Chasing Trane

John Coltrane was born in North Carolina in 1926, played with Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk in his thirties, formed his own group, and died at forty. In that short span he redefined what the jazz saxophone was several times over, and the work after A Love Supreme lost a portion of his listeners entirely. Because no filmed interview with Coltrane exists, John Scheinfeld's documentary uses a different method: Denzel Washington reads what he wrote and said. Around that are set accounts from family members, musicians and listeners, with Bill Clinton among those who speak. The film takes his musical transformation together with his exit from addiction and his spiritual search. The telling is chronological and lets the music play at length. Who it's for: Anyone interested in jazz history, musician biographies, and Coltrane's music. Who it's not for: The telling is admiring with no critical distance, and the musical analysis does not go into technical depth.