John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Born and raised in North Carolina, Coltrane moved to Philadelphia after graduating from high school, where he studied music. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes and was one of the players at the forefront of free jazz. He led at least fifty recording sessions and appeared on many albums by other musicians, including trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk. Over the course of his career, Coltrane's music took on an increasingly spiritual dimension, as exemplified on his most acclaimed album A Love Supreme (1965) and others. Decades after his death, Coltrane remains influential, and he has received numerous posthumous awards, including a special Pulitzer Prize, and was canonized by the African Orthodox Church.
His second wife was pianist and harpist Alice Coltrane. The couple had three children: John Jr. (1964–1982), a bassist; Ravi (born 1965 and named after Ravi Shankar), a saxophonist; and Oran (born 1967), a saxophonist, guitarist, drummer and singer.
Links to Peel[]
When John Coltrane died in July 1967 (his death was a front-page story in that week's Melody Maker[1]), Peel said on the 22 July 1967 Perfumed Garden show that he'd wanted to pay tribute to the saxophonist, but couldn't as there were no Coltrane records in Radio London's library. He finally got round to playing a track featuring the much-admired musician on his 09 April 1969 show - although this was from an album where he shared billing with his wife Alice, and wasn't representative of the material he was best known for.
With his interest in spirituality and world music, Coltrane was one of the jazz figures who had a following in the hippy underground, bands like the Byrds and Love citing him as an influence, and John Lennon expressing a liking for his work in a 1967 Melody Maker interview[2]. His later work divided the jazz critics (as can be seen from reviews of his albums in MM's jazz pages) but the saxophonist was also respected by some of the British jazz and rock musicians who did sessions for Peel's shows during the Top Gear era (and probably by his jazz-loving producers John Walters and John Muir). Yet his music didn't seem to appeal much to the DJ himself. There is no evidence that he played any of John Coltrane's music in the 70's, according to available tracklistings on this site, but JP did play a couple of his better-known tunes between the 80's and 90's.
Apart from his music being played on his shows, Peel did mention the musician on his 5th July 1975 article in Sounds, where he mentioned not entirely convinced that children appreciate music and gave examples of Danny Kaye, Elton John, John Coltrane and the Goodies as being indifferent to their infant ears.
Shows Played[]
- 09 April 1969 (& Alice Coltrane): The Sun (album - Cosmic Music) Impulse!
- 1982
- 09 December 1982 (& Don Cherry): The Invisible (LP – The Avant-Garde) Atlantic
- 1992
- 05 December 1992: Alabama (Soundtrack CD-Malcolm X (Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack))' (Qwest)
- 11 September 1993'After The Rain (LP-Impressions)' (Impulse!)
See Also[]
- Melody Maker
- Music Of The Millennium
- The Collection (Peel Acres - James Holden)
- The Collection (Peel Acres - Helena Hauff)
- The Collection (Peel Acres - Femi Koleoso)