It’s hard to write a brief post about John Coltrane that means much. His music is complex and challenging. Though it was just a bit more than a decade between the time he became famous and his death at age 40, Coltrane went through what experts say is five distinct periods. Some of these, particularly towards the end, featured music that casual music fans may find difficult and off-putting.
Scott Yanow on John Coltrane:
Coltrane – known as Trane – was born in Hamlet, North Carolina in 1926 and raised in High Point. He moved to Philadelphia in 1943 and joined the Navy on the day in 1945 when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. He was one of the few musicians to play for the Navy who were not inducted to do so. He was discharged in 1946 and returned to Philadelphia, where he began to make a name for himself. He was influenced – as just about all young saxophone players were – by Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young and, especially, Charlie Parker. He gained more public notoriety when he became a member of Miles Davis’ band.
I spoke about Coltrane with Scott Yanow, the author of 11 books on jazz and a contributor to many websites. Scott and I previously discussed Parker and Louis Armstrong.
The introductory and exit music on the interview is “Acknowledgement,” which is the first segment of “A Love Supreme.” This is from the only recording of Coltrane playing the piece live.
Wikpedia, AllMusic and Coltrane’s website were used to write this post. The homepage photo is by Hugo van Gelderen and the home page photo is by the U.S. Naval Reserve.
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