John Coltrane

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John Coltrane

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

John Coltrane , 1926-67, American jazz musician, b. Hamlet, N.C. He began playing tenor saxophone as an adolescent. Coltrane worked with numerous big bands before emerging in the mid-1950s as a major stylist while playing as a sideman with Miles Davis . Originally influenced by Lester Young , Coltrane displayed in his playing a dazzling technical brilliance combined with ardent emotion and eventually a kind of mysticism. His style, which was at once sonorous and spare, was influenced by the rhythms and tonal structure of African and Asian music. Coltrane made a number of influential recordings, among them the modal-jazz classics My Favorite Things (1961) and A Love Supreme (1964), and the later exemplars of free jazz, Ascension and Interstellar Space, his final album. From the late 1950s until his death he was considered the outstanding tenor and soprano saxophonist of the jazz avant-garde, and his music continues to be a strong source of inspiration to jazz and pop musicians.

Bibliography: See biographies by E. Nisenson (1994) and L. Porter (1998); B. Ratliff, Coltrane: The Story of a Sound (2007); discography by Y. Fujioka et al. (1995).

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Coltrane, John

The Oxford Companion to United States History | 2001 | | © The Oxford Companion to United States History 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Coltrane, John (1926–1967), jazz saxophonist and leader in the “hard bop” style of the late 1950s and 1960s.Born in Hamlet, North Carolina, Coltrane later moved to Philadelphia, where he became acquainted with rhythm and blues and was influenced by the bop revolution that emerged in jazz during World War II. Playing with Eddie Vinson's band after his release from the navy in 1946, he was convinced by Vinson to change from alto to tenor saxophone. In 1949, Coltrane joined the big band of Dizzy Gillespie (1917–1993), but in 1953 he shifted to Johnny Hodges's smaller band. Coltrane first won serious attention and achieved a major stylistic breakthrough when he joined Miles Davis's quintet in 1955. He became the saxophonist in the quartet of Thelonious Monk (1917–1982) two years later, but soon returned to Davis's group. For a time he flirted with the sonorities and subtle lyricism of cool jazz, but he felt a growing need to develop a more personal approach.

In 1960, Coltrane formed his own group with the intent of exploring different jazz sounds. Intent upon moving beyond notes and creating pure sound, he borrowed from African, Indian, and Middle Eastern sources. His tone tended to be hard and harsh and lacked the varied coloration of the bop innovator Charlie Parker. Although Coltrane was not politically a black nationalist, the statement he made did have social implications. Coltrane's playing changed substantially during his lifetime, since his musical search was based on a spiritual quest that persisted until his death.

Bibliography

Cuthbert Ormond Simpkins , Coltrane, 1975.
Eric Nisenson , Ascension: John Coltrane and His Quest, 1993.

Ronald L. Davis

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Paul S. Boyer. "Coltrane, John." The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. 2001. Retrieved July 10, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-ColtraneJohn.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Living with the spirit and legacy of John Coltrane.
Magazine article from: Ebony; 3/1/1989
Free Article Ode to John Coltrane: a jazz musician's influence on African American culture.(Special Jazz Issue)
Magazine article from: The Antioch Review; 6/22/1999
Free Article Traning the nineties, or the present relevance of John Coltrane's music of theophany and negation.
Magazine article from: African American Review; 6/22/1995

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Living with the spirit and legacy of John Coltrane.
Magazine article from: Ebony; 3/1/1989; ; 700+ words ; ...With The Spirit And Legacy Of JOHN COLTRANE THE white brick ranch-styled house...husband, the legendary saxophonist, John Coltrane. It's been more than 20 years...says. He's here. I feel him here. John Coltrane, long considered ahead of his... Read more
Ode to John Coltrane: a jazz musician's influence on African American culture.(Special Jazz Issue)
Magazine article from: The Antioch Review; 6/22/1999; ; 700+ words ; ...teacher Eugene Redmond describes jazz tenor saxophonist John Coltrane as a limitless [source] of inspiration for black poets...discusses at considerable length the development of the John Coltrane poem, especially among black American poets. The immediate... Read more
Traning the nineties, or the present relevance of John Coltrane's music of theophany and negation.
Magazine article from: African American Review; 6/22/1995; ; 700+ words ; ...appropriations of - the music of John Coltrane? The burden of this essay is to...insist that the renewed interest in Coltrane's legacy signaled by these films...a consideration of the reasons Coltrane's work holds particular significance... Read more
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Magazine article from: Jet; 12/4/2006; ; 35 words ; * John Coltrane: This six-CD set celebrates what would have been Coltrane's 80th birthday. It gathers his entire output for Prestige Records in one deluxe box. Suggested price $59.98 at www.amazon.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Read more
John Coltrane Quartet: Ballads (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDCD 731).(Review)
Magazine article from: Sensible Sound; 4/1/1999; ; 166 words ; John Coltrane Quartet: Ballads (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDCD 731) For the truly hard-core John Coltrane fans who are also hard-core audiophiles...Ballads presents the softer side of John Coltrane, which for most audiophiles is much more... Read more
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Magazine article from: Sensible Sound; 6/1/1999; 159 words ; John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (Mobile Fidelity Sound...over the years. It was the first time that Coltrane's classic quartet made a recording with...articulation are complemented perfectly by Coltrane's sax, McCoy Tyner's piano, Jimmy Garrison... Read more
Ballads (Remembering John Coltrane).
Magazine article from: Sensible Sound; 8/1/2001; 192 words ; ...Ballads (Remembering John Coltrane) (Concord Jazz CCD-4950...ballads associated with John Coltrane's classic Ballads album, plus a few other classic Coltrane ballads. The band is top-flig...James Williams on piano, John Patitucci on bass, Lewis... Read more
A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: Black Issues Book Review; 5/1/2003; ; 435 words ; ...But out of the chaos came John Coltrane's A Love Supreme. For a world...and the world forever. When Coltrane recorded A Love Supreme...of Miles Davis, who gave Coltrane a lucrative gig as a member...like My Favorite Things, Coltrane quickly became a respected...Love Supreme: The Story of ... Read more
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Magazine article from: Ebony; 1/1/2008; 62 words ; [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JOHN COLTRANE Interplay (Prestige/Concord) is a superb collection that features five CDs of music the master saxophonist recorded during various... Read more
Clawing at the Limits of Cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane and The Greatest Jazz Collaboration Ever.(BOOKSHELF)(Brief article)(Book review)
Magazine article from: Ebony; 9/1/2008; ; 100 words ; ...OMITTED] CLAWING AT THE LIMITS OF COOL: MILES DAVIS, JOHN COLTRANE AND THE GREATEST JAZZ COLLABORATION EVER (Thomas Dunne...examines the turbulent collaboration between Davis and Coltrane--who had quite different personal and musical styles... Read more
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