bluesoul Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 An Absolute Truth: On Writing a Life of Coltrane Interesting article on the man who wrote Coltrane: A Biography. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 (edited) Quite interesting Thanks. Simpkins reminds me a little bit of Sam Greenlee, author of The Spook Who Sat by the Door. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/31/books/sam-greenlee-author-producer-and-ex-government-agent-dies-at-83.html?_r=0 Edited June 3, 2014 by Leeway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 (edited) Greenlee's book is "The Spook Who Sat by the Door." Thanks, I'll fix that typo. Edited June 3, 2014 by Leeway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvopedz Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 (edited) Some used and inexpensive copies of the Simpkins book appear every few years. About 2-3 months ago, I found a used paperback copy of the book at a Half-Price Bookstore in Austin, TX. I bought it for only about $10. Edited June 3, 2014 by gvopedz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 Some used and inexpensive copies of the Simpkins book appear every few years. About 2-3 months ago, I found a used paperback copy of the book at a Half-Price Bookstore in Austin, TX. I bought it for only about $10. Amazon has some "good" copies as well in that range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deepak Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 The Simpkins' book was the first Coltrane bio I'd read. It still holds a special place for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Great article. I'll look for the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 Written by my next-door neighbor! (Came across this again while searching previous threads about Coltrane.) I lucked into a copy of the Simpkins book many, many years ago at a local used bookstore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrdlu Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 Is there anything in it that is not in the earlier books? (That question is not meant sarcastically.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 Yes. Simpkins provided a few of Coltrane's manuscripts, among other things. It is a very worthwhile read, although it was criticized in its time (by white, mainstream reviewers) for not being more "scholarly"). And yet, decades later, Lewis Porter praises it unreservedly. And keep in mind that at the time, there was only one "earlier" book (at most two) - those by J.C. Thomas & Bill Cole. English language books, anyway. I just lucked into it back in the day. Time, place, paperback, hey. But it was evident even then that this was not a typical "jazz biography" in either style or intent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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