Classic quartet john coltrane biography

(1926-1967)

Who Was John Coltrane?

During the 1940s and '50s, John Coltrane developed his craft as a saxophonist and composer, working with famed musicians/bandleaders Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis.

Coltrane turned the jazz world on its head with technically marvelous, innovative playing that was thrillingly dense and fluid in its understanding of the genre; his virtuosity and vision could be heard on the now revered albums Giant Steps, My Favorite Things and A Love Supreme, among others.

He died from liver cancer at 40 years old on July 17, 1967, in Huntington, Long Island, New York.

Background and Early Years

A revolutionary and groundbreaking jazz saxophonist, John William Coltrane was born on September 23, 1926, in Hamlet, North Carolina, growing up in nearby High Point.

Classic quartet john coltrane biography book

Coltrane was surrounded by music as a child. His father John R. Coltrane worked as a tailor, but had a passion for music, playing several instruments. The younger