john coltrane documentary essay 1

1 – 2 pages, vertical page format, double-spaced, submitted in a way that the grader can make comments, etc. (i.e., right here in Blackboard, or as an imported Word document)

Consider touching upon the following points:

1. What do those interviewed in the documentary find interesting about John Coltrane as a friend and associate?

2. What do you notice about his persona and approach to making music?

3. Did you find his story as a creative artist compelling?

4. Did a particular part of his musical identity appeal to you more than others??

5. Is there evidence he was particularly politically active?

6. What do you think of the intersection of spirituality and music in this story?

7. What was his objective with his musical life?

Or, anything else you might feel relevant. What’s important is an honest, cogent, concise response/discussion of what in the film resonated with you.

Have at it!!!

Also, here are some of the guidelines set down by (my grader) and myself:

You are, of course, expected to address the assignment correctly in terms of the factual material and your understanding of it (that is, if dates are cited they must be correct, etc.). Some of the assignments’ parameters call for you to comment on things that aren’t exactly jazz-related (Billie Holiday or Charlie Parker’s drug use, racism in society, etc.), but you must still put this in the context of JAZZ HISTORY; when talking about racism’s effect on Holidays life and career, for example, it would be good for you to mention the specific bands that she was singing with when those specific instances occurred. Several previous students have written wonderful papers dealing with the sociological and psychological issues that these musicians have endured, but received grades lower than they expected because they did not place such discussion within the context of the history of jazz. But even though this is a Jazz History course, you will also be graded on your grammar and writing skills. Your thought processes and the construction of the paper should be logical, and your spelling, grammar, punctuation and syntax must be correct. Please try to avoid using slang or colloquial expressions (LOL, amazing, awesome, etc.) unless they are required within the context of the assignment (i.e., “Charlie Parker was often wasted on heroin”). This is a college-level course, and you are expected to be able to communicate professionally.

Plagiarism is a serious infraction of academic rules. Not only do we use software that detects it, but the grading assistant is well-acquainted with much of the reference materials. You are allowed to quote passages from reference materials AS LONG as you enclose the material in quotation marks and PROPERLY CITE the sources! Copying from other students’ papers is detectable by the software and will be penalized.