One of the most iconic figures in jazz history is saxophonist John Coltrane born September 23, 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina.

Coltrane’s first musical influence was his father who was a tailor and part-time musician. John studied clarinet and alto saxophone in his youth. He moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1943 where he studied at the Ornstein School of Music and the Granoff Studios. He was drafted into the United States Navy in 1945 and played alto sax with a navy band until 1946. Coltrane switched to tenor saxophone in 1947 and over the next few years played in nightclubs and on recordings with such musicians as Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Bostic, and Johnny Hodges. Coltrane’s first recorded solo can be heard on Gillespie’s We Love to Boogie recorded in 1951.

Coltrane achieved national prominence when he joined the Miles Davis Quintet in 1955, but his abuse of drugs and alcohol during this period led to unreliability and Davis fired him in early 1957. He embarked on a six-month stint with Thelonious Monk and also began to make recordings under his own name. Each recording demonstrated a newfound level of technique as well as increased harmonic and rhythmic sophistication. It was during this period Coltrane developed what came to be known as his “sheets of sound” approach to improvisation. Coltrane described the approach this way: “I start in the middle of a sentence and move both directions at once.” The cascade of notes during his powerful solos showed his infatuation with chord progressions and culminated in the virtuoso performance heard on his 1959 “Giant Steps” album.

Returning to play with Miles Davis in 1958, Coltrane contributed to the “modal phase” albums “Milestones“ (1958) and ”Kind of Blue“ (1959). Coltrane’s work on these recordings has been described as proficient and often brilliant, though relatively subdued and cautious.

After ending his association with Davis in 1960, Coltrane formed his own acclaimed quartet, featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones. At this time Coltrane began to feature the soprano saxophone in addition to tenor. Throughout the early 1960s Coltrane focused on modal-based improvisation in which solos were played atop one- or two-note accompanying figures that were repeated for extended periods of time. A good example of this technique can be heard in his popular recording of My Favorite Things. At the same time, his study of the musics of India and Africa affected his approach and these influences, combined with a unique interplay with the drums and the steady vamping of the piano and bass, made the Coltrane quartet one of the most noteworthy jazz groups of the 1960s. During the short period between 1965 and his death in 1967, Coltrane’s work expanded into free improvisation based on prearranged scales. It was the most radical period of his career and his avant-garde experiments divided critics and audiences.

Coltrane’s best-known work spanned a period of only 12 years but, because he recorded prolifically, his musical development is well-documented. Coltrane died of liver cancer at the age of 40 on July 17, 1967.

Here is a link to Coltrane, Tyner, Garrison and Jones playing live:

"MY FAVORITE THINGS"