Spirituality and John Coltrane Essay - 3937 Words

Spirituality and John Coltrane After being fired from Miles Daviss band in 1957 for his chronic use of heroin, John Coltrane was hurt tremendously. He decided it was time he quit using heroin. He took a month off from music while he went cold turkey. During this month in the early spring of 1957, Coltrane had a momentous religious experience (Nisenson, 40). Coltrane asked God to give him the means and privilege to make others happy through music (Coltrane, 1995, 2). As time went on, Coltrane felt that he was leading a life that was contradictory to the pledge and away from the esteemed path that he had made to God (Coltrane, 1995, 2). Starting with A Love Supreme (recorded in December, 1964), Coltrane stuck to†¦show more content†¦As Coltrane was starting to get introduced to the greats of jazz like Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, he started drinking heavily. Then, probably in 1953, he started doing heroin (Thomas, 52). By 1957, he had played with Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and twice with Miles Davis. Davis, a recovering heroin addict himself, said of Coltrane during this time that hed be playing in clothes that looked like he had slept in them for days . . . and when he wasnt nodding, [hed be] picking his nose and sometimes eating it (Davis, 212). Once, while on stage with Davis, Coltrane nodded out, and Davis punched him in the stomach. Eventually, Davis would kick him out of his band for the second time. While Coltrane was kicking his habit in early 1957, he was touched by God. How this came about was known only to Coltrane. But the transformation in him resulted in some of the most powerful music of the twentieth century. In late 1957, he started working on what was to be known as sheets of sound, a style in which Coltrane would play every note in chord as fast as he could, while starting and ending in different notes in a specific key. That year, he released his first acclaimed album on the Blue Note label, Blue Train, which was a record of jazz standards. Miles Davis loved the new Coltrane, and hired him back into his band for a third time. Davis came up with a new jazz concept, modal improvisation.Show MoreRelatedEssay on John Coltrane1679 Words   |  7 Pages John Coltrane: An Experimental Musician Jazz, which evolved from African American folk music, has developed and changed over the last century to become an art form in America. It places particular importance on inventive self interpretation. Rather than relying on a written piece, the artist improvises. Jazz has taken many forms over the past seventy years; there is almost always a single person who can be credited with the evolution of that sound. From Thelonius Monk, and his bebop, to Dizzy Gillespie’sRead MoreThe Influence Of Jazz Music2019 Words   |  9 Pagesthe musician (Larson 2). John Coltrane was one of many musicians that used jazz as this medium. Through his early works in the bebop and hard bop styles to free form and more spiritual styled music later in his career, Coltrane pursued deeper expression from his music (Wikipedia). John Coltrane’s upbringing and early interest in music led to a successful career of highly innovative works that have left a lasting legacy and influence on the jazz com munity. John William Coltrane was born September 23Read More John Coltrane Essay5593 Words   |  23 Pageslife and his search for the incorporation of his spirituality with his music. John Coltrane was not only an essential contributor to jazz, but also music itself. John Coltrane died thirty-two years ago, on July 17, 1967, at the age of forty. In the years since, his influence has only grown, and the stellar avant-garde saxophonist has become a jazz legend of a stature shared only by Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker. As an instrumentalist Coltrane was technically and imaginatively equal to both;