Coltrane, John
(William) (Hamlet, NC, 23 Sept 1926 - New York, 17 July 1967)
Tenor and soprano saxophonist, bandleader, and composer
He was, after Charlie Parker, the most revolutionary and
widely imitated saxophonist in jazz.
Life
Coltrane grew up in High Point,
North Carolina, where he learned to play Eb
alto horn, clarinet, and (at about the age of 15) alto saxophone. After moving
to Philadelphia he enrolled at the
Ornstein School of Music and the Granoff Studios; service in a navy band in Hawaii
(1945-6) interrupted these studies. He played alto saxophone in the bands led
by Joe Webb and King Kolax, then changed to the tenor to work with Eddie
"Cleanhead" Vinson (1947-8). He performed on either instrument as
circumstances demanded while in groups led by Jimmy Heath, Howard McGhee, Dizzy
Gillespie (with whom he made his first recording in 1949), Earl Bostic, and
lesser-known rhythm-and-blues musicians, but by the time of his membership in
Johnny Hodges's septet (1953-4) he was firmly committed to the tenor
instrument. He performed infrequently for about a year, then
leaped to fame in Miles Davis's quintet with Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and
Philly Joe Jones (1955-7). Throughout the 1950s addiction to drugs and then
alcoholism disrupted his career. Shortly after leaving Davis,
however, he overcame these problems; his album A Love Supreme celebrated this
victory and the profound religious experience associated with it.
Coltrane next played in Thelonious Monk's quartet
(July-December 1957), but owing to contractual conflicts took part in only one
early recording session of this legendary group. He rejoined Davis
and worked in various quintets and sextets with Cannonball Adderley, Bill
Evans, Chambers, Jones, and others (1958-60). While with Davis
he discovered the soprano saxophone, purchasing his own instrument in February
1960.
Having led numerous studio sessions, established a
reputation as a composer, and emerged as the leading tenor saxophonist in jazz,
Coltrane was now prepared to form his own group; it made its début at New
York's Jazz Gallery in early May 1960. After briefly
trying Steve Kuhn, Pete La Roca, and Billy Higgins, Coltrane hired two
musicians who became long-standing members of his quartet, McCoy Tyner
(1960-65) and Elvin Jones (1960-66); the third, Jimmy Garrison, joined in 1961.
With these sidemen the quartet soon acquired an international following. At
times Art Davis added a second double bass to the group; Eric Dolphy also
served as an intermittent fifth member on bass clarinet, alto saxophone, and
flute from 1961 to 1963, and Roy Haynes was the most regular replacement for
Elvin Jones during the latter's incarceration for drug addiction in 1963.
Coltrane turned to increasingly radical musical styles in
the mid-1960s. These controversial experiments attracted large audiences, and
by 1965 he was surprisingly affluent. From autumn 1965
his search for new sounds resulted in frequent changes of personnel in his
group. New members included Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane (his wife), Rashied
Ali (a second drummer until Jones's departure), several drummers as seconds to
Ali, and a number of African-influenced percussionists. In his final years and
after his death, Coltrane acquired an almost saintly reputation among listeners
and fellow musicians for his energetic and selfless support of young
avant-garde performers, his passionate religious convictions, his peaceful
demeanor, and his obsessive striving for a musical ideal. He died at the age of
40 of a liver ailment. A videotape tracing his development, The Coltrane
Legacy, produced by David Chertok and Burrill Crohn, was issued in 1987.
Barry
Kernfeld
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, © Macmillan Reference Ltd
1988