By Gregory Dudzienski
[EDITOR'S NOTE : Gregory Dudzienski is an American jazz saxophonist currently residing in Naples, Italy. In the following article, he has provided an overview and analysis of John Coltrane's music which will be of interest to jazz fans, musicians, and music scholars alike. We will publish responses to Mr. Dudzienski's article sent to him or to myself. AAJ's Giants of Jazz series welcomes contributions on Trane from readers. Please email me with a brief summary of what you would like to do or have done regarding various aspects of John's Coltrane's life and music.-- Vic Schermer , Critic-at-Large and Creative Editor, All About Jazz]
It has been said that John Coltrane reinvented jazz three times. During the years 1955-1967 he went through an incredible evolution that, with each new phase, redefined the customs and performance practices of the music. This article will discuss each of the three periods as well as give some recommendations as to specific recordings that illustrate each. Of course, the demarcations are arbitrary. Trane didn't wake up on the morning of January 1, 1960 and say: "OK, I'm done playing changes. Time for modal playing." Rather, it was an organic process of reexamining, redefining, and not allowing his art to become static. This sense of mission continues to be a great influence of the artists of today.
Be-Bop Roots to Giant Steps (1955-1959)
This can be considered Trane's formative period. His sound and feel were influenced by Dexter Gordon and Lester Young and it is evident in this period especially. The recordings of Miles Davis' first great quintet such as: "Workin'", "Steamin'", "Cookin'", "Relaxin'" and "Round About Midnight", as well as recordings with Thelonious Monk and a series of solo recordings on the Prestige label document this period of development very well. During this time Trane was dealing mostly with standards, and with some original compositions, but it was all common practice harmony (i.e., ii-V7-I). The element that set him apart at this point was his approach to playing over these changes. Some background is necessary. Through the early 50's, Trane's playing was essentially diatonic and followed the "rules" for change playing. Some of the characteristics of this kind of playing include melodic motion by half step at the point of the chord change and a predominantly eighth note based rhythmic concept. For an excellent example of this type of playing, listen to his solo on the Sonny Rollins tune "Oleo" ("Relaxin with the Miles Davis Quintet"). As he progressed through the 50's, he was becoming more and more interested in harmony. Instead of being mainly concerned with the chords associated with the changes to a tune (although he never lost interest in this aspect of harmony), he was becoming more interested in the related scales. This led to his incorporation of these scales into his improvisations. Many times, the harmonic rhythm of a tune was such that in order to "fit" the entire scale in it would have to be played very fast and often with an uneven metric feel (seven or nine notes over two beats, for instance). This practice resulted in a very cascade-like effect. In 1958 a reviewer, Ira Gitler, termed this type of playing "sheets of sound." For an example of this, listen to "Russian Lullaby" from the "Soul Trane" recording. Another recording that illustrates this type of playing is "Lush Life". It was also during this period that Trane recorded one of his first masterpieces, the great Blue Note recording "Blue Trane." This is some of his very best early work. Check out "Moment's Notice" from that recording to hear some very inspired change playing.
Giant Steps (1959-1960)
The recording "Giant Steps" was the culmination of Trane's harmonic study of the '50s. Throughout the late fifties, Coltrane was exploring different ways of playing the harmonic progressions of the various tunes he was working on. These tunes were comprised mostly of varying types of ii-V7 progressions. The ii-V7-I was the most standard type of harmonic progression during this time. For example, in the key of C major, instead of sounding four bars of just C major, a composer would write: D minor 7th for a bar, G7 for a bar, and finally C major for the remaining two bars. This harmonic progression adds interest as well as "tonicizes" the key of C, i.e. leads the ear to C. Coltrane took this progression and tonicized a total of three keys "on the way" to C. While the typical progression would look like this:
Dmin7 | G7 | Cmaj7 | Cmaj7 |
Trane adds some more colorful twists. The new progression looks like this:
Dmin7 Eb7| Abmaj7 B7| Emaj7 G7| Cmaj7 |
Trane passes through three separate keys, starting in C (the Dmin7 is functioning in the key of C) he moves through AbMaj and Emaj while leading us to C major. Instead of only playing ideas that function in C major, he plays ideas that function in C, Ab, E and C again. The use of three key centers, all a major third apart, gives a very symmetrical as well as colorful sound. For examples, listen to "Giant Steps" and "Countdown", from the "Giant Steps" album as well as "Satellite" and the bridge section of "Body and Soul" from the "Coltrane's Sound" album. Another fine example is "Fifth House" from "Coltrane Jazz". "Fifth House" is especially interesting because you can hear Trane superimposing the "Giant Step Cycle", as it has come to be known, over a pedal or static "drone-like" bass note. This period, like all of Trane's periods, is really a study unto itself. For an excellent study of this type of harmonic progression, see Walt Weiskopf's outstanding book: "Coltrane, A Player's Guide to his Harmony" (Jamey Aebersold Jazz, Inc.) It is a very technical book, geared to advanced musicians, but the first chapters are a great description of the deep logic that is inherent in this harmony. This innovation alone changed the way chord changes were played forever.
Modalism and the "Classic Quartet" (1960-1965)
Following the intense harmonic study of the Giant Steps period, Trane began to shift his focus away from harmony. In the late 50s, he rejoined Miles for a handful of recordings including "Milestones", and "Kind of Blue". On these recordings, a huge change in conception is noticeable. Compare his playing on "Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet" to his playing on "Milestones". While "Kind of Blue"(1959) is generally accepted as the beginning of modalism in jazz, the title track of "Milestones" (recorded a year earlier) gives us the first example of this kind of playing. What is modalism? In jazz prior to 1960, the repertoire was based on standards (the popular music of the day such as Cole Porter and George Gershwin) and original compositions that followed common practice harmony as described above. Even Giant Steps and its related tunes are derived from this type of harmony. With Modalism, tunes were not built on chords or chord progressions, but on modes. Modes are different scales that somehow relate to the Major Scale.
If a C Major scale is played, from C to C, that results in a Major Scale or Ionian Mode. If it is played from D to D, with the same notes, a Dorian Mode is formed. There are many types of modes and an explanation of all of them is beyond the scope of this article. The important thing to remember is that instead of rapidly moving chord progressions we are now dealing with, more or less, static harmony. "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis is a wonderful introduction to modalism in jazz.
Coltrane formed his working quartet in the early '60s. After several personnel changes, he settled on the group of McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. The repertoire of this quartet was very heavily weighted to modal playing. As discussed above, the biggest feature of modal music is static harmony. Trane's quartet used this element to explore many new concepts that have come to be common performance practices. These practices include harmonic and scalar superimposition, a more pronounced rhythmical drive and a much higher level of intensity over a longer period of time. The group played in a very intense manner, with solos sometimes lasting 30-40 minutes. There are many stories of the Coltrane Quartet playing two live sets and only playing two tunes, often "boiling down" to an extended duet between Coltrane and drummer Elvin Jones. A world music influence can also be heard on many of these recordings including "India", "Africa/Brass" and "Ole" to name just a few. A good way to hear the influence of modalism on Trane's playing is to first listen to "My Favorite Things" from the Atlantic album of the same name and then go on to some recordings on the Impulse label such as "The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings", "Live at Birdland", "Africa/Brass", and "Coltrane". On these, especially on the live recordings, it is easy to hear the quartet moving in its own direction. Even during this period of his evolution, Trane never lost his deep sense of lyricism. Three recordings from this period illustrate this: "Ballads", "John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman", and "Duke Ellington and John Coltrane". These recordings were made as an attempt by Trane and his producer to reach a wider audience. At the time, Trane's audience was becoming very "elite". The further he explored; the fewer listeners were able to "keep up". On these recordings, he played standards and some "non-modal" things. Hearing his fluency on these recordings is insightful because it shows that even considering the direction he was taking, he remained in total control of his playing. History shows that Coltrane was not exclusionary and these three recordings were an attempt to reach out. Listen to "Ballads" and hear the deep sense of melody and lyricism that is present here. On a personal note, the recordings of this quartet from this period continue to be the most inspirational in my collection. I feel that the repeated listening and study of this period of Trane's playing form the basis of my own ideas about playing the saxophone and jazz in general. Much of the vocabulary heard today can be directly traced to this type of playing. In fact much of what is considered part and parcel of playing jazz today, either on changes or modally, has its roots in the Classic Coltrane Quartet. This is not to say that everything played today is plagiarism. Some artists that have expanded on this vocabulary and, in my opinion, taken the "next step" include Joe Lovano, David Liebman, Steve Grossman, and Michael Brecker, to give a very short list. One record stands out in this period. In 1964 the quartet recorded "Crescent." This recording captures the very best of this quartet. Modal playing, playing on changes, group interaction, lyricism, melodic improvisation, all are on this recording. I will leave the highly technical discussion of this type of playing for another article. The best way to understand this music is to listen. Listen to the communication, to the heavy emotions, to the perfect calm, the peace, and the aggression. For me, it is some of the most emotionally moving music there is.
The Late Period (1965-1967)
This is the most difficult period of Coltrane's development to appreciate. The late period is very abstract. It took some of the basic elements of music and challenged them. Time feel, for example, had up to this point been more or less clearly stated in a "swinging" way. In most of Trane's later work the pulse was very free and open. It did not remain constant throughout the piece. There is a sense of momentum that seems to relate in a direct way to the emotional intensity. Harmonically there was another step taken. Before, the group was dealing with some kind of harmonic framework even if it was just one chord. Now the pieces were harmonically free--no preset harmonic structure. This freedom can be looked at as an expansion of the modal concept. Trane was moving toward more and more expressive freedom; logically, to go from one chord to no chords makes sense. His ensembles grew in this time period also. His quartet was augmented by many horn players for some pieces. "Ascension" on the Impulse label illustrates this aspect of the late period very well. The inaugural album of the late period was "Meditations". This consisted of several "movements" that sound chaotic, but are, on deep listening, quite structured. The melodies on this recording remain some of the most intensely lyrical on record. When listening to these recording, look deep for the beauty. The most accessible aspect of these recordings is the energy. In fact, this "school" of playing has come to be known in some circles as "Energy Music" for that very reason.
The music of Coltrane's late period is very visceral. It is very difficult to write about this period because the music that came from it is such an experience. To try to describe the emotional depth of a piece like "Meditations" or "Ascension" in the same way one would describe scalar relationships is hopelessly inadequate. I will say this: while it took me personally many years of deep listening to really come to appreciate the impact of Coltrane's late period it was worth the time. When looking at an artist like Coltrane, we must look at his entire body of work. Remember, this is the same player who gave us "Blue Trane", "Giant Steps", "My Favorite Things", "Impressions", etc. We must respect the artistic vision that drives someone like Trane, even if we cannot personally relate to where that vision led him. Some representational recordings are "Meditations", "Ascension", "Kulu Se Mama," and "Om". These all include the classic quartet augmented by guests. Some other recordings worth checking out are the excellent Tenor/Drum duet of "Interstellar Space" (Coltrane and Rashied Ali), and recordings of Trane with his "second quartet" (Alice Coltrane on piano, Rashied Ali on drums and Jimmy Garrison on bass) such as "Expression" and "Stellar Regions". These recordings all differ in scope, but are unified by Trane's sense of constant exploration.
Final Thoughts
This article has been meant only as an overview. There are numerous recordings, events, and issues that have been omitted. There is much written about John Coltrane and his music. What I hope is to have given the initiate a starting place to experience the music of this great artist as well as shown an outline that may inspire further study of all the periods of Trane's music. John Coltrane has directly influenced most jazz that we listen to. To have a clear understanding of his evolution will only help to appreciate the music of today.
SELECTED LIST OF RECORDINGS FROM THE FOUR PHASES OF COLTRANE'S CAREER
Early Period
Workin' With the Miles Davis Quintet - Miles Davis
ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂRound About Midnight - Miles Davis
Blue Trane - John Coltrane
Tenor Madness - Sonny Rollins
Soultrane - John Coltrane
Lush Life - John Coltrane
Giant Steps Period
Giant Steps - John Coltrane
Coltrane's Sound - John Coltrane
Coltrane Jazz - John Coltrane
Modal Period
"Kind of Blue" - Miles Davis
"My Favorite Things" - John Coltrane
"Live at Birdland" - John Coltrane
"The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings" - John Coltrane
"Ballads" - John Coltrane
"John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman" - John Coltrane
"Duke Ellington and John Coltrane" - John Coltrane
"Coltrane" - John Coltrane
"Crescent" - John Coltrane
"A Love Supreme" - John Coltrane
"The John Coltrane Quartet Plays" - John Coltrane
Late Period
"Meditations" - John Coltrane
"Ascension" - John Coltrane
"Kulu Se Mama" - John Coltrane
"Interstellar Space" - John Coltrane
"Stellar Regions - John Coltrane
"Expression" - John Coltrane
