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John Coltrane: An Alternative Top Ten Albums

by Chris May
Miles Davis once said that you could recite the history of jazz in just four words: Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker. To that you need to add two more: John Coltrane. A giant during his lifetime, Coltrane continues to shape jazz and inspire musicians decades after he passed. No other player has come remotely close to eclipsing him. New tenor saxophone stars such as Britain's Shabaka Hutchings, Josephine Davies and Binker Golding have Coltrane as their key formative influence, while Nubya ...
read moreJohn Coltrane: Giant Steps: Remastered & Super Deluxe Editions

by Chris May
A date for your diary... 18 September 2020. That is when Atlantic / Rhino releases two cracking new editions of John Coltrane's first landmark album, Giant Steps (Atlantic, 1960). The main event is enhanced audio quality, which has noticeably more presence than any previous reissue. The double CD and vinyl Remastered Edition and digital-only Super Deluxe Edition consist of material which has been newly remastered by John Webber at Air Studios in London. The Remastered Edition includes ...
read moreMy Uncle Played The Sax

by Louis Bryan
Russet face glistening from another realm, eyes dancing to, A Love Supreme, he be-bopped through my boyhood, fingering those keys like crazy, taking and making them notes his own, empyrean melodies to fill the whole room, my ears entirely, too-cool evocations of heroes who've remained mine, and so I still hear Charlie, John, Ornette, Rashan, Lester, all my ethereal idols whose music I first heard, coming from the bell of ...
read moreThe John Coltrane Home in Philadelphia: The Fight to Preserve an Historic Landmark

by Victor L. Schermer
John Coltrane (1926-1967) was in the upper echelon of the greatest jazz musicians of all time. He, along with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, and other innovators, changed the face of jazz forever. Beyond such encomiums, Coltrane has become a great African American hero, overcoming his heroin addiction, experiencing a spiritual awakening which he brought to realization in his devoted marriages to Naima and Alice Coltrane, their children, and music (the iconic albums A Love ...
read moreJohn Coltrane: The Final Act (1961-1967)

by Russell Perry
John Coltrane is undoubtedly one of the most influential players in the history of jazz, yet his important work fits within a brief twelve-year period (1955--1967). Previously in this series we have covered his work in the 1950s with Miles Davis for Prestige and Columbia, his blowing sessions on Prestige, his solo work with Blue Note (Blue Train), his breakout recordings for Atlantic (Giant Steps) and his collaborations with Duke Ellington and Johnny Hartman. In this hour, we will focus ...
read moreImpressions of Coltrane

by Bob Osborne
To mark reaching the 350th edition of World of Jazz a show focusing on the music of John Coltrane with music from the man and also interpretations of his compositions by other jazz artists.... Playlist John Coltrane Billie's Bounce" from The Prestige Recordings (Prestige) 00:00 Khan Jamal Blues for P.C." from Impressions of Coltrane (Steeplechase) 10:44 Jack DeJohnette, Matthew Garrison, Ravi Coltrane Alabama" from In Movement (ECM) 19:51 Teodross Avery Blues Minor" from After The Rain, A Night For Coltrane ...
read moreJohn Coltrane: Blue World

by Victor L. Schermer
Discovering old and forgotten audio tapes of a jazz icon like John Coltrane is always exciting, but their posthumous release can have mixed motives. Taking advantage of the musician's name to make money is less salutary than, say, providing more great music for the public or providing opportunities for enthusiasts and scholars to fill in gaps and trace the musician's progress. Always in the background is the question of whether the musician would have permitted their release if he or ...
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