John William "Trane" Coltrane
(September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967)
John Coltrane,was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and was later at the forefront of free jazz. He led at least fifty recording sessions during his career, and appeared as a sideman on many albums by other musicians, including trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk. As his career progressed, Coltrane and his music took on an increasingly spiritual dimension. He received many posthumous awards and recognitions, including canonization by the African Orthodox Church as Saint John William Coltrane and a special Pulitzer Prize in 2007.
A Son Of Adam is Born
Coltrane was born in his parents' apartment at 200 Hamlet Avenue, Hamlet, North Carolina on September 23, 1926. His father was John R. Coltrane and his mother was Alice Blair.
Early Years
Coltrane grew up in High Point, North Carolina, attending William Penn High School (now Penn-Griffin School for the Arts). Around age 11 Coltrane lost his father, and 5 years later his mother moved them out of North Carolina to Philadelphia in June 1943. In September of that year his mother bought him his first saxophone.
In the Navy
Coltrane enlisted in the Navy on August 6, 1945, the day the first U.S. atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.Coltrane became one of the few Navy men to serve as a musician without having been granted musicians rating when he joined the Melody Masters, the base swing band. As the Melody Masters was an all-white band, however, Coltrane was treated merely as a guest performer to avoid alerting superior officers of his participation in the band. His first recordings, an informal session in Hawaii with Navy musicians, occurred on July 13, 1946. Coltrane played alto saxophone on a selection of jazz standards and bebop tunes. he was discharged from his duties in the Navy, as a seaman first class in August 1946
The Miles Years
After the Navy, Coltrane was freelance musician in Philadelphia. In the summer of 1955, he received a call from Miles Davis to join the "First Great Quintet" along with Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums) from October 1955 to April 1957. Coltrane rejoined Davis in January 1958. In October of that year, jazz critic Ira Gitler coined the term "sheets of sound" to describe the style Coltrane developed during his stint with Monk and was perfecting in Davis' group, now a sextet. His playing was compressed, with rapid runs cascading in hundreds of notes per minute. He stayed with Davis until April 1960, working with alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley; pianists Red Garland, Bill Evans, and Wynton Kelly; bassist Paul Chambers; and drummers Philly Joe Jones and Jimmy Cobb. During this time he participated in the Davis sessions Milestones and Kind of Blue, and the concert recordings Miles & Monk at Newport (1963) and Jazz at the Plaza (1958).
The Monk Period
During the later part of 1957 Coltrane worked with Thelonious Monk at New York’s Five Spot Café, and played in Monk's quartet (July–December 1957) A private recording made by Juanita Naima Coltrane of a 1958 reunion of the group was issued by Blue Note Records as Live at the Five Spot—Discovery!
There is never any end...There are always new sounds to imagine; new feelings to get at. And always, there is the need to keep purifying these feelings and sounds so that we can really see what we've discovered in its pure state. - John Coltrane
The Man and His Horn
Giant Steps
After years as a sideman with bandleaders like Mile, Monk , Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Bostic, Eddie Vinson and Johnny Hodges, the time came for Coltrane to take the forefront
Coltrane recorded his first album as leader for Atlantic Records, Giant Steps (1959), which contained only his compositions.
Coltrane formed his first quartet for live performances in 1960 for an appearance at the Jazz Gallery in New York City. The final lineup for the quartet in the fall was with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Steve Davis, and drummer Elvin Jones.
Classic Quarter
In 1962, Dolphy departed and Jimmy Garrison replaced Workman as bassist. From then on, the "Classic Quartet", as it came to be known, with Tyner, Garrison, and Jones, produced searching, spiritually driven work.
A Love Supreme
The Classic Quartet produced their best-selling album, A Love Supreme, in December 1964. A culmination of much of Coltrane's work up to this point, this four-part suite is an ode to his faith in and love for God. These spiritual concerns characterized much of Coltrane's composing and playing from this point onwards—as can be seen from album titles such as Ascension, Om and Meditations. The fourth movement of A Love Supreme, "Psalm", is, in fact, a musical setting for an original poem to God written by Coltrane, and printed in the album's liner notes. Coltrane plays almost exactly one note for each syllable of the poem, and bases his phrasing on the words.
Demons In The Hole
Coltrane battled with heroin addiction.Miles Davis' band, The "First Great Quintet" disbanded due in part to Coltrane's heroin addiction
Spirituality
In 1957, Coltrane had a religious experience that may have helped him overcome the heroin addictionand alcoholismhe had struggled with since 1948.In the liner notes of A Love Supreme, Coltrane states that, in 1957, "I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music." The liner notes appear to mention God in a Universalist sense, and do not advocate one religion over another. Further evidence of this universal view regarding spirituality can be found in the liner notes of Meditations (1965), in which Coltrane declares, "I believe in all religions.
Death and funeral
Coltrane died of liver cancer at Huntington Hospital on Long Island on July 17, 1967, at the age of 40. His funeral was held four days later at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in New York City. The service was opened by the Albert Ayler Quartet and closed by the Ornette Coleman Quartet. Coltrane is buried at Pinelawn Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.
Sainthood
After Coltrane's death, a congregation called the Yardbird Temple in San Francisco began worshiping him as God incarnate. The group was named after Charlie Parker, whom they equated to John the Baptist.The congregation later became affiliated with the African Orthodox Church; this involved changing Coltrane's status from a god to a saint.The resultant St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church, San Francisco is the only African Orthodox church that incorporates Coltrane's music and his lyrics as prayers in its liturgy.