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Advisor: David Garcia

Dissertation Title: Listening in Double Time: Temporal Disunity and Resultant Form in the Music of John Coltrane 1965-1967

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Dissertation Abstract:

The music of John Coltrane’s last group—his 1965-67 quintet—has been misrepresented, ignored and reviled, primarily because it is a music built on dichotomy. Scholars and critics have thus far attempted to approach all elements in this music comparatively, as is customary regarding more conventional jazz structures. This approach is incomplete and misleading, given the music’s conceptual underpinnings. 

Using Coltrane’s own observations concerning this music, temporal perception theory and several performers’ perspectives on formal procedures in mid 1960s improvised music, all filtered through my experience as a listener and musician, this dissertation presents an analysis and contextualization of the symbiotically related temporal and formal polarities that guide Coltrane’s 1965-67 works. The present study treats, separately, solos of the period as well as temporal and formal complexities in Coltrane’s deployment and expansion of a jazz rhythm section; an investigation is then made, based on new historical research, into the manifestation of similar but hitherto unexplored modes of expression in today’s jazz and rock avant-garde. 

 

Dr. Medwin is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Performing Arts at American University in Washington, DC. He publishes frequently as a music journalist, particularly in jazz publications such as Jazz Perspectives. He also plays keyboard in several experimental ensembles.