Background

John William Coltrane was born on September 23, 1926, in Hamlet, North Carolina, United States. His father John R. Coltrane was a tailor and amateur musician, who sang and played the ukulele for pleasure. His mother Alice née Blair Coltrane was a seamstress, who sang and played the piano in her father’s choir. Coltrane's first musical influence was his father. His early music industry influences included jazz legends like Count Basie and Lester Young.

Coltrane, his parents' only child, spent his early years with his extended family, headed by his maternal grandfather Reverend William Blair. His aunt Betty lived in the same household with her husband Coler and their only child, Mary. Living under the same roof, John and Mary grew up as siblings.

Soon after Coltrane's birth, the entire family moved to High Point, also in North Carolina, where his grandfather had accepted a pastorate. They lived in a lower-middle-class neighborhood and although they were not rich, the legendary Jazz composer had a protected and happy childhood there.

In 1939, when Coltrane was 13 years old, his father died of stomach cancer. Within a few months, his grandfather too passed away. His uncle and aunt followed them within a span of three years, leaving his mother to take care of the two orphaned children alone.

As the family was undergoing a tragic change, Coltrane became more and more involved in music. It is not known whether he was trying to get some comfort out of it, but he started practicing for long hours from the very beginning; sometimes until three or four o'clock in the morning.

Financial struggles defined this period for Coltrane, and eventually, his mother Alice and other family members moved to New Jersey in the hopes of having an improved life. Coltrane remained in North Carolina until he graduated from high school.

Education

John Coltrane was a good student, doing well in his elementary and grade schools. Although he was quite shy, he had a few close friends with whom he participated in Boys Scouts and neighborhood bands. First in 1932-1939, he attended Leonard Street School in High Point. He got more immersed in music when he started attending William Pen High School.

Initially, Coltrane played alto horn at the community band, but he later switched to clarinet and finally to the saxophone. In the fall of 1940, he became a member of his school’s newly formed music band.

In 1943, Coltrane graduated from William Pen High School and moved to Philadelphia with his mother and Mary. His mother had started working in a wartime plant there. By September, she had saved enough to buy him a saxophone.

In Philadelphia, John Coltrane briefly joined the Granoff School of Music before moving to Ornstein School of Music, where he studied music theory and saxophone techniques. Very soon, he became known as an excellent student, eager to absorb his lessons.

In 1945 Coltrane was drafted into the army. In 1946, he returned to Philadelphia, where he resumed his studies at the Ornstein School of Music which soon incorporated in Combs College of Music, studying Jazz theory with Dennis Sandole and continuing with it until 1955.

Career

Sometime in the middle of 1945, John Coltrane appeared for his first professional performance; but his career in music was cut short by the ongoing Second World War. On August 6, 1945, the 19 years old John Coltrane joined the United States Navy as part of his war service. After being trained as an apprentice seaman at Sampson Naval Training Station, New York, Coltrane was shipped to Pearl Harbor to be stationed at Manana Barracks. Thereafter in late 1945, he was moved to Hawaii. By then, the war was over and the Navy had already started delisting.

At Hawaii, John Coltrane's musical talent was quickly recognized, and very soon, he began to play for the Melody Master, the all-white official swing band of the base, mostly as a clarinetist and saxophonist. Concurrently, he continued to perform his duties in the kitchen and also at the security details.

Although he played regularly, Coltrane never got the musician’s rating and was treated as a guest performer. Yet, by the end of his service, he had assumed a leading role in the band, warranting a mention in the local newspaper article, which was lamenting the imminent breakup of the band.

His first recording took place on July 13, 1946, when Coltrane played a selection of Jazz standards and bebop tunes on his alto saxophone in an informal session with other Navy musician. One month later, he was discharged from his duty.

In 1946, John Coltrane returned to Philadelphia, where he resumed his studies at the Ornstein School of Music. Meanwhile, he joined King Kolax's band, where he played alto Saxophone. He also went on a tour with him. Possibly in 1947, he left Kolax to join Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson's jazz group, playing tenor saxophone for them. The move opened a wide horizon for him and although he was too young to understand the developments that were taking place in jazz music, he felt an emotional bonding with it.

Sometime in 1948, Coltrane left Vinson to join Jimmy Heath's band and started experimenting with his music there. Later, in the fall of 1949, he left Heath as well in order to join a big band, led by the legendry trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. He remained with it for the next one and a half year.

Although by the end of the 1940s Coltrane had made a name for himself, he largely remained underemployed. To earn a living, he often had to undertake jobs that he found demeaning for a serious musician. One such job required him to walk on a bar while honking and shouting through the horn. To overcome the humiliations, he now began to take drugs, particularly heroin, which greatly affected his career. Nonetheless, in 1954, he began to play with Duke Ellington, temporarily replacing Johnny Hodges. But very soon, his drug addiction began to interfere with the group's schedules, and he lost his job.

When John Coltrane was a struggling musician in Philadelphia in 1955, he got a call from Miles Davis, who was about to form a new band called First Great Quintet. John immediately accepted the offer and moved to New York City in 1956.

Davis allowed John Coltrane considerable freedom, enabling him to develop his own style. During this period, he became known for his three-on-one chord approach and 'sheets of sound' techniques. The latter involves a method of playing multiple notes simultaneously.

In 1956, First Great Quintet made quite a few recordings, resulting in albums like Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet, Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet, Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet, and Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet. Each of these albums reflected Coltrane's growing talent.

In spite of his talent, Coltrane's persistent drug addiction continued to hamper his music career and in April 1957, he was fired by Davis, which might have played some part in sobering him. He eventually gave up heroin and from July that year, he started playing with Duke Ellington at Five Spot Café.

In 1957, John started working to establish himself both as a solo recording artist and bandleader, recording 'Blue Train' in the same year. All pieces in this album, except for I am Old Fashioned, were written by him. The album was released in 1958.

In January 1958, Coltrane rejoined Miles Davis's band, remaining with him until April 1960, during which he recorded hit albums like Kind of Blue and Milestones with Miles. Also in 1958, Coltrane had his fourth album Soultrane, which showcased his 'sheets of sound' style of music, released.

He recorded his fifth album Giant Step in 1959. Released in 1960, it was his first collaboration with Atlantic Records. In the same year, he left Davis to form his first quartet, John Coltrane Quartet.

John Coltrane appeared with his quartet at the Jazz Gallery in New York City for a live performance in April 1960. Initially, the troupe included pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and bassist Jimmy Garrison; but by autumn, Jimmy Garrison was replaced by Steve Davis on bass.

In January 1961, Atlantic Records released Coltrane's sixth jazz album, Coltrane Jazz. Next in March, they released his seventh album, My Favorite Things, in which he played a soprano saxophone. It also marked his transition from bebop to modal jazz. In November that year, he played at Village Vanguard, achieving great applause.

In 1962, Jimmy Garrison returned to the quartet, which was now known as the Classic Quartet. From now on, John Coltrane began to work with Garrison, Tyner, and Jones, creating spirituality-driven music. Concurrently he began to study Indian and African music, which had an immense influence on his creations. His next album Coltrane was released in August 1962. It was a huge success and music critics like Michel G. Nastos gave it four and a half stars out of five. Incidentally, he had another album by the same name released in 1957; but while the previous work was bebop, the new one was modal jazz.

In 1963, Coltrane attended the New Port Jazz Festival at Newport, Rhode Island. It inspired his live album, Newport 63, which was released 30 years later on July 20, 1993, by Bob Thele. The album also includes one track recorded at the Village Vanguard in 1961.

Coltrane's albums released in 1963 were Impressions and Duke Ellington & John Coltrane. While his latter album was a collaboration with Duke Ellington, Impressions consisted of both live and studio recordings with his quartet. John's next album Live at Birdland was released in April 1964. In December, the quartet recorded their best-selling album 'A Love Supreme.' Released by Impulse Records in January 1965, it is now viewed as one of the greatest albums ever made. In 1965, his band recorded six new albums, i.e. The John Coltrane Quartet Plays, Living Space, Transition, New Thing at Newport, Sun Ship, and First Meditations. All of them except Transition (released in 1970), Sun Ship (released in 1971), and First Meditation (released in 1977) were released in the same year.

In early 1966, Tyner and Jones left the quartet. John Coltrane now had to form a new team, giving live performances as well as recording new albums. In the same year, he also went on a tour of Japan, resulting in 'Live in Japan.' However, the album could not be released before 1971. His popular album Kulu Se Mama released in 1967. In 1966, Meditations and Live at the Village Vanguard Again released. These were the last albums to be released in his lifetime. Although he recorded two more albums, 'Interstellar Space' and 'Expression' in early 1967, he did not live to see them get released.

Achievements

• 

  John Coltrane is best remembered for his 1965 album, A Love Supreme. Widely regarded as his masterpiece, it sold about 500,000 copies by 1970, and in 2003, it was ranked 47 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2016, the work was selected for preservation in the 'National Recording Registry' because of its cultural, historic, or artistic significance. In 1982, the Recording Industry Association of America posthumously awarded John Coltrane their Grammy Award in the Best Jazz Solo Performance category for his 1962 album, Bye Bye Blackbird. In 2007, the Pulitzer Prize Board awarded him a posthumous Special Citation for his innovative and influential works. In 1995, John Coltrane was commemorated with a postage stamp by the United States Postal Service. An African Orthodox Church in San Francisco has recognized Coltrane as a saint since 1971. Their services incorporate Coltrane's music, using his lyrics as prayers. A documentary presented by Alan Yentob on Coltrane, featuring the church, was produced for the BBC in 2004.

Works

More photos

• music

  • Cattin' With Coltrane & Quinichett 1957
  • Blue Train 1957
  • Giant Steps 1959
  • Coltrane Jazz 1960
  • My Favourite Things 1960
  • The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings 1961
  • Ballads 1962
  • Duke Ellington & John Coltrane 1962
  • A Love Supreme 1964
  • Ascension 1065
  • Expression 1967

Religion

Coltrane was born and raised a Christian and was in touch with religion and spirituality from childhood. Both his grandfathers were African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church clergymen. As a youth, he practiced music in a southern African-American church. In A Night in Tunisia: Imaginings of Africa in Jazz, Norman Weinstein notes the parallel between Coltrane's music and his experience in the Southern church.

In 1957 Coltrane began to shift spiritual directions. Two years earlier, he had married Juanita Naima Grubb, a Muslim convert, (for whom he later wrote the piece Naima). His contact with Islam may have led him to overcome his addictions to alcohol and heroin. It was a period of "spiritual awakening" that helped him return to the jazz scene and eventually produce his greatest work. But he left her in 1963.

Coltrane also explored Hinduism, the Kabbalah, Jiddu Krishnamurti, yoga, math, science, astrology, African history, and even Plato and Aristotle. He notes: "During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music."

In his 1965 album Meditations, Coltrane wrote about uplifting people, "to inspire them to realize more and more of their capacities for living meaningful lives. Because there certainly is meaning to life."

In October 1965, Coltrane recorded Om, referring to the Aum (sacred syllable in Hindu religion), which symbolizes the infinite or the entire universe. Coltrane described Om as the "first syllable, the primal word, the word of power." The 29-minute recording contains chants from the Bhagavad-Gita, a Hindu epic. A 1966 recording, issued posthumously, has Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders chanting from a Buddhist text, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, and reciting a passage describing the primal verbalization "om" as a cosmic/spiritual common denominator in all things.

Politics

Coltrane was supportive of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the civil rights movement. He attended a number of meetings but nevertheless didn't become politically involved and wanted to stay off dividing music and politics.

Views

Coltrane experimented broadly in the instrumentation of his group and developed a growing predilection for modality and multi horn group improvisation. Coltrane's music, although influenced by Indian, Oriental, and African forms, was unique in its development and exploration of sixteenth notes as a rhythmic base for jazz. His superb technical skill on the saxophone enabled him to experiment freely with the broadest improvisation in avant-garde jazz, thus making him a central and controversial figure in the field.

Coltrane's spiritual journey was interwoven with his investigation into world music. He believed not only in a Musical Universalis or universal musical structure that transcended ethnic distinctions but also in being able to harness the mystical, magical musical language of music itself. Coltrane's study of Indian music led him to believe that Mantra or certain sounds and scales could "produce specific emotional Bija or meanings" (impressions). According to Coltrane, the goal of a musician was to understand these forces, control them, and elicit a response from the audience. Like Pythagoras and his followers who believed music could cure illness, Coltrane 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 rain, it will start right away to rain. If one of my friends is ill, I'd like to play a certain song and he will be cured; when he'd be broke, I'd bring out a different song, and immediately he'd receive all the money he needed."

Personality

During the 1950s, as was the case with other jazz performers, Coltraine began to use drugs, mainly heroin. He nevertheless had enough motivation and willpower to overcome the addiction.

Physical Characteristics: John Coltrane died of liver cancer on July 17, 1967, at Huntington Hospital on Long Island, at the age of 40.

Interests

• reading

• Politicians

  Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X

• Music & Bands

  Count Basie, Lester Young

Connections

John Coltrane was married to Naima née Juanita Grubbs in 1955. Already a Muslim convert, she had a daughter named Saeeda, who was adopted by Coltrane after their marriage. Although they broke up in 1963, they were officially divorced in 1966. In 1963, Coltrane met Alice McLeod, who had a daughter by Kenny Hagood. Until 1966, they lived together, having two sons; John Junior in 1964, and Ravi in 1965. They got married in 1966 and a third son named Oranyan was born in 1967.

Father:

John R. Coltrane

Mother:

Alice Blair

ex-wife:

Juanita Grubbs

adopted daughter:

Saeeda Coltrane

Wife:

Alice McLeod

Son:

John Coltrane Jr

Son:

Ravi Coltrane

Son:

Oranyan Coltrane

colleague:

King Kolax

colleague:

Dizzy Gillespie

colleague:

Miles Davis

colleague:

Edward Ellington

References

• Sittin' In: Jazz Clubs of the 1940s and 1950s
  2020
• Coltrane on Coltrane: The John Coltrane Interviews
  2012
• A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album
  2003
• John Coltrane: His Life and Music
  2000
• Ascension: John Coltrane and his Quest
  1993
• John Coltrane and Black America's Quest for Freedom: Spirituality and the Music
  2010
• The John Coltrane Reference
  2013
• Coltrane
  2008
• The Jazz Style of John Coltrane: A Musical and Historical Perspective
  1999
• Coltrane Chasin' The Trane
  1976
• John Coltrane and the Jazz Revolution of the 1960's
  1998
• Coltrane: A Biography
  1988