| Porter's book is easily the most meticulous and rigorous historical and musical
assessment available of the life and music of John Coltrane, the most influential and
fascinating jazz saxaphonist of all time. Porter has read everything, talked to everyone, and know musical theory inside and out. The latter virtue will--at times--leave behind some readers (such as myself) who are less educated in the techical aspects of music. But one may skip over these sections without destoying the flow of the book. The book engages in little cultural or biographical intepretation and instead is more of a detailed chonicle and analysis of Coltrane's life and incomparable music. Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Philosophy Denver Seminary |