Imagine... Saint John Coltrane

Jazz giant John Coltrane may have been a genius - though you might consider the jury still to be out after watching this profile - but there's no doubting that he

This month marks 40 years since Coltrane created his masterpiece, A Love Supreme, and that is good enough reason for Alan Yentob to set off on a tour of America in search of the real Coltrane.

As the man himself died in 1967, Yentob has to track down a selection of relatives, friends and musicians, in order to interview them in that diffident, half-interested style he has made all his own (thank goodness).

Coltrane's is an interesting story, though. Born in North Carolina, both his father and grandfather died, within a month of each other, when he was 12. The family moved to Philadelphia and John began to play the saxophone. Always an obsessive personality, he threw himself into his music. Unfortunately, he also threw himself into heroin. While still a young man, he had the honour of being employed by Miles Davis and then the ignominy of being sacked by him, too.

This shocked Coltrane into reforming himself. He overcame his addiction and forced himself to play, morning, noon and night, often falling asleep with his sax on his chest. "He practised like a man with no talent, yet he had all the talent in the world," says one contributor.

The personality of Coltrane is well pieced together. But that is only half a story. The other half is the music, which is where this documentary falls down. There never seems to be any real passion for the music. Nor is there a convincing explanation of what made Coltrane so special, or why A Love Supreme is so revered. Certainly the few short bursts included in the programme are not going to convince anyone.

And, as Coltrane's later music sounds like a jazz band falling down a very long flight of stairs, non-fans might be left wondering what all the fuss is about.

10.35pm, BBC1