Written and directed by John Scheinfeld [The U.S. vs. John Lennon, Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him?)], Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary is a rich and compelling portrait of a remarkable artist that reveals the critical events, passions, experiences and challenges that shaped the life of John Coltrane and his revolutionary sounds. The film’s vital audio companion – Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary Original Soundtrack – is presented here as a 180g 2LP-set with an accompanying booklet featuring rare photos from the film and an essay by journalist and film participant Ashley Kahn.

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 production of the film), along with hundreds of never-before-seen photographs and rare television appearances from around the world. The smart, passionate, thought-provoking and uplifting film reveals the critical events, passions, experience, 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, iconic body of work that transcends all barriers of geography, race, religion and age.

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 and biographers, and well-known admirers including President Bill Clinton and Dr. Cornel West. Although Coltrane did not participate in any television interviews and he recorded only a handful of radio interviews during his lifetime, he is an active and vibrant presence throughout the film, in his remarkable performance clips and in thoughts he expressed during print interviews. In Chasing Trane, the words of John Coltrane are spoken by Denzel Washington.