The Genius Trane
"[Charlie Parker] winked at Coltrane, and said, 'I like your name, my man. It reminds me of a quality brand of English muffins" (Thomas, 37).
J.C. Thomas, in his book Chasin' the Trane: the Music and Mystique of John Coltrane, provides the reader with a background of the life and times of John Coltrane, going through various aspects of how he got started, his influences, his conflicts, and other pertinent areas. Throughout the book, Thomas supplements his commentary with hundreds of quotes sprinkled about, both from people in Coltrane's life, and Coltrane himself. This constant flow of inside reports aids in painting a vivid picture of not only the atmosphere of the emotions of Coltrane, but also how he was perceived by others during his career. Thomas consistently refers to Coltrane as a genius, even citing Arthur Schopenhauer's definition of genius to complement his commentary, and illustrates this wondrously through detailing the steps Coltrane took in practising. In the review of this book, this paper will not only touch on various elements of Thomas's writing ability and the shaping of the text, but also challenge Thomas's stance that Coltrane is, in fact, a genius.

First, a brief review of the text itself. As stated previously, the text is absolutely littered with quotes and reactions from people in John Coltrane's life, and it almost sets a sort of call-and-response tone to the whole of the book. Sometimes, it was even a bit difficult to discern whether a certain passage was commentary from Thomas himself or one of the many quotes sprinkled within. This minor inconvenience was nothing though, compared to the difficulty found in collecting all the info presented at any given time throughout the book. As a newcomer to jazz music, someone who knows nothing about the history or key figures in the genre at all, a great challenge was presented