Happy Birthday Mr. Coltrane!

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switchfootfreak

switchfootfreak

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Today is John Coltrane's Birthday, he died too young 40 is too early. So lets all respect him on his birthday today. I know sirius is playing coltrane stuff all day and playing a love supreme at 9 on sirius 72. He would be 81 today.
 
John Coltrane changed my life.

I was trying to learn jazz when I was a kid, and a great tenor player told me to get some Coltrane albums. So I went to the record store and got "Ascension." This was one of the most radical free-blowing sessions ever recorded. I was flabbergasted. I went back to my friend and told him I couldn't possibly comprehend this music. He laughed, and told me to get "Crescent."

Now, that I could understand. But the depth of the music was so profound, I realized that jazz was something that was going to take a lifetime of discipline.
That was my first exposure to Elvin, too. I spent hours in the practice room, trying to cop that four-limb independence he had.

I miss Coltrane. His legacy is incredible--one of the greatest contributions to 20th century music.
 
His stuff was so "out there" in '66, but today, you can hear his influence on the playing for advertising soundtracks.

Happy 81st!!!

jim
 
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Coltrane's music is awesome. I also love the fact that Elvin's music lives through Coltrane's music. Kinda Blue is a nice treat to listen to, also. Coltrane, and Cannonball Adderley..And Miles.. Coltrane could play Ballads.. That is an awesome album. Ballads. Elvin plays the brushes on Ballads.. Those guys were so expressive. Are they in the hall of fame? They're in MY hall of fame, that's for sure.
 
Pounder said:
Coltrane could play Ballads..


He could write them too. Naima is the most beautiful piece in my group's repertoire.

jim
 
Evidently Coltrane heard a Love Supreme while suffering thru cold turkey from heroin addiction. He stayed clean till the end and believed the music he composed from that point on was divinely inspired.This seems to be a common thread among great musicians throughout history. Truly a humble man of profound vision. BennyK.
 
gryphon said:
Pounder said:
Coltrane could play Ballads..


He could write them too. Naima is the most beautiful piece in my group's repertoire.

jim
I love that tune..
 
gryphon said:
Pounder said:
Coltrane could play Ballads..


He could write them too. Naima is the most beautiful piece in my group's repertoire.

jim

Art Taylor played on the recorded track but Elvin did so much more with it

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=q6WwuxqXPOg

Either way I LOVE IT
 
Last edited by a moderator:
BennyK said:
Evidently Coltrane heard a Love Supreme while suffering thru cold turkey from heroin addiction. He stayed clean till the end and believed the music he composed from that point on was divinely inspired.This seems to be a common thread among great musicians throughout history. Truly a humble man of profound vision. BennyK.


You're confusing a couple of stories. Trane kicked heroin in 1957. While he did reportedly experience a religious epiphany of some sort at that time and "devote his life to God," A Love Supreme was not recorded until December 1964.

Legend has it that Trane went up into the attic and didn't come out for two or three days. When he emerged, he had the completed piece written.
 
If I only had one album to take to a desert island, it would be John Coltrane's Africa Brass. (If I was allowed a box set, it would be the Village Vanguard Coltrane from that same era...)
 
rondrums51 said:
John Coltrane changed my life.


Me, too. I got to Coltrane by way of southern rock. Then started playing in a Chicago-style blues band. So I thought my 22-year-old self knew a lot about blues. In 1980 I purchased a used copy of "John Coltrane Plays the Blues." Expecting to hear squawking, walk-the-bar tenor in the style of Illinois Jacquet, Bill Dogget, and King Curtis, I was floored to hear the blues approached in a minor key and presented as an art form. Blues to Elvin, Blues to Bechet, Mr. Day, Mr. Syms, and Mr. Knight are all variations on standard blues forms, yet very spiritual with innovative rhythmic and harmonic patterns.

I was never the same after that. I started collecting Coltrane and currently have all his major releases. I've even warmed up to the Pharaoh Sanders/Alice Coltrane/Rashied Ali lineup. "Live in Seattle" is wild but brilliant in its own way, same for "Live in Japan."

I'm not currently in a jazz group, but Elvin and Trane have made a permanent mark on my playing.

Rich K. said:
If I only had one album to take to a desert island, it would be John Coltrane's Africa Brass. (If I was allowed a box set, it would be the Village Vanguard Coltrane from that same era...)


Yes, I keep coming back to the Village Vanguard set. That was an amazing lineup, with Eric Dolphy present. And it's also so spiritual. Never tired of that one.
 
This thread shows the inspiration of Coltrane, even for drummers who don't play jazz. I saw the post from a guy who played in a southern rock/blues band, and how Coltrane affected him. Now, you're talking about crossing over the lines!

Those who don't know Coltrane, get busy and start listening. Start with "Crescent." Then you can graduate to the aforementioned Village Vanguard album, and "A Love Supreme."

Along the way, you'll definitely hear some mind-blowing Elvin stuff, too.

After that, you can work backwards through "Giant Steps," "John Coltrane Plays the Blues," and all the records with Miles.

I saw a film at an "art" theater back in the late 60's of Coltrane performing live. I don't know where the performance took place. He was blowing so hard, there was snot flying out of his nose, and it was all over his fingers, which were flying 100 mph up and down the keys on the horn. The sounds coming out of that horn were astonishing--actually scary. To top it off, he was wearing a very classy suit!
As a young, rebellious punk who was into anything avant-garde, I was totally hyped.

But it wasn't until a few years later that I began to realize how profound his music was.

In his formative years, he was accused of "running scales" when he soloed. Yes, he did a bit of that in the beginning, but then he started to vary the notes, looking for something new. He was always searching. We went with him on his journey. It was a beautiful experience.

There are several good Coltrane videos out there, including "The World According to John Coltrane," the Ralph Gleason "Jazz Casual" video--which is fantastic--and the Jazz Icons DVD of Coltrane from 60, 61, and 62--which shows Coltrane and Stan Getz playing together! Stan seems kind of intimidated by Coltrane. It's great!

My question is: What musician in the last 30 years has done what Coltrane did?
 
rondrums51 said:
My question is: What musician in the last 30 years has done what Coltrane did?


Umm, I think GG Allin blew a lot of snot too. :lol:

Just kidding. :wink:



A friend of mine was invited to Carlos Santana's house in the SF Bay area one night.
He said 'Trane's "A Love Supreme" plays softly on repeat 24/7 in the foyer entrance of the Santana home.
 
EvEnStEvEn said:
A friend of mine was invited to Carlos Santana's house in the SF Bay area one night.
He said 'Trane's "A Love Supreme" plays softly on repeat 24/7 in the foyer entrance of the Santana home.


wouldn't surprise me! They interviewed Santana when Elvin passed and he was quoted as saying (I'm paraphrasing from memory) that "the opening section of A Love Supreme is the sound of the Gates of Heaven opening. When I die if I don't hear that I'm going to turn around and go back the other way, because obviously I'm in the wrong place." I have to say, I completely agree
 
matt b said:
EvEnStEvEn said:
A friend of mine was invited to Carlos Santana's house in the SF Bay area one night.
He said 'Trane's "A Love Supreme" plays softly on repeat 24/7 in the foyer entrance of the Santana home.


wouldn't surprise me! They interviewed Santana when Elvin passed and he was quoted as saying (I'm paraphrasing from memory) that "the opening section of A Love Supreme is the sound of the Gates of Heaven opening. When I die if I don't hear that I'm going to turn around and go back the other way, because obviously I'm in the wrong place." I have to say, I completely agree

Joshua Redman said that when it's time for him to go, he hopes "A Love Supreme" is the final piece of music he's allowed to hear.
 
I first heard Trane on the Prestige album "Stardust", which had 3 other cuts: "Love Thy Neighbor", "Time After Time", and "Then I'll be Tired Of You". Later on, a double album was reissued as "The Stardust Sessions" with more great material. All this was recorded around 1956. It is kinda hard for me to hear some of his later stuff, but that's ok I guess...
 
poot said:
matt b said:
EvEnStEvEn said:
A friend of mine was invited to Carlos Santana's house in the SF Bay area one night.
He said 'Trane's "A Love Supreme" plays softly on repeat 24/7 in the foyer entrance of the Santana home.


wouldn't surprise me! They interviewed Santana when Elvin passed and he was quoted as saying (I'm paraphrasing from memory) that "the opening section of A Love Supreme is the sound of the Gates of Heaven opening. When I die if I don't hear that I'm going to turn around and go back the other way, because obviously I'm in the wrong place." I have to say, I completely agree

Joshua Redman said that when it's time for him to go, he hopes "A Love Supreme" is the final piece of music he's allowed to hear.Santana live a couple of weeks ago, he played part of Love Supreme, in a nice nod to Coltrane. What a show. A nice version of this tune may be heard on Divine Light: Reconstructions & Mix Translation--Bill Laswell. This is an excellent remix of Santana and John McLaughlin's great early 70s albums, Love Devotion Surrender, and Santana's Illuminations. Another great rendition of A Love Supreme is Branford Marsalis' Quartet DVD version featuring Jeff Tain Watts on drums.. Of Course the original recording is Off The Charts!
 
rondrums51 said:
My question is: What musician in the last 30 years has done what Coltrane did?
Click to expand...

You've hit the nail on the head with that question. That very thing is pretty hotly debated in the jazz world. In a sense, the growth and progression of jazz came to an end with Coltrane. I'm actually just finishing a book about this very thing right now, called "Coltrane: The Story of a Sound" by Ben Ratliff. He posits that the standard sound of a jazz group today is essentially that which was developed by Coltrane and his band, that everyone is standing on his shoulders. (Consider the bands of Branford Marsalis and Kenny Garrett in this light.) Obviously you have exceptions to this for groups that are chasing a specific artist or genre, but in general I think he's right. Everyone wants to have Coltrane's sound.

You ask who has done what Coltrane did. Wynton Marsalis might be the closest in terms of sheer public stature, but to many people Trane is seen as almost a deity. I don't think Wynton has quite reached those heights yet. And Wynton isn't constantly breaking barriers and searching and trying new things, like Trane did.

Toward the end of his life, in the increasingly out music he was playing, Trane started putting down his horn and playing bells and tambourines and such. When asked why, he replied that "he couldn't think of anything else to play." Essentially he felt he had exhausted the possibilities of the saxophone.

Don't think there's anyone out there today that is even coming close.
 
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