Post by Admin on Jul 15, 2013 12:37:45 GMT -5
The most influential jazz musician of the past 40 years, one of the greatest saxophonists of all time and a remarkable innovator, John Coltrane certainly made his impact on jazz. Unlike most musicians, Coltrane's style changed gradually but steadily over time. Originally he played in a Navy band during his period in the military, recording four songs in 1946. He settled in Philadelphia and then toured with Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, joined the Dizzy Gillespie big band and played with Dizzy's sextet. Radio broadcasts find Coltrane hinting slightly at his future sound.
The John Coltrane story really starts with his joining the Miles Davis Quintet in 1955. At first some observers wondered what Miles saw in the 28-year old tenor who had an unusual sound and whose ideas sometimes stretched beyond his technique. Coltrane improved month-by-month an by 1956 was competing with Sonny Rollins as the top young tenor; he even battled him to a draw on their recording of "Tenor Madness." Coltrane formed an important part of the classic Miles Davis Quintet, recording with Miles for Prestige and Columbia during 1955-56.
1957 was the key year in John Coltrane's career. Fired by Miles Davis due to his heroin addiction, Coltrane permanently kicked the habit. He spent several months playing with Thelonious Monk's Quartet, an mutually beneficial association that gave Monk long-overdue acclaim and greatly accelerated the tenor's growth. His playing became even more adventurous than it had been, he recorded Blue Train and, when he rejoined Miles Davis in early 1958, Coltrane was unquestionably the most important tenor in jazz. During his next two years with Davis, Trane really took bop to the breaking point, playing groups of notes with extreme speed and really tearing into the music. In addition to being one of the stars of Davis' recordings, Coltrane signed a contract with Atlantic and began to record classics of his own.
1960 John Coltrane was long overdue to be a leader and Miles Davis reluctantly let him go. 'Trane's direction was changing from utilizing as many chords as possible to playing passionately over one or two-chord vamps. He hired pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Jimmy Garrison in late 1961. The first artist signed to the new Impulse label, Coltrane was given complete freedom to record what he wanted.
John Coltrane continued to evolve during 1961-64. He added Eric Dolphy as part of his group for a period and recorded extensively at the Village Vanguard in late 1961; the lengthy explorations were branded by conservative critics as "anti-jazz." Partly to counter their stereotyping, 'Trane recorded with Duke Ellington in a quartet, a ballad program and a collaboration with singer Johnny Hartman; his playing throughout was quite beautiful. But live in concert his solos were always intense and continually searching. He utilized such songs as "Impressions" and "Afro Blue" for long workouts and took stunning cadenzas on the ballad "I Want to Talk About You."
In 1965 it all began to change. Coltrane's music dropped most of the melodies and essentially became passionate sound explorations. Ascension from midyear featured six additional horns added to the quartet for almost totally free improvisations. Fast themes were quickly disposed of on the way to waves of sound.
By 1966 Coltrane had a quintet consisting of his wife Alice on piano, Sanders, Ali and the lone holdover Jimmy Garrison. After a triumphant visit to Japan, Coltrane's health began to fail. Although the cause of his death on July 17, 1967 was listed as liver cancer, in reality it was probably overwork. Coltrane practiced ten to twelve hours a day and when he had a job, he would often spend his breaks practicing in his dressing room! It was only through such single-mindedness that he could reach such a phenomenal technical level, but the net result was his premature death. Since Coltrane's passing no other giant has dominated jazz on the same level. In fact many other saxophonists have built their entire careers on exploring music from just one of John Coltrane's periods.
This Biography was adapted from an essay written by Scott Yanow for the All-Music Guide and reformatted by Sean Glass
The John Coltrane story really starts with his joining the Miles Davis Quintet in 1955. At first some observers wondered what Miles saw in the 28-year old tenor who had an unusual sound and whose ideas sometimes stretched beyond his technique. Coltrane improved month-by-month an by 1956 was competing with Sonny Rollins as the top young tenor; he even battled him to a draw on their recording of "Tenor Madness." Coltrane formed an important part of the classic Miles Davis Quintet, recording with Miles for Prestige and Columbia during 1955-56. 1957 was the key year in John Coltrane's career. Fired by Miles Davis due to his heroin addiction, Coltrane permanently kicked the habit. He spent several months playing with Thelonious Monk's Quartet, an mutually beneficial association that gave Monk long-overdue acclaim and greatly accelerated the tenor's growth. His playing became even more adventurous than it had been, he recorded Blue Train and, when he rejoined Miles Davis in early 1958, Coltrane was unquestionably the most important tenor in jazz. During his next two years with Davis, Trane really took bop to the breaking point, playing groups of notes with extreme speed and really tearing into the music. In addition to being one of the stars of Davis' recordings, Coltrane signed a contract with Atlantic and began to record classics of his own.
1960 John Coltrane was long overdue to be a leader and Miles Davis reluctantly let him go. 'Trane's direction was changing from utilizing as many chords as possible to playing passionately over one or two-chord vamps. He hired pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Jimmy Garrison in late 1961. The first artist signed to the new Impulse label, Coltrane was given complete freedom to record what he wanted. John Coltrane continued to evolve during 1961-64. He added Eric Dolphy as part of his group for a period and recorded extensively at the Village Vanguard in late 1961; the lengthy explorations were branded by conservative critics as "anti-jazz." Partly to counter their stereotyping, 'Trane recorded with Duke Ellington in a quartet, a ballad program and a collaboration with singer Johnny Hartman; his playing throughout was quite beautiful. But live in concert his solos were always intense and continually searching. He utilized such songs as "Impressions" and "Afro Blue" for long workouts and took stunning cadenzas on the ballad "I Want to Talk About You."
In 1965 it all began to change. Coltrane's music dropped most of the melodies and essentially became passionate sound explorations. Ascension from midyear featured six additional horns added to the quartet for almost totally free improvisations. Fast themes were quickly disposed of on the way to waves of sound. By 1966 Coltrane had a quintet consisting of his wife Alice on piano, Sanders, Ali and the lone holdover Jimmy Garrison. After a triumphant visit to Japan, Coltrane's health began to fail. Although the cause of his death on July 17, 1967 was listed as liver cancer, in reality it was probably overwork. Coltrane practiced ten to twelve hours a day and when he had a job, he would often spend his breaks practicing in his dressing room! It was only through such single-mindedness that he could reach such a phenomenal technical level, but the net result was his premature death. Since Coltrane's passing no other giant has dominated jazz on the same level. In fact many other saxophonists have built their entire careers on exploring music from just one of John Coltrane's periods.
This Biography was adapted from an essay written by Scott Yanow for the All-Music Guide and reformatted by Sean Glass
