Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary: Directed by John Scheinfeld.

An exploration of the global power and impact of the music of John Coltrane where the passions, experiences and forces that shaped his life and revolutionary sounds are revealed.

The movie tracks the development of his compositions, from the achingly beautiful pop riffs of the '50s to the improvisatory avant-garde prayers of the '60s.

Chasing Trane has two great virtues. One is Denzel Washington reading excerpts from Coltrane's writings.

He begins 'Chasing Trane' by hooking the viewer on some potent narrative.

Instead of a slog through The Early Years, the documentary begins in medias res.

It's 1957, and Coltrane is riding high as the sax player in a quintet led by Miles Davis, the closest thing jazz has to a superstar now that Charlie Parker is two years gone.

A series of stills of Miles and Trane, zoomed-in with a Ken ...

Set against the social, political and cultural landscape of the times, Chasing Trane brings saxophone great John Coltrane to life, as a man and an artist.

Visionary avant-gardists like Eric Dolphy, Pharaoh Sanders, and Archie Shepp were essential elements of Coltrane's later move towards deeper, more complex abstraction.

But they are barely mentioned, let alone interviewed, in the film.

This is irksome, especially for fans of their pioneering music.

Reviewed on-line, April 12, 2017. MPAA Rating: Not rated. Running time: 99 MIN. Production: An Abramorama release of a Meteor17 in ...

Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary Premiered November 6, 2017 Directed by John Scheinfeld

Chasing Trane brings saxophone great John Coltrane to life, as a man and an artist.

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Season premiere! Set against the social, political and cultural landscape of the times, Chasing Trane brings saxophone great John Coltrane to life, as a man and an artist. The film is the definitive look at the boundary-shattering musician whose influence continues to this day. Chasing Trane features never-before-seen Coltrane family home movies, footage of Coltrane and his band in the studio (discovered in a California garage during the production of this film), along with hundreds of rare photographs and television appearances from around the world. Coltrane’s incredible story is told by the musicians who worked with him (Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Reggie Workman), musicians inspired by his fearless artistry and creative vision (Common, John Densmore, Wynton Marsalis, Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter, Kamasi Washington), Coltrane’s children (Ravi, Oran, and step-daughters Michelle Coltrane and Antonia Andrews) and biographers, and well-known admirers such as President Bill Clinton and Dr. Cornel West.Chasing Trane reveals the critical events, passions, experiences, and challenges that shaped Coltrane’s life and his revolutionary sounds. It is a story of demons and darkness, of persistence and redemption. Above all, it is the incredible spiritual journey of a man who found himself and, in the process, created an extraordinary body of work that transcends all barriers of geography, race, religion, and age. And naturally, the film is imbued throughout with Coltrane’s remarkable music.Although Coltrane never did any television interviews (and only a handful for radio) during his lifetime, he has an active and vibrant presence in the film through thoughts he expressed during print interviews. These words—spoken by Academy Award winner Denzel Washington—illuminate what John Coltrane may have been thinking or feeling at critical moments throughout his life and career.

John Scheinfeld is an Emmy®, Grammy® and Writers Guild Award nominee and writer/director/producer of documentaries for theatrical and television distribution. His films have premiered at Telluride, Toronto, Venice and IDFA and include The U.S. vs. John Lennon, Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him), We Believe, and Dick Cavett's Watergate. In addition, Scheinfeld has written pilot scripts for drama series for ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. He is a graduate of Oberlin College and received his MFA from Northwestern University.

2017 American filmChasing Trane: The John Coltrane DocumentaryFilm PosterDirected byJohn ScheinfeldWritten byJohn ScheinfeldProduced byJohn BeugDave HardingScott PascucciSpencer ProfferStarring Denzel Washington Reggie Workman Ravi Coltrane Ashley Kahn Sonny RollinsCinematographyStanley TaylorEdited byPeter S. Lynch IIProductioncompaniesMeteor 17Crew Neck ProductionsDistributed byAbramoramaRelease dates September 9, 2017 (2017-09-09) (Canada) April 14, 2017 (2017-04-14) (USA)Running time99 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBox office$406,284Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary is a 2017 American documentary film, written and directed by John Scheinfeld.

The film is about the life and career of American jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 73% based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 69 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating 'generally favorable reviews'. The Hollywood Reporter's critic Todd McCarthy wrote: 'Director John Scheinfeld's doc is a comprehensive, engrossing and, it’s tempting to say, worshipful account of the life of the music titan.' Pat Padua from The Washington Post gave the film three out of four stars and stated: 'In Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary, documentarian John Scheinfeld shows that the music of one of jazz's most experimental saxophone players still speaks to audiences today.' Noel Murray writing for the Los Angeles Times said: 'John Scheinfeld’s Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary ought to appeal to longtime fans as well as neophytes. For the former, the doc is filled with rare performance clips, alongside insightful interviews with family, colleagues and famous fans. For newcomers, Chasing Trane gives a good overview of the man's biography and influence. The movie tracks the development of his compositions, from the achingly beautiful pop riffs of the ‘50s to the improvisatory avant-garde prayers of the ‘60s.' Mark Feeney from The Boston Globe gave it two and a half stars and wrote: 'Chasing Trane has two great virtues. One is Denzel Washington reading excerpts from Coltrane’s writings. He’s an inspired choice. Somehow that majestic, reedy voice evokes the character of Coltrane. The other virtue is home-movie footage. Coltrane, in his person no less than in his music, always seemed so imposing, probably the closest jazz has come to a biblical figure. Here we get to see him relaxed, casual, not searching for that somewhere else but happily right there. The last thing we see before the credits, he’s outside with two of his sons. He mugs for the camera, breaks into a grin, bows. It’s absolutely glorious.' Variety's Chief Film Critic Owen Gleiberman wrote: 'Chasing Trane is a seductive piece of middle-of-the-road documentary filmmaking; it gives you the basics, but beautifully. (You could walk into this movie knowing nothing about Coltrane and walk out an impassioned convert.)' Glenn Kenny from RogerEbert.com gave the film three and a half out of four stars and stated: '“Chasing Trane” streamlines the story of the jazz saxophonist, but it does so in a way that doesn't feel like cheating. Scheinfeld's approach is to give the viewer the forest, point out a few trees and get out, confident that those trees will inspire the viewer to spend more time in the forest.' One of few dissonant voices were Richard Brody from The New Yorker, who didn't like the film, and called it: 'A dully conventional film about a brilliantly unconventional musician' Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary was nominated for a Black Reel Awards in the category of Outstanding Documentary Feature.