John Coltrane

John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 in Hamlet - July 17, 1967 in New York), also known as John Coltrane, was an American musician of jazz, tenor saxophonist and soprano saxophonist. Occasionally he played alto sax and flute.

Although also highly controversial, he is one of the most relevant and influential musicians in the history of jazz, on a par with other artists such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. He married, secondly, jazz pianist Alice Coltrane (1937-2007).

His musical career was marked by constant creativity and always within the avant-garde, covering the main styles of jazz after bop: hard bop i>, free jazz and modal jazz. Coltrane's discography is considerable: he recorded over fifty albums as a leader in twelve years and appeared on more than a dozen albums guided by other musicians.

Coltrane's work is consciously linked to the socio-historical context in which it was created (specifically, to the fight for black civil rights) and, on many occasions, seeks a kind of transcendence through certain religious implications, as can be seen in what is considered by critics to be his masterpiece, A Love Supreme.

One of Coltrane's most noteworthy contributions is the one that refers to the extension of jazz solos, by eliminating any time limit to them and leaving their extension to the discretion of the needs of the player. interpreter (hence why some of Coltrane's songs exceed, for example, thirty minutes).

Biography

Born on September 23, 1926, in Hamlet, North Carolina, Coltrane was the son of John R. Coltrane, a tailor and multi-instrument player, and Alice (Blair) Coltrane, a seamstress and servant, albeit highly educated and with the ability to sing and play the piano. His grandparents were Methodist pastors, which is why John was in contact with church hymns and music from a very young age.

Two months after he was born, his maternal grandfather, the Reverend William Blair, also a political leader in his community, was appointed elder councilor of the A.M.E. Zion Church, so the family moved to High Point, where John would grow up..

Since December 1938, his father, his grandparents and his uncle died within a few months of each other, leaving the family decimated. Her mother had to work as a maid to support the family. The same year, Coltrane joined a community orchestra in which he lived and in which he played clarinet and E-flat euphonium; in his institute orchestra he would already play the saxophone. At the start of World War II, his family moved to New Jersey in search of work, leaving John with some friends.

John Coltrane's house in Philadelphia.

When he graduated from high school in 1943, he moved to Philadelphia in June where the entire family was temporarily reunited.

He was drafted into the Navy in 1945 and returned to the United States a year later. Coltrane held various jobs during the 1940s (playing alto sax) until he joined Dizzy Gillespie's Big Band in 1949. He remained with Gillespie until the band's breakup in May 1950 (now playing tenor sax) and then joined a small Gillespie group until April 1951, when he returned to Philadelphia to attend school.

In early 1952 he joined Earl Bostic's band, and in 1953, after some run-ins with Eddie Vinson, he joined a small group of Johnny Hodges (during a time off from this saxophonist from the Duke orchestra Ellington), staying until mid-1954.

Although recordings of Coltrane exist as early as 1946, his parents at the time did not recognize the genius of this young musician. His actual career spans from 1955 to 1967, during which time he reshaped modern jazz and influenced generations of new musicians. Coltrane was free in Philadelphia in the summer of 1955 when he received a call from trumpeter Miles Davis. Davis, whose success in the late '40s was followed by several years of poor production, wanted to start over and form a quintet. Coltrane was in the first line-up of Davis' group from October 1955 to April 1957. A period when some of Davis' most influential records were recorded and the first signs of Coltrane's growth were evident. This classic first quintet is best represented by two marathon recording sessions made for Prestige in 1956. They disbanded in mid-April.

During the latter part of 1957 Coltrane worked with Thelonious Monk at New York's legendary Five Spot. He then rejoined Miles in January 1958, where he remained until April 1960, regularly playing alongside alto saxophone Cannonball Adderley and Philly drummer Joe Jones as a sextet. During this time he participated in memorable albums such as Milestones and Kind of Blue and also recorded his most influential albums with his group, Blue Train and Giant Steps. Late in his stay with Davis, Coltrane began playing the soprano sax.

Coltrane formed his first group, a quartet, in 1960. After passing through the same group of musicians such as Steve Kuhn, Pete La Roca and Billy Higgins, the group stabilized with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones.

During his stay with Miles, Coltrane had signed a contract with Atlantic Records, for whom he recorded the album Giant Steps. His first recording with his new group was My Favorite Things. The group would explore spirituality in works such as "A Love Supreme", released on the album of the same name, is a four-part lyrical work based on a simple bass ostinato:

Coltrane died of liver cancer at Huntington Hospital on Long Island, New York on July 17, 1967.

Ravi Coltrane, son of John Coltrane, followed in his father's footsteps and became a saxophonist.

Discography

NOTE: The date indicated is the recording date, not the editing date. A good number of them, especially those recorded at concerts, were released after his death.

Albums by John Coltrane as a leader

Albums with the group of Miles Davis

Albums with Thelonious Monk's group

• 1957: Thelonious Self - Original Jazz Classics
• 1957: Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane - Original Jazz Classics
• 1957: Monk`s Music - Original Jazz Classics
• 1958: Live At The Five Spot Discovery - Blue Note
• 1958: The Complete Riverside Recordings - Riverside
• 1958: The Complete Blue Note Recordings, vol.2 - Riverside

Albums with other leaders

Compilations together with other artists

• The Prestige Recordings 1956-1958 - Blue Note
• The Art Of John Coltrane 1956-1958 - Blue Note
• John Coltrane And The Jazz Giant 1956-1958 - Prestige
• John Coltrane: The Bethlehem Years - Bethlehem
• The Last Giant 1949-1960 - Rhino.

Tributes from other artists

• Suite Trane, In memoriam John Coltrane- 2005, Whatmusic