The World According to John Coltrane moves quickly through the periods with Miles and Thelonius Monk, touching on Coltrane's solo work up to the album "Giant Steps," where he planted a flag before departing for more adventurous musical territories. The meat of the film is in exploring Coltrane's productive period in the '60s for Impulse records, arguably a great body of work. Alice Coltrane, who married John Coltrane in 1966 after playing with the band for some time previously, is interviewed by phone but not on film. Players like Jimmy Garrison spend some time on camera, but others like Elvin Jones or McCoy Tyner are absent. An obvious choice after Alice Coltrane would have been Ravi Coltrane, but he isn't featured or mentioned in any way during the film. Considering that Trane's Impulse records are his most modern, we would have preferred to hear more interviews for added context, but the chance to watch Coltrane on film is pretty special. Extended versions of "My Favorite Things" and a segment with Eric Dolphy playing "Impressions" rounds out some abbreviated clips that show the emotionally charged nature of the music. Coltrane's connection to the civil rights movement is referenced, along with video of a studio performance of "Alabama" that brings chills. His exploration of world music is tied back to a rabid curiosity that saxophonist Jimmy Heath illustrates with a story about going to the public library with Coltrane to listen to Stravinsky, because Charlie Parker had at one point carried around scores from Stravinsky's Firebird Suite with him.
Trying to sum up a musical life as dense as the one John Coltrane lived in less than an hour is almost impossible, but Masters of American Music: The World According to John Coltrane does a decent job. We can point to many areas that needed more exposure, but few that we'd take out if given the chance. Ending the film with a performance by Roscoe Mitchell comes across as a weird touch; not that we don't have the utmost respect for Mitchell and his accomplishments, but this is titled The World According to John Coltrane, after all. Most performers attempting to channel Coltrane fail miserably, because his music wasn't the product of tricks or showmanship. He was capable of honking and walking the bar, as we learn from his early history with bands that wanted their tenor players in the mold of Illinois Jacquet, but he translated this energy into something more meditative and transcendental. Whether you subscribe to the more spiritual aspects of Coltrane's life or not, you'll find a lot to appreciate in this film. There's a bias toward showcasing material from the latter half of Coltrane's career, and no surprise since this is also the best looking video, best sounding audio, and easiest to source. If we got our wish for more in-depth interviews and coverage from a wide swathe of Coltrane's career, The World According to John Coltrane would swell from one hour to three or four. What's here is solid, and required viewing for anyone trying to understand the immense influence Coltrane had on jazz, and saxophonists across all musical forms.
