Trane of thought

John Coltrane got me through a rough year. Christmas money stocked a larder of CDs, which I would step into anytime I needed something cool. This video has wonderful Coltrane and Eric Dolphy solos, viewed through a kinescope haze behind a 1960s an Erector Set stage, equual parts Mondrian and modal metaphor.

While a high-school classmate spent a year working through teen depression with slow-tempo Shostakovich in the band room, I was wearing out Billie Holiday tapes. Now I'm one of the few subway riders not trying to drawn out a slow ride through iPod earbuds.