John Coltrane



		John Coltrane (1926-1967) Hear Eric Jackson's interview with sax man and John Coltrane's son Ravi Coltrane (25:26) Coltrane reinterpreted everything from hard bop to ballads and introduced originals that would become standards on Blue Train, his only collection of sides as principal artist for Blue Note. Joined by Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Kenny Drew on piano, and the world-class rhythm section of Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums, Coltrane led triple horn arrangements, solos, and riffs ranging from exuberant to subtle. The result is an album that's considered not just among Coltrane's best, but among jazz's best, as well. The release of Giant Steps in 1959 marked a great change for Coltrane — and all of jazz — as his writing became centered on the solo, often a dazzling torrent of notes that journalist Ira Gitler dubbed "sheets of sound." Soon after experimenting to achieve a sweeping sound, Coltrane was both hailed as genius and harshly criticized. In 1961, Down Beat writer John Tynan described Coltrane as "anti-jazz." But 1961 was also the year that Coltrane recorded My Favorite Things, a commercially successful work that, among other things, used a Broadway tune to explore melody and solos. Joining Coltrane on soprano and tenor sax were McCoy Tyner on piano, Steve Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. Signing to Impulse! in 1961, Coltrane followed My Favorite Things with a string of recordings that were peerless in their scope and experimentation, culminating with A Love Supreme one of the most popular albums in jazz history.