'''John William Coltrane''', also known as "'''Trane'''" (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967),<ref name=ALLMUSIC>[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-coltrane-mn0000175553 John Coltrane]. allmusic</ref> was an American [[jazz]] [[saxophonist]] and composer. Working in the [[bebop]] and [[hard bop]] idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of [[Modal jazz|modes]] in jazz and was later at the forefront of [[free jazz]]. He led at least fifty recording sessions during his career, and appeared as a sideman on many albums by other musicians, including trumpeter [[Miles Davis]] and pianist [[Thelonious Monk]].
As his career progressed, Coltrane and his music took on an increasingly spiritual dimension. Coltrane influenced innumerable musicians, and remains one of the most significant saxophonists in music history. He received many posthumous awards and recognitions, including [[canonization]] by the [[African Orthodox Church]] as '''Saint John William Coltrane''' and a special [[Pulitzer Prize]] in 2007.<ref name=pulitzer>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2007-Special-Awards-and-Citations |title=The 2007 Pulitzer Prize Winners: Special Awards and Citations |accessdate=June 29, 2009 |publisher=The Pulitzer Prizes}} With reprint of short biography.</ref> His second wife was pianist [[Alice Coltrane]] and their son, [[Ravi Coltrane]], is also a saxophonist.
==Biography==
[[File:U.S. Naval Reserve portrait of Johnny Coltrane edit.jpg|thumb|left|Coltrane's first recordings were made when he was a sailor.]]
{{Infobox saint
| name = Saint John William Coltrane
| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1926|9|23}}
| birth_place = Hamlet, North Carolina, US
| death_date = {{death date and age |1967|07|17|1926|09|23}}
| death_place = Huntington, New York, US
| venerated_in = [[African Orthodox Church]]
| patronage = All Artists
{{URL|1=http://articles.sfgate.com/1998-06-16/music/17722625_1_saint-john-coltrane-patron-saint-black-jesus|2=Information about Coltrane's canonization}}
}}
===Early life and career (1926–1954)===
Coltrane was born in his parents' apartment at 200 Hamlet Avenue, [[Hamlet, North Carolina]] on September 23, 1926.<ref>[[#DFSW|DeVito et al.]], p. 1</ref> His father was John R. Coltrane<ref>[[#DFSW|DeVito et al.]], p. 2</ref> and his mother was Alice Blair.<ref name="DeVito et al., p. 3">[[#DFSW|DeVito et al.]], p. 3</ref> He grew up in [[High Point, North Carolina]], attending [[William Penn High School (North Carolina)|William Penn High School]] (now Penn-Griffin School for the Arts).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nNZQCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT187&lpg=PT187&dq=He+grew+up+in+High+Point,+North+Carolina,+attending+William+Penn+High+School&source=bl&ots=t41UV-8B6v&sig=6IOr42LZm9WwjPxyuBPP7sbiz0E&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjsp5-GhbvRAhXI2SYKHXKFACwQ6AEIIjAB#v=onepage&q=He%20grew%20up%20in%20High%20Point,%20North%20Carolina,%20attending%20William%20Penn%20High%20School&f=false|title=The History of Jazz and the Jazz Musicians|last=Group|first=The Jazz Sipper|date=2013-03-13|publisher=Lulu Press, Inc|isbn=9781257544486|language=en}}</ref> Beginning in December 1938 Coltrane's aunt, grandparents, and father all died within a few months of one another, leaving John to be raised by his mother and a close cousin.<ref>[[#Porter|Porter]], pp. 15–17</ref> In June 1943 he moved to [[Philadelphia]].<ref name=":0" /> In September of that year his mother bought him his first saxophone, an alto.<ref name="DeVito et al., p. 3"/> Coltrane played the [[clarinet]] and the [[alto horn]] in a community band before taking up the alto saxophone during high school.<ref name=":0" /> He had his first professional gigs in early to mid-1945 – a "cocktail lounge trio," with piano and guitar.<ref>[[#DFSW|DeVito et al.]], p. 5</ref>
To avoid being drafted by the Army, Coltrane enlisted in the Navy on August 6, 1945, the day the first U.S. atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://issuu.com/styletome/docs/osm|title=Orlando Style Magazine July/August 2016 Issue|newspaper=issuu|access-date=2017-01-11}}</ref> He was trained as an apprentice seaman at Sampson Naval Training Station in upstate New York before he was shipped to Pearl Harbor,<ref name=":1" /> where he was stationed at Manana Barracks,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nE2fAAAAMAAJ&q=manana+barracks+coltrane&dq=manana+barracks+coltrane&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwijo6CzpLvRAhUGVyYKHRYRBScQ6AEIGzAA|title=John Coltrane: His Life and Music|last=Porter|first=Lewis|date=1998-01-01|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=9780472101610|language=en}}</ref> the largest posting of African-American servicemen in the world.{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}} By the time he got to Hawaii, in late 1945, the Navy was already rapidly downsizing. Coltrane's musical talent was quickly recognized, though, and he became one of the few Navy men to serve as a musician without having been granted musicians rating when he joined the Melody Masters, the base swing band.<ref name=":1" /> As the Melody Masters was an all-white band, however, Coltrane was treated merely as a guest performer to avoid alerting superior officers of his participation in the band.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K3WNFheF9ycC&pg=PT12&lpg=PT12&dq=coltrane+melody+masters&source=bl&ots=9YKE7hx4NV&sig=wfY3Vqp0w3cp8v3re5ib2gJ2ksg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi22ZqRjbvRAhVK8CYKHUp7C3oQ6AEIITAB#v=onepage&q=coltrane%20melody%20masters&f=false|title=Coltrane: The Story of a Sound|last=Ratliff|first=Ben|date=2008-10-28|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=9781429998628|language=en}}</ref> He continued to perform other duties when not playing with the band, including kitchen and security details. By the end of his service, he had assumed a leadership role in the band. His first recordings, an informal session in Hawaii with Navy musicians, occurred on July 13, 1946.<ref>[[#DFSW|DeVito et al.]], p. 367</ref> Coltrane played alto saxophone on a selection of jazz standards and bebop tunes.<ref>[[#DFSW|DeVito et al.]], pp. 367–368</ref>
After being discharged from his duties in the Navy, as a seaman first class in August 1946, Coltrane returned to Philadelphia, where he "plunged into the heady excitement of the new music and the blossoming bebop scene."<ref>Porter, Lewis. ''John Coltrane: His Life and Music'' Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1999. {{ISBN|0-472-10161-7}}</ref> After touring with [[King Kolax]], he joined a Philly-based band led by [[Jimmy Heath]], who was introduced to Coltrane's playing by his former Navy buddy, the trumpeter William Massey, who had played with Coltrane in the Melody Masters.<ref>Wilson, Joe. "Musically Speaking." ''The Mananan'' 30 Oct. 1945: 7</ref> In Philadelphia after the war, he studied jazz theory with guitarist and composer [[Dennis Sandole]] and continued under Sandole's tutelage through the early 1950s. Originally an altoist,<ref name="JWConJWC">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nNZQCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT188&lpg=PT188&dq=downbeat+%22the+first+time+I+heard+Bird+play,+it+hit+me+right+between+the+eyes.%22&source=bl&ots=t41UV-hG6z&sig=8RLGgNaF_Q88G2h7-BEOE728Ko4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjMrfm5qLvRAhUI4SYKHaEQA1MQ6AEIKjAD#v=onepage&q=downbeat%20%22the%20first%20time%20I%20heard%20Bird%20play%2C%20it%20hit%20me%20right%20between%20the%20eyes.%22&f=false |title=The History of Jazz and the Jazz Musicians - The Jazz Sipper Group |page=188 |website=Books.google.com |date=2013-03-13 |accessdate=2017-01-16}}</ref> in 1947 Coltrane also began playing tenor saxophone with the [[Eddie Vinson]] Band.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uivtCqOlpTsC&pg=PA178&lpg=PA178&dq=during+this+time+Coltrane+also+began+playing+tenor+saxophone+with+the+Eddie+Vinson+Band.+C&source=bl&ots=3dhyr6HzBn&sig=cmtc454t5GNGqc6IcDecEdrPlZ8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwid0t3ap7vRAhVBLyYKHeLgB14Q6AEIMzAD#v=onepage&q=during%20this%20time%20Coltrane%20also%20began%20playing%20tenor%20saxophone%20with%20the%20Eddie%20Vinson%20Band.%20C&f=false|title=Encyclopedia of African American History [3 volumes]|last=Alexander|first=Leslie M.|last2=Jr|first2=Walter C. Rucker|date=2010-02-09|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781851097746|language=en}}</ref> Coltrane later referred to this point in his life as a time when "a wider area of listening opened up for me. There were many things that people like [[Coleman Hawkins|Hawk [Coleman Hawkins]]], and [[Ben Webster|Ben [Webster]]] and [[Tab Smith]] were doing in the '40s that I didn't understand, but that I felt emotionally."<ref name="John Coltrane Biography">{{cite web|url=http://www.johncoltrane.com/biography.html |title=John Coltrane Biography |accessdate=June 29, 2009 |date=May 11, 2007 |publisher=The John Coltrane Foundation }}</ref> A significant influence, according to tenor saxophonist [[Odean Pope]], was the Philadelphia pianist, composer, and theorist [[Hasaan Ibn Ali]]. "Hasaan was the clue to ... the system that Trane uses. Hasaan was the great influence on Trane’s melodic concept." <ref>{{cite web |url=http://hiddencityphila.org/2013/02/there-was-no-end-to-the-music/ |title=There Was No End to the Music |last=Armstrong |first=Rob |date=February 8, 2013 |publisher=Hidden City Philadelphia |accessdate=July 12, 2015 }}</ref>
An important moment in the progression of Coltrane's musical development occurred on June 5, 1945, when he saw [[Charlie Parker]] perform for the first time.<ref name=":0" /> In a ''DownBeat'' article in 1960 he recalled: "the first time I heard Bird play, it hit me right between the eyes."<ref name=":0" /> Parker became an early idol, and they played together on occasion in the late 1940s.<ref name=":0" />
Contemporary correspondence shows that Coltrane was already known as "Trane" by this point, and that the music from some 1946 recording sessions had been played for trumpeter Miles Davis—possibly impressing him.<ref name=":0" />
Coltrane was a member of groups led by [[Dizzy Gillespie]], [[Earl Bostic]] and [[Johnny Hodges]] in the early to mid-1950s.<ref name=":0" />
===Miles and Monk period (1955–1957)===
[[File:Miles Davis by Palumbo.jpg|thumb|[[Miles Davis]]. The rivalry, tension, and mutual respect between Coltrane and Davis was formative for both men's careers.]]
In the summer of 1955, Coltrane was freelancing in Philadelphia while studying with guitarist [[Dennis Sandole]] when he received a call from Davis. The trumpeter, whose success during the late forties had been followed by several years of decline in activity and reputation, due in part to his struggles with [[heroin]], was again active and about to form a quintet. Coltrane was with this edition of the Davis band (known as the "First Great Quintet"—along with [[Red Garland]] on piano, [[Paul Chambers]] on bass, and [[Philly Joe Jones]] on drums) from October 1955 to April 1957 (with a few absences). During this period Davis released several influential recordings that revealed the first signs of Coltrane's growing ability. This quintet, represented by two marathon recording sessions for [[Prestige Records|Prestige]] in 1956, resulted in the albums ''[[Cookin' with The Miles Davis Quintet|Cookin,'<nowiki/>]]'' ''[[Relaxin' with The Miles Davis Quintet|Relaxin'<nowiki/>]]'', ''[[Workin' with The Miles Davis Quintet|Workin']]'', and ''[[Steamin' with The Miles Davis Quintet|Steamin']]''. The "First Great Quintet" disbanded due in part to Coltrane's heroin addiction.<ref name=":0" />
During the later part of 1957 Coltrane worked with [[Thelonious Monk]] at New York’s [[Five Spot Café]], and played in Monk's quartet (July–December 1957), but, owing to contractual conflicts, took part in only one official studio recording session with this group. Coltrane recorded many albums for Prestige under his own name at this time, but Monk refused to record for his old label.{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}} A private recording made by Juanita Naima Coltrane of a 1958 reunion of the group was issued by Blue Note Records as ''Live at the Five Spot—Discovery!'' in 1993. A high quality tape of a concert given by this quartet in November 1957 was also found later, and was released by Blue Note in 2005. Recorded by [[Voice of America]], the performances confirm the group's reputation, and the resulting album, ''[[Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall]]'', is widely acclaimed.<ref name=":0" />
''[[Blue Train (album)|Blue Train]]'', Coltrane's sole date as leader for Blue Note, featuring trumpeter [[Lee Morgan]], bassist [[Paul Chambers]], and trombonist [[Curtis Fuller]], is often considered his best album from this period. Four of its five tracks are original Coltrane compositions, and the title track, "Moment's Notice", and "[[Lazy Bird]]", have become standards. Both tunes employed the first examples of his chord substitution cycles known as [[Coltrane changes]].<ref name=":0" />
===Davis and Coltrane===
Coltrane rejoined Davis in January 1958. In October of that year, jazz critic [[Ira Gitler]] coined the term "[[sheets of sound]]" to describe the style Coltrane developed with Monk and was perfecting in Davis's group, now a sextet. His playing was compressed, with rapid runs cascading in hundreds of notes per minute. He stayed with Davis until April 1960, working with alto saxophonist [[Cannonball Adderley]]; pianists [[Red Garland]], [[Bill Evans]], and [[Wynton Kelly]]; bassist [[Paul Chambers]]; and drummers [[Philly Joe Jones]] and [[Jimmy Cobb]]. During this time he participated in the Davis sessions ''[[Milestones (Miles Davis album)|Milestones]]'' and ''[[Kind of Blue]]'', and the concert recordings ''[[Miles & Monk at Newport]]'' (1963) and ''[[Jazz at the Plaza Vol. I|Jazz at the Plaza]] (1958)''.<ref name=":0" />
===Period with Atlantic Records (1959–1961)===
At the end of this period Coltrane recorded his first album as leader for [[Atlantic Records]], ''[[Giant Steps]]'' (1959), which contained only his compositions. The album's title track is generally considered to have one of the most difficult chord progressions of any widely played jazz composition. ''Giant Steps'' utilizes [[Coltrane changes]]. His development of these altered chord progression cycles led to further experimentation with improvised melody and harmony that he continued throughout his career.<ref name=":0" />
|description = One of Coltrane's most acclaimed recordings, "Giant Steps" features harmonic structures more complex than were used by most musicians of the time.
}}
|}
Coltrane formed his first quartet for live performances in 1960 for an appearance at the Jazz Gallery in New York City. After moving through different personnel including [[Steve Kuhn]], [[Pete La Roca]], and [[Billy Higgins]], the lineup stabilized in the fall with pianist [[McCoy Tyner]], bassist [[Steve Davis (bassist)|Steve Davis]], and drummer [[Elvin Jones]]. Tyner, from Philadelphia, had been a friend of Coltrane's for some years and the two men had an understanding that the pianist would join Coltrane when Tyner felt ready for the exposure of regularly working with him. Also recorded in the same sessions{{clarify|date=October 2013}} were the later released albums ''[[Coltrane's Sound]]'' (1964) and ''[[Coltrane Plays the Blues]] (1962)''.<ref name=":0" />
Coltrane's first record with his new group was also his debut playing the [[soprano saxophone]], the hugely successful ''[[My Favorite Things (album)|My Favorite Things]]'' (1961). Around the end of his tenure with Davis, Coltrane had begun playing soprano, an unconventional move considering the instrument's neglect in jazz at the time. His interest in the straight saxophone most likely arose from his admiration for [[Sidney Bechet]] and the work of his contemporary, [[Steve Lacy]], even though Davis claimed to have given Coltrane his first soprano saxophone. The new soprano sound was coupled with further exploration. For example, on the Gershwin tune "But Not for Me", Coltrane employs the kinds of restless harmonic movement used on ''Giant Steps'' (movement in [[major third]]s rather than conventional [[perfect fourth]]s) over the A sections instead of a conventional [[Turnaround (music)|turnaround]] progression. Several other tracks recorded in the session utilized this harmonic device, including "[[26-2]]", "Satellite", "[[Body and Soul (song)|Body and Soul]]", and "[[The Night Has a Thousand Eyes (jazz standard)|The Night Has a Thousand Eyes]]".<ref name=":0" />
===First years with Impulse Records (1961–1962)===
In May 1961, Coltrane's contract with Atlantic was bought out by the newly formed [[Impulse! Records]] label.<ref>{{cite book|title=Coltrane: The Story of a Sound|first=Ben|publisher=Farrar, Straus & Giroux|year=2007|isbn=0-374-12606-2|location=New York|author-link=Ben Ratliff|author=Ratliff}}</ref> An advantage to Coltrane recording with Impulse! was that it would enable him to work again with engineer [[Rudy Van Gelder]], who had taped both his and Davis' Prestige sessions, as well as ''Blue Train''. It was at Van Gelder's new studio in [[Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey]] that Coltrane would record most of his records for the label.
By early 1961, bassist Davis had been replaced by [[Reggie Workman]], while [[Eric Dolphy]] joined the group as a second horn around the same time. The quintet had a celebrated (and extensively recorded) residency in November 1961 at the [[Village Vanguard]], which demonstrated Coltrane's new direction. It featured the most experimental music he had played up to this point, influenced by [[Music of India|Indian]] [[ragas]], the recent developments in [[modal jazz]], and the burgeoning [[free jazz]] movement. [[John Gilmore (musician)|John Gilmore]], a longtime saxophonist with musician [[Sun Ra]], was particularly influential; after hearing a Gilmore performance, Coltrane is reported to have said "He's got it! Gilmore's got the concept!"<ref>{{cite journal | last=Corbett | first=John | title=John Gilmore: The Hard Bop Homepage | work=[[Down Beat]]}}</ref> The most celebrated of the Vanguard tunes, the 15-minute blues, "Chasin' the 'Trane", was strongly inspired by Gilmore's music.<ref name="kofsky">{{cite book | first=Frank | last=Kofsky | title=Black Nationalism and the Revolution in Music: John Coltrane: An Interview | publisher=Pathfinder Press | year=1970 | page=235}}</ref>
During this period, critics were fiercely divided in their estimation of Coltrane, who had radically altered his style. Audiences, too, were perplexed; in France he was booed during his final tour with Davis. In 1961, ''[[Down Beat]]'' magazine indicted Coltrane and Dolphy as players of "Anti-Jazz", in an article that bewildered and upset the musicians.<ref name="kofsky" /> Coltrane admitted some of his early solos were based mostly on technical ideas. Furthermore, Dolphy's angular, voice-like playing earned him a reputation as a figurehead of the "New Thing" (also known as "Free Jazz" and "Avant-Garde") movement led by [[Ornette Coleman]], which was also denigrated by some jazz musicians (including Davis) and critics. But as Coltrane's style further developed, he was determined to make each performance "a whole expression of one's being".<ref>[[#Nisenson|Nisenson]], p. 179</ref>
===Classic Quartet period (1962–1965)===
{{Listen|pos = right
|filename = In a Sentimental Mood sample.ogg
|title = 'In a Sentimental Mood'
|description = The romantic ballad features Coltrane with pianist Duke Ellington.
}}
In 1962, Dolphy departed and [[Jimmy Garrison]] replaced Workman as bassist. From then on, the "Classic Quartet", as it came to be known, with Tyner, Garrison, and Jones, produced searching, spiritually driven work. Coltrane was moving toward a more harmonically static style that allowed him to expand his improvisations rhythmically, melodically, and motivically. Harmonically complex music was still present, but on stage Coltrane heavily favored continually reworking his "standards": "Impressions", "My Favorite Things", and "I Want to Talk About You".
The criticism of the quintet with Dolphy may have affected Coltrane. In contrast to the radicalism of his 1961 recordings at the Village Vanguard, his studio albums in the following two years (with the exception of ''[[Coltrane (1962 album)|Coltrane]]'', 1962, which featured a blistering version of [[Harold Arlen]]'s "Out of This World") were much more conservative. He recorded an album of ballads and participated in collaborations with [[Duke Ellington]] on the album ''[[Duke Ellington and John Coltrane]]'' and with deep-voiced ballad singer [[Johnny Hartman]] on an [[John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman|eponymous co-credited]] album. The album ''[[Ballads (John Coltrane album)|Ballads]]'' (recorded 1961–62) is emblematic of Coltrane's versatility, as the quartet shed new light on old-fashioned standards such as "It's Easy to Remember". Despite a more polished approach in the studio, in concert the quartet continued to balance "standards" and its own more exploratory and challenging music, as can be heard on the ''[[Impressions (John Coltrane album)|Impressions]]'' (recorded 1961–63), ''[[Live at Birdland (1964 John Coltrane album)|Live at Birdland]]'' and ''[[Newport '63]]'' (both recorded 1963). ''Impressions'' consists of two extended jams including the title track along with "Dear Old Stockholm", "After the Rain" and a blues. Coltrane later said he enjoyed having a "balanced catalogue."{{citation needed|date=October 2013}}
The Classic Quartet produced their best-selling album, ''[[A Love Supreme]]'', in December 1964. A culmination of much of Coltrane's work up to this point, this four-part suite is an ode to his faith in and love for God. These spiritual concerns characterized much of Coltrane's composing and playing from this point onwards—as can be seen from album titles such as ''Ascension'', ''Om'' and ''Meditations''. The fourth movement of ''A Love Supreme'', "Psalm", is, in fact, a musical setting for an original poem to God written by Coltrane, and printed in the album's liner notes. Coltrane plays almost exactly one note for each syllable of the poem, and bases his phrasing on the words. The album was composed at [[John Coltrane Home|Coltrane's home]] in [[Dix Hills, New York|Dix Hills]] on Long Island.
The quartet played ''A Love Supreme'' live only once—in July 1965 at a concert in [[Antibes]], France.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}}
===Avant-garde jazz and the second quartet (1965–1967)===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2013}}
[[File:PharoahSanders.jpg|thumb|left|As Coltrane's interest in jazz became increasingly experimental, he added Pharoah Sanders to his ensemble.]]
In his late period, Coltrane showed an increasing interest in [[avant-garde jazz]], purveyed by Ornette Coleman, [[Albert Ayler]], Sun Ra and others. In developing his late style, Coltrane was especially influenced by the dissonance of Ayler's trio with bassist [[Gary Peacock]], who had also worked with [[Paul Bley]], and drummer [[Sunny Murray]], whose playing was honed with [[Cecil Taylor]] as leader. Coltrane championed many younger free jazz musicians such as [[Archie Shepp]], and under his influence Impulse! became a leading free jazz record label.
After ''A Love Supreme'' was recorded, Ayler's style became more prominent in Coltrane's music. A series of recordings with the Classic Quartet in the first half of 1965 show Coltrane's playing becoming increasingly abstract, with greater incorporation of devices like [[multiphonics]], utilization of overtones, and playing in the [[altissimo]] register, as well as a mutated return of Coltrane's sheets of sound. In the studio, he all but abandoned his soprano to concentrate on the tenor saxophone. In addition, the quartet responded to the leader by playing with increasing freedom. The group's evolution can be traced through the recordings ''[[The John Coltrane Quartet Plays]]'', ''[[Living Space (album)|Living Space]]'', ''[[Transition (John Coltrane album)|Transition]]'', ''[[New Thing at Newport]]'', ''[[Sun Ship]]'', and ''[[First Meditations]]''.
In June 1965, he went into Van Gelder's studio with ten other musicians (including Shepp, [[Pharoah Sanders]], [[Freddie Hubbard]], [[Marion Brown]], and [[John Tchicai]]) to record ''[[Ascension (John Coltrane album)|Ascension]]'', a 40-minute piece that included solos by the young avant-garde musicians (as well as Coltrane), and was controversial primarily for the collective improvisation sections that separated the solos. After recording with the quartet over the next few months, Coltrane invited Sanders to join the band in September 1965. While Coltrane frequently used over-blowing as an emotional exclamation-point, Sanders would overblow entire solos, resulting in a constant screaming and screeching in the [[altissimo]] range of the instrument.
===Adding to the quartet===
[[File:Rashied Ali.jpg|thumb|Percussionist Rashied Ali helped to augment Coltrane's sound in the last years of his life.]]
By late 1965, Coltrane was regularly augmenting his group with Sanders and other free jazz musicians. [[Rashied Ali]] joined the group as a second drummer. This was the end of the quartet; claiming he was unable to hear himself over the two drummers, Tyner left the band shortly after the recording of ''[[Meditations (John Coltrane album)|Meditations]]''. Jones left in early 1966, dissatisfied by sharing drumming duties with Ali. Both Tyner and Jones subsequently expressed displeasure in interviews, after Coltrane's death, with the music's new direction, while incorporating some of the free-jazz form's intensity into their own solo projects.
There is speculation that in 1965 Coltrane began using [[Lysergic acid diethylamide|LSD]],<ref>[[#Porter|Porter]], pp. 265–266.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=John Coltrane: Divine Wind|journal=The Wire|date=January 30, 2008|first=Howard|last=Mandel|issue=221|url=http://www.thewire.co.uk/articles/539/?pageno=5|accessdate=June 29, 2009|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929010714/http://www.thewire.co.uk/articles/539/?pageno=5|archivedate=September 29, 2009|df=mdy-all}}</ref> informing the "cosmic" transcendence of his late period. After the departure of Jones and Tyner, Coltrane led a quintet with Sanders on tenor saxophone, his second wife [[Alice Coltrane]] on piano, Garrison on bass, and Ali on drums. Coltrane and Sanders were described by [[Nat Hentoff]] as "[[glossolalia|speaking in tongues]]". When touring, the group was known for playing very lengthy versions of their repertoire, many stretching beyond 30 minutes and sometimes being an hour long. Concert solos for band members often extended beyond fifteen minutes.
The group can be heard on several concert recordings from 1966, including ''[[Live at the Village Vanguard Again!]]'' and ''[[Live in Japan (John Coltrane album)|Live in Japan]]''. In 1967, Coltrane entered the studio several times; though pieces with Sanders have surfaced (the unusual "To Be", which features both men on flutes), most of the recordings were either with the quartet minus Sanders (''[[Expression (album)|Expression]]'' and ''[[Stellar Regions]]'') or as a duo with Ali. The latter duo produced six performances that appear on the album ''[[Interstellar Space]]''.
===Death and funeral===
Coltrane died of [[Hepatocellular carcinoma|liver cancer]] at [[North Shore LIJ Health System#Hospitals|Huntington Hospital]] on [[Long Island]] on July 17, 1967, at the age of 40. His funeral was held four days later at [[St. Peter's Lutheran Church (New York City)|St. Peter's Lutheran Church]] in [[New York City]]. The service was opened by the Albert Ayler Quartet and closed by the Ornette Coleman Quartet. Coltrane is buried at Pinelawn Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.
One of his biographers, [[Lewis Porter]], has suggested that the cause of Coltrane's illness was [[hepatitis]], although he also attributed the disease to Coltrane's heroin use.<ref>[[#Porter|Porter]], p. 292</ref> In a 1968 interview, Ayler claimed that Coltrane was consulting a [[Hindu]] meditative healer for his illness instead of Western medicine, although Alice Coltrane later denied it.{{Citation needed|date=October 2014}}
Coltrane's death surprised many in the musical community who were not aware of his condition. Davis said that "Coltrane's death shocked everyone, took everyone by surprise. I knew he hadn't looked too good... But I didn't know he was that sick—or even sick at all."<ref>[[#Porter|Porter]], p. 290</ref>
==Personal life and religious beliefs==
In 1955, Coltrane married Naima (née Juanita Grubbs). Naima Coltrane, who was already a Muslim convert, heavily influenced his spirituality. When they married, Naima had a five-year-old daughter named Antonia, later named Saeeda. Coltrane adopted Saeeda. Coltrane met Naima at the home of bassist Steve Davis in Philadelphia. The love ballad he wrote to honor his wife, "Naima," was Coltrane's favorite composition. In 1956 the couple left Philadelphia with their six-year-old daughter in tow and moved to New York City. In August 1957, Coltrane, Naima and Saeeda moved into an apartment on 103rd St. and Amsterdam Ave. in New York. A few years later, John and Naima Coltrane purchased a home at 116-60 Mexico Street in [[St. Albans]], Queens.<ref>{{cite web|author=Porter, Lewis; DeVito, Chris; Wild, David; Fujioka, Yasuhiro; and Shmaler, Wolf|date=2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IvlVu9XCoxUC&pg=PA323&lpg=PA323&dq=john+coltrane+st.+albans+mexico&source=bl&ots=t1EL2qtAM1&sig=lL-VhTdyBj0zSYcAIeuA5wB9HGM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjQ3qLqiO_YAhUEQ60KHYRFCo8Q6AEIQzAF#v=onepage&q=john%20coltrane%20st.%20albans%20mexico&f=false|title=The John Coltrane Reference|publisher=Routledge|accessdate=2018-01-23|page=323}}</ref> This is the house where they would eventually break up in 1963.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jazzwax.com/2009/06/john-coltrane-naima.html |title=John Coltrane: Naima |website=JazzWax.com |date=2009-06-15 |accessdate=2017-01-16}}</ref> About the break up, Naima said in J.C. Thomas's ''Chasin' the Trane'': "I could feel it was going to happen sooner or later, so I wasn't really surprised when John moved out of the house in the summer of 1963. He didn't offer any explanation. He just told me there were things he had to do, and he left only with his clothes and his horns. He stayed in a hotel sometimes, other times with his mother in Philadelphia. All he said was, 'Naima, I'm going to make a change.' Even though I could feel it coming, it hurt, and I didn't get over it for at least another year." But Coltrane kept a close relationship with Naima, even calling her in 1964 to tell her that 90% of his playing would be prayer. Coltrane would be dead in four years, but he always kept in touch with her. Naima brought serenity and a calmness into his life. All who knew Naima described her gentle spirit and serenity. They remained in touch until his death in 1967. Naima Coltrane died of a heart attack in October 1996.
[[File:Alice Coltrane.jpg|thumb|Coltrane's second wife, Alice, performed with him and also challenged his spiritual beliefs<ref>Jenkins, Todd S. (2004). "[https://books.google.com/books?id=uYzb_q_xKDgC&lpg=PR1&pg=PR56#v=onepage&q&f=false The Path to Freedom]". ''Free Jazz and Free Improvisation: An Encyclopedia''. Vol. 2. Greenwood Publishing Group. {{ISBN|0313333149}}.</ref>]]
Coltrane and Naima were officially divorced in 1966. In 1963, Coltrane met pianist [[Alice Coltrane|Alice McLeod]].<ref name="Lavezzoli281">[[#Lavezzoli|Lavezzoli]], p. 281</ref> He and Alice moved in together and had two sons before he was "officially divorced from Naima in 1966, at which time John and Alice were immediately married."<ref name="Lavezzoli286"/> John Jr. was born in 1964, Ravi in 1965, and Oranyan ("Oran") in 1967.<ref name="Lavezzoli286"/> According to the musician and author Peter Lavezzoli, "Alice brought happiness and stability to John's life, not only because they had children, but also because they shared many of the same [[Spirituality|spiritual]] beliefs, particularly a mutual interest in [[Indian philosophy]]. Alice also understood what it was like to be a professional musician."<ref name="Lavezzoli286"/>
Coltrane was born and raised in a Christian home, and was influenced by religion and spirituality from childhood. His maternal grandfather, the Reverend William Blair, was a minister at an [[African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church]]<ref name="Porter5-6">[[#Porter|Porter]], pp. 5–6</ref><ref>[[#Lavezzoli|Lavezzoli]], p. 270</ref> in [[High Point, North Carolina]], and his paternal grandfather, the Reverend William H. Coltrane, was an A.M.E. Zion minister in [[Hamlet, North Carolina]].<ref name="Porter5-6"/> Critic Norman Weinstein noted the parallel between Coltrane's music and his experience in the southern church,<ref>Weinstein, Norman C. (1993) ''A Night in Tunisia: Imaginings of Africa in Jazz'', Hal Leonard Corporation, p. 61, {{ISBN|0-87910-167-9}}</ref> which included practicing music there as a youth.
In 1957, Coltrane had a religious experience that may have helped him overcome the heroin addiction<ref>[[#Porter|Porter]], p. 61</ref><ref name="Lavezzoli271">[[#Lavezzoli|Lavezzoli]], p. 271</ref> and alcoholism<ref name="Lavezzoli271"/> he had struggled with since 1948.<ref>[[#Lavezzoli|Lavezzoli]], pp. 272–273</ref> In the liner notes of ''A Love Supreme'', Coltrane states that, in 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." The liner notes appear to mention God in a [[Universalism|Universalist]] sense, and do not advocate one religion over another.<ref>[http://www.jindustry.com/xtra/coltrane/html/saintjohn.html John Coltrane's liner notes to ''A Love Supreme'', December 1964] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608155911/http://www.jindustry.com/xtra/coltrane/html/saintjohn.html |date=June 8, 2011 }}</ref> Further evidence of this universal view regarding spirituality can be found in the liner notes of ''Meditations'' (1965), in which Coltrane declares, "I believe in all religions."<ref name="Lavezzoli286">[[#Lavezzoli|Lavezzoli]], p. 286</ref>
After ''A Love Supreme'', many of the titles of Coltrane's songs and albums were linked to spiritual matters: ''Ascension'', ''Meditations'', ''Om'', ''Selflessness'', "Amen", "Ascent", "Attaining", "Dear Lord", "Prayer and Meditation Suite", and "The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost".<ref name="Lavezzoli286"/> Coltrane's collection of books included ''[[The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna]]'', the [[Bhagavad Gita]], and [[Paramahansa Yogananda]]'s ''[[Autobiography of a Yogi]]''. The last of these describes, in Lavezzoli's words, a "search for universal truth, a journey that Coltrane had also undertaken. Yogananda believed that both Eastern and Western spiritual paths were efficacious, and wrote of the similarities between [[Krishna]] and Christ. This openness to different traditions resonated with Coltrane, who studied the [[Qur'an]], the [[Bible]], [[Kabbalah]], and [[astrology]] with equal sincerity."<ref>[[#Lavezzoli|Lavezzoli]], pp. 280–281</ref> He also explored [[Hinduism]], [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]], [[African history]], the philosophical teachings of [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]],<ref>{{cite web | title = John Coltrane, "A Love Supreme" and GOD | author = Emmett G. Price III | url = http://www.allaboutjazz.com/coltrane/article_003.htm | publisher = allaboutjazz.com | accessdate = October 9, 2008 | deadurl = yes | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090103101749/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/coltrane/article_003.htm | archivedate = January 3, 2009 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> and [[Zen Buddhism]].<ref>[[#Lavezzoli|Lavezzoli]], pp. 286–287</ref>
In October 1965, Coltrane recorded ''[[Om (John Coltrane album)|Om]]'', referring to the [[Om|sacred syllable in Hinduism]], which symbolizes the infinite or the entire Universe. Coltrane described ''Om'' as the "first syllable, the primal word, the word of power".<ref>[[#Porter|Porter]], p. 265</ref> The 29-minute recording contains chants from the Hindu ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]''<ref>[[#Lavezzoli|Lavezzoli]], p. 285: "Coltrane and one or two other musicians begin and end the piece by chanting in unison a verse from chapter nine ("The Yoga of Mysticism") of the ''Bhagavad Gita'': Rites that the [[Vedas]] ordain, and the rituals taught by the scriptures: all these I am, and the offering made to the ghosts of the fathers, herbs of healing and food, the [[mantra]]m, the clarified butter. I the [[oblation]], and I the flame into which it is offered. I am the sire of the world, and this world's mother and grandsire. I am he who awards to each the fruit of his action. I make all things clean. I am ''[[Om]]!''"</ref> and the Buddhist ''[[Tibetan Book of the Dead]]'',<ref>[[#Nisenson|Nisenson]], p. 183</ref> and a recitation of a passage describing the primal verbalization "om" as a cosmic/spiritual common denominator in all things.
Coltrane's spiritual journey was interwoven with his investigation of [[world music]]. He believed in not only a [[Musica universalis|universal musical structure]] that transcended ethnic distinctions, but also being able to harness the mystical [[Musical language|language]] of music itself. Coltrane's study of [[Music of India|Indian music]] led him to believe that [[Mantra|certain sounds]] and scales could "produce specific emotional [[Bīja|meanings]]." According to Coltrane, the goal of a musician was to understand these forces, control them, and elicit a response from the audience. 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."<ref>[[#Porter|Porter]], p. 211</ref>
==Religious figure==
[[File:JohnColtraneWiki.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Coltrane icon at St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church]]
After Coltrane's death, a congregation called the Yardbird Temple in [[San Francisco]] began worshiping him as God incarnate.<ref name="NYT" /> The group was named after [[Charlie Parker]], whom they equated to [[John the Baptist]].<ref name="NYT"/> The congregation later became affiliated with the [[African Orthodox Church]]; this involved changing Coltrane's status from a god to a saint.<ref name="NYT"/> The resultant St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church, San Francisco, is the only African Orthodox church that incorporates Coltrane's music and his lyrics as prayers in its liturgy.<ref>[http://elvispelvis.com/jazzchurch.htm Article "The Jazz Church"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060812213403/http://elvispelvis.com/jazzchurch.htm |date=August 12, 2006 }} by Gordon Polatnick at www.elvispelvis.com</ref>
Samuel G. Freedman wrote in a ''New York Times'' article that "the Coltrane church is not a gimmick or a forced alloy of nightclub music and ethereal faith. Its message of deliverance through divine sound is actually quite consistent with Coltrane's own experience and message."<ref name="NYT" /> Freedman also commented on Coltrane's place in the canon of American music:
<blockquote>In both implicit and explicit ways, Coltrane also functioned as a religious figure. Addicted to heroin in the 1950s, he quit cold turkey, and later explained that he had heard the voice of God during his anguishing withdrawal. [...] In 1966, an interviewer in Japan asked Coltrane what he hoped to be in five years, and Coltrane replied, "A saint."<ref name="NYT">Samuel G. Freedman (December 1, 2007) [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/01/us/01religion.html "Sunday Religion, Inspired by Saturday Nights"], ''New York Times''.</ref></blockquote>
Coltrane is depicted as one of the 90 saints in the Dancing Saints icon of St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. The icon is a {{convert|3000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} painting in the Byzantine iconographic style that wraps around the entire church rotunda. It was executed by Mark Dukes, an ordained deacon at the Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church, who painted other icons of Coltrane for the Coltrane Church.<ref>[http://www.saintgregorys.org/worship/art_section/243/ The Dancing Saints] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218030246/http://www.saintgregorys.org/worship/art_section/243 |date=December 18, 2010 }}. Saint Gregory's of Nyssa Episcopal Church</ref> Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church in [[Newark, New Jersey]], included Coltrane on their list of historical black saints and made a "case for sainthood" for him in an article on their former website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forministry.com/USNJECUSASBECS/SaintJohnColtrane.dsp|title="John Coltrane The Case for Sainthood"|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510123849/http://www.forministry.com/USNJECUSASBECS/SaintJohnColtrane.dsp|archivedate=May 10, 2009|deadurl=bot: unknown|accessdate=2011-04-03|df=}}. St. Barnabas Episcopal Church website.<!--Archive from 2009 of now-deleted website.--></ref>
Documentaries on Coltrane and the church include [[Alan Klingenstein]]'s ''[[The Church of Saint Coltrane (1996)|The Church of Saint Coltrane]]'' (1996),<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/436615/The-Church-of-Saint-Coltrane/overview|title=The Church of Saint Coltrane (1996)|work=The New York Times|accessdate=2012-04-16}}</ref><ref name=huffpost>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-klingenstein |title=Alan Klingenstein |work=Huffington Post |date=2008-02-05 |accessdate=2012-04-16 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222203656/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-klingenstein/ |archivedate=December 22, 2015 }}</ref> and a 2004 program presented by [[Alan Yentob]] for the [[BBC]].<ref>[http://www.diverse.tv/programme.aspx?id=67 2004 BBC documentary] on the [[Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church]] at www.diverse.tv</ref>
==Instruments==
In 1947, when he joined [[King Kolax]]'s band, Coltrane switched to tenor saxophone, the instrument he became known for playing primarily.<ref name="ALLMUSIC" /> Coltrane's preference for playing melody higher on the range of the tenor saxophone (as compared to, for example, Coleman Hawkins or [[Lester Young]]) is attributed to his start and training on the alto horn and clarinet; his "sound concept" (manipulated in one's vocal tract—tongue, throat) of the tenor was set higher than the normal range of the instrument.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3324621/Secret-of-John-Coltranes-high-notes-revealed.html "Secret of John Coltrane's high notes revealed"], [[Roger Highfield]], ''The Telegraph'', Sunday June 12, 2011</ref>
In the early 1960s, during his engagement with Atlantic Records, he increasingly played soprano saxophone as well.<ref name="ALLMUSIC" /> Toward the end of his career, he experimented with flute in his live performances and studio recordings (''[[Live at the Village Vanguard Again!]]'', ''[[Expression (album)|Expression]]''). After Dolphy died in June 1964, his mother is reported to have given Coltrane his flute and bass clarinet.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Cole
| first = Bill
| authorlink = Bill Cole (musician)
| title = John Coltrane
| location = New York
| year = 2001
| isbn = 030681062X|page=158
}}</ref>
Coltrane's tenor ([[Selmer Mark VI]], serial number 125571, dated 1965) and soprano (Selmer Mark VI, serial number 99626, dated 1962) saxophones were auctioned on February 20, 2005 to raise money for the John Coltrane Foundation. The soprano raised $70,800 but the tenor remained unsold.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://drrick.com/trane/trane.htm|publisher=drrick.com|title=John Coltrane's Saxophones/ Benefit Auction /see description below|accessdate=April 7, 2011}}</ref>
==Legacy==
[[File:ColtraneH.jpg|thumb|220px|John Coltrane House, 1511 North Thirty-third Street, Philadelphia]]
The influence Coltrane has had on music spans many genres and musicians. Coltrane's massive influence on jazz, both mainstream and avant-garde, began during his lifetime and continued to grow after his death. He is one of the most dominant influences on post-1960 jazz saxophonists and has inspired an entire generation of jazz musicians.
In 1965, Coltrane was inducted into the ''Down Beat'' [[Down Beat|Jazz Hall of Fame]]. In 1972, ''A Love Supreme'' was certified gold by the RIAA for selling over half a million copies in Japan. This album, as well as ''My Favorite Things'', was certified gold in the United States in 2001. In 1982 he was awarded a posthumous Grammy for "Best Jazz Solo Performance" on the album ''[[Bye Bye Blackbird (John Coltrane album)|Bye Bye Blackbird]]'', and in 1997 he was awarded the [[Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award]].<ref name="John Coltrane Biography"/> In 2002, scholar [[Molefi Kete Asante]] named Coltrane one of his [[100 Greatest African Americans]].<ref>Asante, Molefi Kete (2002). ''100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Amherst, New York. Prometheus Books. {{ISBN|1-57392-963-8}}.</ref> Coltrane was awarded a [[Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards|special Pulitzer Prize]] in 2007 citing his "masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz."<ref name=pulitzer/> He was inducted into the [[North Carolina Music Hall of Fame]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=2009 Inductees|url=http://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org/category/inductees/2009-inductees/|publisher=North Carolina Music Hall of Fame|accessdate=September 10, 2012}}</ref>
His widow, Alice Coltrane, after several decades of seclusion, briefly regained a public profile before her death in 2007. A former home, the [[John Coltrane House]] in Philadelphia, was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1999. His last home, the [[John Coltrane Home]] in the [[Dix Hills]] district of [[Huntington, New York|Huntington]], New York, where he resided from 1964 until his death, was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on June 29, 2007. One of their sons, [[Ravi Coltrane]], named after the sitarist [[Ravi Shankar]], is also a saxophonist.
The Coltrane family reportedly possesses much more unreleased music, mostly mono reference tapes made for the saxophonist, and, as with the 1995 release ''Stellar Regions'', master tapes that were checked out of the studio and never returned.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}} The parent company of Impulse!, from 1965 to 1979 known as [[ABC Records]], purged much of its unreleased material in the 1970s.<ref>[http://www.bsnpubs.com/abc/abcstory.html "ABC-Paramount Records Story"], by David Edwards, Patrice Eyries, and Mike Callahan, ''Both Sides Now'' website, retrieved January 29, 2007.</ref> Lewis Porter has stated that Alice Coltrane intended to release this music, but over a long period of time; Ravi Coltrane is responsible for reviewing the material.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}
''Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary'', is a 2016 American film directed by John Scheinfeld. Narrated by [[Denzel Washington]], the film chronicles the life of Coltrane in his own words, and includes interviews with such admirers as [[Wynton Marsalis]], [[Sonny Rollins]], [[Bill Clinton]], and [[Cornel West]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/festivals/john-coltrane-documentary-chasing-trane-release-date-1202010181/ |title=John Coltrane Documentary 'Chasing Trane' Gets Release Date |first=Dave |last=McNary |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=March 16, 2017 |issn=0042-2738}}</ref>
==Discography==
{{Main|John Coltrane discography}}
The discography below lists albums conceived and approved by Coltrane as a leader during his lifetime. It does not include his many releases as a sideman, sessions assembled into albums by various record labels after Coltrane's contract expired, sessions with Coltrane as a sideman later reissued with his name featured more prominently, or posthumous compilations, except for the one he approved before his death. See main discography link above for full list.
===Prestige and Blue Note Records===
* ''[[Coltrane (1957 album)|Coltrane]]'' (debut solo LP) (1957)
* ''[[Blue Train (album)|Blue Train]]'' (1957)
* ''[[John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio]]'' (1958)
* ''[[Soultrane]]'' (1958)
===Atlantic Records===
* ''[[Giant Steps]]'' (first album entirely of Coltrane compositions) (1960)
* ''[[Coltrane Jazz]]'' (first appearance by [[McCoy Tyner]] and [[Elvin Jones]]) (1961)
* ''[[My Favorite Things (album)|My Favorite Things]]'' (1961)
* ''[[Olé Coltrane]]'' (features [[Eric Dolphy]], compositions by Coltrane and Tyner) (1961)
===Impulse! Records===
* ''[[Africa/Brass]]'' (brass arranged by Tyner and Dolphy) (1961)
* ''[[Live! at the Village Vanguard]]'' (features Dolphy, first appearance by [[Jimmy Garrison]]) (1962)
* ''[[Coltrane (1962 album)|Coltrane]]'' (first album to solely feature the "classic quartet") (1962)
* ''[[Ascension (John Coltrane album)|Ascension]]'' (quartet plus six horns and bass, one 40' track collective improvisation) (1966)
* ''[[New Thing at Newport]]'' (live album split with [[Archie Shepp]]) (1966)
* ''[[Kulu Sé Mama]]'' (1966)
* ''[[Meditations (John Coltrane album)|Meditations]]'' (quartet plus [[Pharoah Sanders]] and [[Rashied Ali]]) (1966)
* ''[[Live at the Village Vanguard Again!]]'' (1966)
* ''[[Expression (album)|Expression]]'' (posthumous and final Coltrane-approved release; one track features Coltrane on flute) (1967)
==Sessionography==
{{main|List of John Coltrane recording sessions}}
==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==References==
*{{cite book|ref=DFSW
| last1 = DeVito
| first1 = Chris
| last2 = Fujioka
| first2 = Yasuhiro
| last3 = Schmaler
| first3 = Wolf
| last4 = Wild
| first4 = David
| title = The John Coltrane Reference
| publisher=Routledge
| year = 2008
| isbn = 0-415-97755-X
}}
*{{cite book|ref=Lavezzoli
| last = Lavezzoli
| first = Peter
| title = The Dawn of Indian Music in the West
| publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group
| year = 2006
| isbn = 0-8264-1815-5
}}
*{{cite book|ref=Nisenson
| last = Nisenson
| first = Eric
| authorlink = Eric Nisenson
| title = Ascension: John Coltrane and His Quest
| publisher=Da Capo Press
| year = 1995
| isbn = 0-306-80644-4
}}
*{{cite book|ref=Porter
| last = Porter
| first = Lewis
| authorlink = Lewis Porter
| title = John Coltrane: His Life and Music
| publisher=University of Michigan Press
| year = 1999
| isbn = 0-472-08643-X
}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book
| last = Baham III
| first = Nicholas
| title = The Coltrane Church: Apostles of Sound, Agents of Social Justice
| publisher=McFarland
| year = 2015
| isbn = 0786494964
| origyear = 2015
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Kahn
| first = Ashley
| others = Elvin Jones
| authorlink = Ashley Kahn
| title = A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album
| publisher=Penguin Books
| year = 2003
| isbn = 0-14-200352-2
| origyear = 2002
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Simpkins
| first = Cuthbert
| authorlink = Cuthbert Ormond Simpkins
| title = Coltrane: A Biography
| location = New York
| publisher=Herndon House Publishers
| year = 1989
| isbn = 0-915542-82-X
| origyear = 1975
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Thomas
| first = J.C.
| title = Chasin' the Trane
| location = New York
| publisher=Da Capo
| year = 1975
| isbn = 0-306-80043-8
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Woideck
| first = Carl
| title = The John Coltrane Companion
| location = New York
| publisher=Schirmer Books
| year = 1998
| isbn = 0-02-864790-4
}}
*Peter Jan Margry & Daniel Wojcik, 'A Saxophone Divine. The Transformative Power of Saint John Coltrane's Jazz Music in San Francisco's Fillmore District', in: V. Hegner and P.J. Margry (editors), ''Spiritualizing the City: Agency and Resilience of the Urban and Urbanesque Habitat'' (Milton Park: Routledge, 2017) 169-194.
*[http://www.infography.com/content/736735270236.html John Coltrane] infography
*[http://www.mossiehigh.com/Coltrane John Coltrane] discography
*[http://www.johncoltranehouse.org John Coltrane House] site
*[http://www.coltranechurch.org Coltrane Church Website] site
*[http://www.colby.edu/music/honors/Bertholf.pdf John Coltrane] 1957 Carnegie Hall performance in transcription and analysis
*[http://jazztimes.com/articles/24832-john-coltrane-images-of-trane John Coltrane] ''Images of Trane'' by Lee Tanner in ''Jazz Times'', June 1997
*{{LCAuth|n50031907|John Coltrane|220|}}
{{John Coltrane|state=expanded}}
{{PulitzerPrize SpecialCitations Arts}}
{{Portal bar|Jazz|Biography|Music|Saints}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coltrane, John}}
[[Category:John Coltrane| ]]
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:1967 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:ABC Records artists]]
[[Category:African-American jazz composers]]
[[Category:American jazz bandleaders]]
[[Category:American jazz saxophonists]]
[[Category:American jazz soprano saxophonists]]
[[Category:American jazz tenor saxophonists]]
[[Category:American jazz clarinetists]]
[[Category:American jazz flautists]]
[[Category:American saints]]
[[Category:Anglican saints]]
[[Category:Atlantic Records artists]]
[[Category:Avant-garde jazz composers]]
[[Category:Avant-garde jazz flautists]]
[[Category:Avant-garde jazz saxophonists]]
[[Category:Bebop composers]]
[[Category:Bebop saxophonists]]
[[Category:Blue Note Records artists]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Combs College of Music alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from liver cancer]]
[[Category:Free jazz clarinetists]]
[[Category:Free jazz composers]]
[[Category:Free jazz flautists]]
[[Category:Free jazz saxophonists]]
[[Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners]]
[[Category:Hard bop saxophonists]]
[[Category:Impulse! Records artists]]
[[Category:Jazz soprano saxophonists]]
[[Category:Miles Davis]]
[[Category:Modal jazz saxophonists]]
[[Category:Musicians from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Musicians from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Pablo Records artists]]
[[Category:People from Richmond County, North Carolina]]
