van Gelder studios. Yet, it is startlingly clear that Kahn's motive has
to do with exposing more of whom he has contacted in relation to the book
than the musical material itself. It is as if Kahn has no thoughts of his own
and uses those of others to mold his process of thinking. He researched, yes,
but in a way, that does not come across as research; rather as a means to
compile a book, not write one.
The presentation of the book simulates a scrapbook, which is for some
purposes all right, but does not contribute to the appreciation of the
concept behind the book. A LOVE SUPREME in Coltrane's oeuvre marks a
seriously emotional and spiritual undertaking. Kahn's book seems to flatten
the undertaking. I do not know what it takes to introduce people to a subject
matter that is unknown. Perhaps it is the form of this presentation. Some of
the photographs of Coltrane are extremely interesting and downright
exquisite. The photographs of the tape boxes and old posters, et alia, are
often illegible. The inserts regarding the history of the movement of the
recording from one label to another and the men controlling those labels
interrupt the bumpy flow of the text. What carries the most visual impact is
the 4-page reproduction of the poem in Coltrane's hand which is printed in
the inside covers & flyleafs, front and back, of the book.
The text is replete with quotations from Coltrane and musicians, both
living and dead, who, in some way, related to Coltrane, from his wife, Alice,
and his son, Ravi. The quotations not only jump out because they are in bold
type and separated from the body of the text, but are also interwoven within
the text. Sometimes, I do not know if I am reading Kahn's words or some
else's.
The contradiction is that I picked up information from this book in the
manner of incoherent sound bytes. And for some, the book will be an excellent
introduction to A LOVE SUPREME. But it must be remembered that the recording
is about John Coltrane and a development within his being, not about labels,
record sales, and tinsel.
In the introduction, Kahn describes a brief history of assembling the
book. He writes about his interaction with Alice Coltrane, who reflects
Coltrane's spirit so fervently in her persistent quietness, delicacy and
practice of life. These are Kahn's words:
"The tight focus of Mrs. Coltrane's recollection eclipsed all sense of
historical context. It wasn't difficult to understand her tunnel view; millions who listened to and loved the music she described did so with any
knowledge of its birth. But I was hoping for details and a broader
perspective: the summer of 1964, [when Coltrane recorded A LOVE SUPREME]
after all, had been a season of consequence."
These words so totally astonished me. They are entirely disrespectful of
Mrs. Coltrane, and even John Coltrane. They have nothing to do with the
music, the recording, the density of the meditation behind the music, the
reverence that needs to be paid to the music. How could I even proceed to
read the rest of the book? I did it, because I was being responsible to my
intentions to write about it.
Additional Information: Check it out @ Amazon.com
ISBN: 0670031364
Reviewed by: Lyn Horton
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