John Coltrane
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"John William Coltrane", also known as ""Trane"", was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of Modal jazz/modes in jazz and was later at the forefront of free jazz. He organized at least fifty recording sessions as a leader during his career, and appeared as a sideman on many other albums, notably with trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk.

As his career progressed, Coltrane and his music took on an increasingly spiritual dimension. His second wife was pianist Alice Coltrane and their son Ravi Coltrane is also a saxophonist. Coltrane influenced innumerable musicians, and remains one of the most significant saxophonists in music history. He received many posthumous awards and recognitions, including canonization by the African Orthodox Church as "Saint John William Coltrane" and a special Pulitzer Prize in 2007.

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This Half Note material really comes at a summit, ... It's the high point of a sound that the band had been cultivating, basically, since 1961. The music that was recorded there comes at the strongest point of that band, playing that sound. Right after that, they start changing and going other places.

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It starts with this group: with McCoy and Elvin and Jimmy Garrison.

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Over all, I think the main thing a musician would like to do is give a picture to the listener of the many wonderful things that he knows of and senses in the universe. . . That's what I would like to do. I think that's one of the greatest things you can do in life and we all try to do it in some way. The musician's is through his music.

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You can play a shoestring if you're sincere.

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I've found you've got to look back at the old things and see them in a new light.

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Says Price. ''He's more than a musician: a spiritual leader, a political leader, and just a leader of human nature around the world.

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Says Jackson. ''It's a major part of our cultural landscape. Football comes in the fall, and so does the Coltrane concert.

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All a musician can do is to get closer to the sources of nature, and so feel that he is in communion with the natural laws.

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One Down, One Up.

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