John Coltrane

John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.

With Miles Davis' First Quintet

Although there are recordings of Coltrane from as early as 1946, he received little recognition until 1955.

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Coltrane was freelancing in Philadelphia in the summer of 1955 when he received a call from trumpeter Miles Davis. Davis, whose success during the late forties had been followed by several years of decline, was again active, and was about to form a quintet. Coltrane was with this first edition of the Davis group from October 1955 through April 1957 (with a few absences), a period which saw influential recordings from Davis and the first signs of Coltrane's growing ability. This classic "First Quintet", best represented by two marathon recording sessions for Prestige in 1956, disbanded in mid-April due partially to Coltrane's problematic heroin addiction. Coltrane would use much of what he learned with Davis to run his own groups, namely allowing musicians to solo and improvise with their own sensibilities as well as eschewing involvement with his audience and remaining aloof to press. Coltrane's style at this point was loquacious and critics dubbed his playing as angry and harsh. Harry Frost dubbed Coltrane's solos "extended double-time flurries notable for their lack of direction".

Related Topics:
Trumpeter - Miles Davis - 1957 - 1956 - Heroin

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During the latter part of 1957 Coltrane worked with Thelonious Monk at New York's Five Spot, a legendary gig. His music during this period shows tremendous and rapid evolution; it is extensively documented by his recordings as a sideman and a leader for Prestige Records. He rejoined Miles in January 1958 after kicking heroin and experiencing a spiritual epiphany that would lead him to concentrate wholly on the development of his music. He stayed with Davis until April 1960, usually playing alongside alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley and drummer Philly Joe Jones in a sextet. During this time he participated in such seminal Davis sessions as Milestones and Kind Of Blue, and recorded his own influential sessions (notably Blue Train and Giant Steps). In October 1958, Jazz critic Ira Gitler coined the term sheets of sound for Coltrane's unique style during this period with Davis. His playing was compressed, as if whole solos passed in a few seconds, with triple- or quadruple-time runs cascading in hundreds of notes per minute. Around the end of his tenure with Davis, Coltrane began playing soprano saxophone, an unconventional move considering the instrument's obsolescence at the time. His interest in the straight saxophone likely arose from his admiration for Sidney Bechet and the work of his contemporary, Steve Lacy. The radical change in his tenor style after leaving the Davis group was due partially to a problem with his mouthpiece and acute pain in his gums, another possible reason for taking up the soprano, which Coltrane generally played "faster."

Related Topics:
Thelonious Monk - New York - Five Spot - 1958 - Heroin - 1960 - Cannonball Adderley - Philly Joe Jones - Milestones - Kind Of Blue - Blue Train - Giant Steps - Sheets of sound - Soprano saxophone - Sidney Bechet - Steve Lacy

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