John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. He is considered one of the most important and highly praised musicians in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.

Born and raised in North Carolina, Coltrane moved to Philadelphia after high school. There, he became involved in the local jazz scene, studied music, and served in the Navy near the end of World War II. He began his professional career in 1945. Early in his career, Coltrane played in the bebop and hard bop styles of jazz. He helped introduce the use of musical modes and was a leading musician in the development of free jazz. He led more than fifty recording sessions and appeared on many albums by other musicians, including trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk. Over time, Coltrane’s music became more focused on spiritual themes, as shown in his famous album A Love Supreme (1965) and other works. Even after his death, Coltrane’s influence continues. He has received many awards after his death, including a special Pulitzer Prize. He was also honored by the African Orthodox Church.

His second wife was Alice Coltrane, a pianist and harpist. The couple had three children: John Jr. (1964–1982), a bassist; Ravi (born 1965), a saxophonist; and Oran (born 1967), a saxophonist, guitarist, drummer, and singer.

Biography

John Coltrane was born on September 23, 1926, in an apartment at 200 Hamlet Avenue in Hamlet, North Carolina. His father was John R. Coltrane, and his mother was Alice Blair. He grew up in High Point, North Carolina, and attended William Penn High School. While in high school, Coltrane played clarinet and alto horn in a community band. Later, he switched to the saxophone after being influenced by musicians like Lester Young and Johnny Hodges. In December 1938, his father, aunt, and grandparents died within a few months of one another. This left him to be raised by his mother and a close cousin. In June 1943, shortly after graduating from high school, Coltrane and his family moved to Philadelphia, where he worked at a sugar refinery. For his 17th birthday in September 1943, his mother bought him his first saxophone, an alto. From 1944 to 1945, Coltrane took saxophone lessons at the Ornstein School of Music with Mike Guerra. Between early to mid-1945, he had his first professional job as a musician in a "cocktail lounge trio" with piano and guitar.

An important moment in Coltrane's musical development happened on June 5, 1945, when he saw Charlie Parker perform for the first time. In a 1960 article for DownBeat magazine, Coltrane said, "The first time I heard Bird play, it hit me right between the eyes." To avoid being drafted by the Army, Coltrane joined the Navy on August 6, 1945, the day the first U.S. atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. He was trained as an apprentice seaman at Sampson Naval Training Station in upstate New York before being sent to Pearl Harbor, where he was stationed at Manana Barracks, the largest posting of African American servicemen in the world. By late 1945, the Navy was reducing the number of personnel. Coltrane's musical talent was recognized, and he joined the Melody Masters, the base swing band. Because the band was all white, he was treated as a guest performer to avoid alerting officers of his participation. He continued to perform other duties, such as kitchen and security work, when not playing with the band. By the end of his service, he became a leader in the band. His first recordings, an informal session in Hawaii with Navy musicians, took place on July 13, 1946. He played alto saxophone on jazz standards and bebop tunes. Coltrane was officially discharged from the Navy on August 8, 1946. He received the American Campaign Medal, Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

After leaving the Navy in August 1946, Coltrane returned to Philadelphia, where the city's jazz scene provided many opportunities to learn and play. He used the G.I. Bill to enroll at the Granoff School of Music, where he studied music theory with jazz guitarist Dennis Sandole. He continued studying with Sandole from 1946 into the early 1950s. Coltrane also took saxophone lessons with Matthew Rastelli, a teacher at Granoff, for about two or three years until his G.I. Bill funds ran out. After touring with King Kolax, he joined a band led by Jimmy Heath, who was introduced to Coltrane by his former Navy friend, trumpeter William Massey, who had played with Coltrane in the Melody Masters. Although he started on the alto saxophone, Coltrane switched to the tenor saxophone in 1947 with Eddie Vinson.

Coltrane described this time as a period when "a wider area of listening opened up for me. There were many things that people like Hawk [Coleman Hawkins] and Ben [Webster] and Tab Smith were doing in the '40s that I didn't understand, but that I felt emotionally." According to tenor saxophonist Odean Pope, Philadelphia pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali was a significant influence on Coltrane's musical style. Coltrane became very dedicated to practicing, often spending "25 hours a day" on his craft, according to Jimmy Heath. Heath recalled an incident in San Francisco where Coltrane practiced fingering for an hour after being asked to stop playing in a hotel. It was common for Coltrane to fall asleep with the saxophone in his mouth or practice a single note for hours.

Charlie Parker, whom Coltrane had first heard before joining the Navy, became an idol. The two occasionally played together in the late 1940s. Coltrane was a member of groups led by Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Bostic, and Johnny Hodges in the early to mid-1950s.

In 1955, while freelancing in Philadelphia and studying with Sandole, Coltrane received a call from trumpeter Miles Davis. Davis, who had struggled with heroin addiction in the 1940s, was forming a new band. Coltrane joined Davis's "First Great Quintet" in October 1955, playing alongside Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. He remained with the group until April 1957, with some absences. During this time, Davis released recordings that showed Coltrane's growing talent. The quintet recorded albums such as Cookin', Relaxin', Workin', and Steamin' during two marathon sessions for Prestige in 1956. The group disbanded partly because of Coltrane's heroin addiction.

In late 1957, Coltrane worked with Thelonious Monk at New York's Five Spot Café, playing in Monk's quartet from July to December 1957. Due to contractual issues, Coltrane participated in only one official studio recording session with this group. He recorded many sessions for Prestige under his own name during this time, but Monk refused to record for his old label. A private recording of a 1957 reunion of the group was released by Blue Note Records as Live at the Five Spot—Discovery! in 1993. A high-quality tape of a November 1957 concert by the quartet was later found and released by Blue Note in 2005. The performances, recorded by Voice of America, confirmed the group's reputation, and the resulting album, Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall, is highly regarded.

Blue Train, Coltrane's only album as leader for Blue Note, features trumpeter Lee Morgan, bassist Paul Chambers, and trombonist Curtis Fuller.

Artistry

John Coltrane began his musical career playing the alto saxophone. In 1947, when he joined King Kolax’s band, he changed to the tenor saxophone, the instrument he became most famous for. In the early 1960s, during his time with Atlantic Records, he also played the soprano saxophone.

John Lewis, an assistant music editor at Time Out, noted, "By 1962, Coltrane had developed a style of modal jazz that used scales from Indian and Arabic music while keeping a strong spiritual focus. As he played complex melodies on the tenor and soprano saxophones, his group, known as the Fab Four, played hard bop that connected to music from India, Africa, soul, and even psychedelia."

Coltrane’s preference for playing melodies in the higher range of the tenor saxophone was influenced by his earlier training on the alto horn and clarinet. His unique "sound concept" for the tenor saxophone involved controlling the instrument using the vocal tract, producing a tone higher than the typical range of the instrument. Coltrane explained how his experience with the soprano saxophone changed his approach to the tenor: "The soprano is a small instrument, and playing its lowest note felt like playing a middle note on the tenor. This made me explore the entire range of the tenor, which I hadn’t always done before."

Later in his career, Coltrane experimented with the flute in live performances and recordings, including Live at the Village Vanguard Again! and Expression. After the death of musician Eric Dolphy in 1964, Dolphy’s mother gave Coltrane a flute and bass clarinet.

Drummer Rashied Ali said Coltrane had a strong interest in drums. Coltrane often had an extra drum set on stage during concerts, which he would play. His fascination with drums and his use of drum solos appeared on tracks like "Pursuance" from A Love Supreme and "The Drum Thing" from Crescent. This interest led to the album Interstellar Space, recorded with Ali. In an interview with Nat Hentoff in 1965 or 1966, Coltrane said, "I feel the need for more time and rhythm. With more than one drummer, the rhythm can be more complex." In an interview with Frank Kofsky in 1966, Coltrane emphasized his love for drums, stating, "I feel so strongly about drums, I really do." Later that year, Coltrane recorded music later released as Offering: Live at Temple University, which features Ali on drums and three percussionists.

Coltrane’s tenor saxophone (Selmer Mark VI, serial number 125571, dated 1965) and soprano saxophone (Selmer Mark VI, serial number 99626, dated 1962) were sold on February 20, 2005, to support the John Coltrane Foundation.

Although Coltrane rarely played the alto saxophone, he owned a prototype Yamaha alto saxophone given to him by the company in 1966 as part of an endorsement. He played it on live recordings in Japan, such as Second Night in Tokyo, and it appears on the cover of the compilation Live in Japan. He also played the Yamaha alto on the album Stellar Regions.

Personal life and religious beliefs

John Coltrane was born and raised in a Christian family. He was influenced by religion and spirituality from a young age. His maternal grandfather, Reverend William Blair, was a minister at an African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in High Point, North Carolina. His paternal grandfather, Reverend William H. Coltrane, was also a minister at an A.M.E. Zion Church in Hamlet, North Carolina. Music critic Norman Weinstein noted that Coltrane’s music was connected to his early experiences in church, where he practiced music as a child.

In 1955, Coltrane married Naima, whose birth name was Juanita Grubbs. Naima became a Muslim and had a strong influence on Coltrane’s spiritual beliefs. When they married, Naima already had a daughter named Antonia, who later became known as Syeeda. Coltrane adopted her. He met Naima at the home of a musician named Steve Davis in Philadelphia. Coltrane wrote a song called "Naima" to honor his wife, and it was his favorite piece of music. In 1956, the family moved from Philadelphia to New York City. In 1957, they lived in an apartment on 103rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue in New York. A few years later, Coltrane and Naima bought a house on Mexico Street in St. Albans, Queens. This was the home where they separated in 1963.

Naima explained their breakup in a book called Chasin' the Trane by J.C. Thomas. She said, "I felt it would happen eventually, so I wasn’t surprised when John left the house in the summer of 1963. He didn’t explain why. He just said he had things to do and left with only his clothes and his instruments. He sometimes stayed in hotels or with his mother in Philadelphia. All he said was, 'Naima, I’m going to make a change.' Even though I knew it was coming, it hurt, and it took me at least a year to recover." Despite the separation, Coltrane stayed in contact with Naima. In 1964, he told her that ninety percent of his music was prayer. They remained friends until his death in 1967. Naima Coltrane died of a heart attack in October 1996.

In 1957, Coltrane had a religious experience that helped him stop using heroin and alcohol, which he had struggled with since 1948. In the liner notes of his album A Love Supreme, Coltrane wrote that in 1957 he had "a spiritual awakening by the grace of God, which led me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music." In the liner notes of Meditations (1965), Coltrane added, "I believe in all religions."

In 1963, Coltrane met pianist Alice McLeod. They lived together and had two sons before officially divorcing Naima in 1966. At that time, Coltrane and Alice married. Their children were John Jr. (born in 1964), Ravi (born in 1965), and Oranyan ("Oran") (born in 1967). Musician Peter Lavezzoli said, "Alice brought happiness and stability to John’s life. They had children together, and they shared spiritual beliefs, especially an interest in Indian philosophy. Alice also understood what it was like to be a professional musician."

After A Love Supreme, many of Coltrane’s album and song titles had spiritual themes, such as Ascension, Meditations, Om, Selflessness, "Amen," "Ascent," "Attaining," "Dear Lord," "Prayer and Meditation Suite," and "The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost." His book collection included The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, the Bhagavad Gita, and Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. Yogananda wrote about a search for universal truth, which Coltrane also pursued. Coltrane studied the Qur’an, the Bible, Kabbalah, and astrology. He also explored Hinduism, Jiddu Krishnamurti’s teachings, African history, the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, and Zen Buddhism.

In October 1965, Coltrane recorded an album called Om, named after a sacred syllable in Hinduism that represents the infinite or the entire universe. Coltrane described Om as "the first syllable, the primal word, the word of power." The 29-minute recording includes chants from the Bhagavad Gita and the Tibetan Book of the Dead, as well as a passage about the word "om" as a spiritual common denominator in all things.

Coltrane’s spiritual journey was linked to his study of world music. He believed in a universal musical structure that could connect people across cultures and that music could express deep spiritual ideas. His interest in Indian music led him to believe that certain sounds and scales could create specific emotions. Coltrane said the goal of a musician was to understand these forces, control them, and move an audience. He once said, "I would like to bring to people something like happiness. I would like to discover a method so that if I want it to

Veneration

After John Coltrane died, a group called the Yardbird Temple in San Francisco began worshipping him as God. The group was named after Charlie "Yardbird" Parker, whom they compared to John the Baptist. The group later joined the African Orthodox Church, which changed Coltrane’s status from a god to a saint. The St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church in San Francisco is the only African Orthodox church that uses Coltrane’s music and lyrics as prayers in its religious services.

Rev. F. W. King, who describes the African Orthodox Church of Saint John Coltrane, said, "We are Coltrane-conscious … God lives in the beauty of his music."

For The New York Times, journalist Samuel G. Freedman wrote that Coltrane is shown as one of 90 saints in the Dancing Saints icon at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. The icon is a large painting, 3,000 square feet, in the Byzantine style, covering the entire church rotunda. Mark Dukes, an officially recognized deacon at the Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church, painted the icon and other images of Coltrane for the church. Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey, listed Coltrane among historical Black saints and argued that he should be considered a saint in an article on its website.

Documentaries about Coltrane and the church include Alan Klingenstein’s The Church of Saint Coltrane (1996) and a 2004 program by Alan Yentob for the BBC.

Selected discography

The list below shows albums created and approved by Coltrane as the leader during his lifetime. It does not include albums where he played as a sideman, recordings compiled into albums by record companies after his contract ended, recordings with Coltrane as a sideman later released with his name more prominently featured, or albums made after his death, except for one compilation he approved before his death. For a complete list, visit the main discography link above.

• Coltrane (debut solo LP ; 1957)
• Blue Train (1958)
• John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio (1958)
• Soultrane (1958)

• Giant Steps (1960)
• Coltrane Jazz (1961)
• My Favorite Things (1961)
• Olé Coltrane (1961)

• Africa/Brass (1961)
• Coltrane "Live" at the Village Vanguard (1962)
• Coltrane (1962)
• Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (1963)
• Ballads (1963)
• John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (1963)
• Impressions (1963)
• Live at Birdland (1964)
• Crescent (1964)
• A Love Supreme (1965)
• The John Coltrane Quartet Plays (1965)
• Ascension (1966)
• New Thing at Newport (1966)
• Meditations (1966)
• Live at the Village Vanguard Again! (1966)
• Kulu Sé Mama (1967)
• Expression (1967)

Awards and honors

John Coltrane received an Edison Award for the album Giant Steps at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in 1961. In 1965, he was inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame. In 1972, the album A Love Supreme was certified gold by JASRAC for selling over 500,000 copies in Japan. This album received a gold certification in the United States in 2001. In 1982, he was given a posthumous Grammy Award for Best Jazz Solo Performance for the album Bye Bye Blackbird. In 1997, he was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante named him one of his 100 Greatest African Americans. In 2007, he was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for his "masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship, and iconic centrality to the history of jazz." He was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.

A former home of his, the John Coltrane House in Philadelphia, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1999. His final home, the John Coltrane Home in the Dix Hills district of Huntington, New York, where he lived from 1964 until his death, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 29, 2007.

French drummer, composer, and singer Christian Vander, founder of the band Magma, considers Coltrane his greatest musical inspiration. He dedicated his 2011 album John Coltrane L'Homme Suprême to him as a tribute.

In media

In 1990, a documentary about John Coltrane was made by another musician, Robert Palmer, and was called The World According to John Coltrane. In 2016, a second documentary about Coltrane, titled Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary, was released and directed by John Scheinfeld.

General and cited references

• DeVito, Chris; Fujioka, Yasuhiro; Schmaler, Wolf; and Wild, David (2008). The John Coltrane Reference. Published by Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-97755-5.
• Lavezzoli, Peter (2006). The Dawn of Indian Music in the West. Published by Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8264-1815-5.
• Nisenson, Eric (1995). Ascension: John Coltrane and His Search. Published by Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80644-4.
• Porter, Lewis (1999). John Coltrane: His Life and Music. Published by University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08643-X.