Kenneth Morris reviews the life and recording legacy of the legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane

John William Coltrane was only 40 years old when he died in the Huntingdon Hospital (Long Island, , USA) of liver cancer on 17 July 1967. But in the last decade-and-a-half of his musically active life, he managed to:

• appear as a major soloist on , the biggest-selling jazz record of all time and considered by many critics as also the best, made by the Sextet in 1959;

• make an enormous contribution to the development of three subgenres of modern jazz: hard-bop, modal and avant-garde/;

• influence vast numbers of both professional and amateur saxophonists worldwide Coltrane at the time of through his prolific legacy of stylistically his US Navy service unique recordings and compositions;

• seriously disturb a significant number of jazz critics, fans and commentators with the stylistic excesses manifest in some of his late period work;

• posthumously secure some sort of canonisation from an African Orthodox Church based in ;

• deliver such highly rated performances and compositions to secure, again posthumously, a 1982 Grammy Award (for Best Jazz Solo Performance on his Bye Bye Blackbird ), a special Pulitzer Prize (in 2007 for ‘his masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz’), and a US Postal Service commemorative stamp issued in his honour;

• meet sales volumes in excess of 500,000 copies for two of his own : Love Coltrane made over 50 albums Supreme (in Japan) and My Favorite Things in his career. This article cannot (in the US); • and secure, hopefully for his heirs and hope to cover them all but will successors, a strong demand for his huge back catalogue (see www.johncoltrane.com, endeavour to include the best discography section). ➡

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Born in Hamlett, on 23 September 1926, biography hard work. Added to this confusion are delayed issues Coltrane’s family was not unmusical as his father played several (example: Dakar from April 1957 but only released in 1963). For instruments. After an initial interest in community band playing readers wishing to get to grips, for free, with Coltrane’s detailed on both the clarinet and E flat alto horn, John, now aged 17 and discography, use either his own site (see above) or the splendid living in Philadelphia, was gifted an by his mother. Wikipedia version. Within two years, and presumably influenced by his admiration for During 1955-60 Coltrane was not immune to the perils of and , he was gigging with a ‘cocktail addiction, which led in 1956 to the collapse of the First lounge trio’ while undertaking some sort of musical training at Great and a six-month stint with at New Philadelphia’s Granoff Studios and the Ornstein School of Music. York’s Five Spot Cafe. Piece together Hasan Ibn Ali’s musical ideas, On 5 June 1945 he heard Charlie Monk’s individualisms Parker for the first time, an episode and Coltrane’s ever- he related much later as ‘hitting me exploring musical mind right between the eyes’. Enlisting in and we can begin to the navy in August that same year, understand where the he was posted to Hawaii where seeds of his future the Manama Barracks swing band, musical harvest may known as the ‘Melody Masters’, have originated. were happy to use him initially as a In 1957, Coltrane’s guest soloist but ultimately as their own contract with leader. Discharged in August 1946, he returned to Philadelphia, more commenced (albums: than adequately competent to join Cattin’ with Coltrane, the fast evolving ‘be-bop’ scene in Coltrane, John Coltrane that city. with the For the next 10 years or so Trio and (the Coltrane worked with a number of last two get stars leaders of both ‘territory’ (local) from All Music). Formal bands and named (touring) outfits: sessions featuring ’Trane initially , (his now much-used and , and subsequently nickname) with Monk , and appear to have been Johnny Hodges. At the same time, he pretty rare, but three commenced a study of jazz theory with Dennis Sandole and began to Four essential albums employ the as his featuring Coltrane principal instrument. Clearly inspired by some larger force, ’Trane continued to evolve and innovate his take on jazz until the very end Several sources mention two further influences on his musical development. Firstly, his inner need to understand fully what compatriot musicians such as and were up to with respect to their modes of improvisation. Secondly, the Philadelphian pianist, and theorist Hasan Ibn Ali had espoused some melodic concepts which Coltrane found attractive. Additionally, we must not ignore his proclivities: to practise – for hours a day, days on end, more or less until the day he passed away – and to continuously develop (and most probably research) innovative harmonic approaches until the day he died. For some musicians, this later facet of his artistry is considered to be the most important one. Most players copy others, whereas Coltrane is often viewed as a giant on whose shoulders others stand. True fame and fortune started to arrive in the mid-summer of 1955, when Miles Davis asked Coltrane to join his group, to be known later as the ‘First Great Quintet’ (Miles, Red Garland, , and Coltrane). Recording sessions for albums have emerged over time. The first, in 1958, was Prestige followed, with the albums Cookin’, Relaxin’, Workin’ and the very successful ’s (five stars and a Steamin’ all garnering five stars from the All Music Guide to Jazz. Record Industry Association of America Gold Award). The next two It is convenient to describe most of the 1955-60 period as arrived in 1993 and 2005 having been compiled from a 1958 Monk Coltrane’s ‘Miles and Monk’ period – but the word ‘most’ is and ’Trane reunion date (album: Live – Discovery!) significant, because our hero freely alternates and interleaves and some radio material (album: Thelonious Monk his important recording sessions between different record labels Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall). Both were justifiably and leaders, making a clean chronological approach to this received with considerable acclaim.

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Perhaps I should pause here to explain that Coltrane made over My Favorite Things continues with Coltrane’s modal style and 50 albums in his career. This article cannot hope to cover them introduces his use of the . An edited version all but will endeavour to include the best. An example: across of the title track became a radio hit single in 1961, and the whole 1957-58 for Prestige, he recorded tracks for Lush Life, an album album secured a Grammy in 1998 – underscoring the value of of ballads including some with the minimum instrumentation of re-issues (the title tune was, from 1961 onwards, Coltrane’s most tenor sax, bass and drums. This line-up requires extraordinary requested item). powers of ‘suggesting’ a harmonic line while simultaneously Possibly the least popular of the four Atlantic sessions is the last playing or improvising on the melody, which Coltrane does quite one, Ole Coltrane. This project ‘doffs its cap’ as it were to Coltrane’s spectacularly. own Africa/Brass album (recorded for his new label Impulse! just Coltrane re-joined Miles Davis in January 1958, and during this two days before) and Miles’s historic album. I particular year it is possible to detect a stylistic morphing from now have to be honest and state that with one exception (1965’s hard-bop to the start of . Neither Coltrane nor Miles on invented modal jazz (the composer-arranger-pianist George Impulse!) Coltrane’s Russell seems to have had the biggest hand in this with his paper output from Africa/ ‘Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organisation’) but they were Brass onwards places most definitely its first successful exponents. me in the camp of The 1958-59 period saw two significant (both five star, again) critics who find the Miles Davis albums for Columbia consolidate both Miles’s and material quite hard to understand, more so the nearer we get to 1967. I do not think I’m , as from Africa/ Brass onwards the Downbeat and review scores start to decrease. Up to mid-1961 ’Trane’s work is accessible, by which I mean understandable and intriguing, certainly to other saxophonists. His solos and even some of his compositions may be difficult to play, but the intention is clear. As we move through the 60s, however, there are reports of audiences booing live performances. Returning to the biographical/discographical format of this article, from mid-1961 Coltrane continued to develop his ideas beyond modal jazz into avant-garde/free jazz, which he did virtually for the rest of his days. Following the expiry of his Atlantic contract he completed (in 1960) another three albums for the label: The Avant-Garde co-led with , Coltrane Plays the with pianist McCoy Tyner, and Coltrane’s Sound, also with Tyner. Between 1961 and 1967, Impulse! issued 14 Coltrane studio albums plus a further 11 from live concerts. After his death, the label found ’Trane’s reputations for all time: Milestones material for another eight. and Kind of Blue. These launched the era We must not ignore his YouTube carries a fair number of ‘modal jazz’ and introduced us to those of these later albums, bringing scale patterns which, for the jazz of the proclivity to practise with it a small sample of opinion time, were more interesting than the usual on the album content by way of major or minor runs. Kind of Blue has been so for hours a day, days on the comments section. It becomes successful, so influential and so innovative very clear from the number of as to collect: 10 pages for a Wiki entry; a end, more or less until ‘likes’ that many listeners, from 224-page book (’s Kind of Blue – a wide variety of nationalities, the making of the Miles Davis masterpiece); the day he passed away secure spiritual and/or emotional sales of at least four million copies; and an uplift from Coltrane’s late period inclusion in the US National Recording Registry performances. Others, including myself, discover nothing but an for 2002. Its influence has reached well beyond jazz into both rock absence of musicality, though there are great swathes of artistic and , together with a seemingly endless application endeavour requiring remarkable technical competence. as backing music for film dramas and documentaries. Incidentally, As previously mentioned, A Love Supreme (recorded in 1964, the disc did nothing but favours for the other musicians involved: first released in 1965 and reissued in 2001) is an exception. ‘Cannonball’ Adderley (alto), and (), It has to join the quartet of must-have Coltrane albums in any Paul Chambers (bass) and (drums). jazz enthusiast’s collection, exemplifying his mastery of four In mid-1959 Coltrane signed up with resulting subgenres: Lush Life (rhapsodic bop), Kind of Blue (/modal in four more well-received albums: , Coltrane Jazz, My jazz), Giant Steps (‘’/modal) and A Love Supreme Favorite Things and Ole Coltrane. Each has merits in abundance, (avant-garde/jazz-spiritual). Clearly inspired by some larger force, stemming from Coltrane’s improvisational skill or that of his ’Trane continued to evolve and innovate his take on jazz until supporting musicians. Giant Steps also demonstrates ’Trane’s the very end. n compositional strengths – in particular the title track which has become a popular practice exercise (the ‘Coltrane changes’) and The author would like to thank Mike Hall for some valuable editing. the ballad ‘’, named for his wife. It was also chosen for the US National Recording Registry in 2004. www.johncoltrane.com

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