JOHN COLTRANE Biography - Musicians

 
 

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JOHN COLTRANE

Name: John Coltrane                                                                   
Birth name: John William Coltrane                                                     
Also known as "Trane"                                                                 
Born: 23 September 1926 Hamlet, North Carolina, U.S.                                   
Died: 17 July 1967                                                                     
                                                                                       
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 - July 17, 1967), nicknamed Trane, was       
an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Although recordings of his work from       
as early as 1946 exist, Coltrane's recording career did not begin in earnest           
until 1955. Coltrane initially played alongside luminaries like Dizzy Gillespie,       
Thelonius Monk and Miles Davis, and after 1957, recorded and produced dozens of       
albums, many released posthumously. Throughout his career Coltrane's music took       
on an increasingly spiritual dimension that would color his legacy. His               
conception of expression in jazz became increasingly mystical, gnostic and             
cathartic.                                                                             
                                                                                       
Coltrane has been credited with reshaping modern jazz and being the predominant       
influence on successive generations of saxophonists. Like tenor saxophonists           
Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and Ben Webster before him, Coltrane                   
fundamentally altered expectations for the instrument.                                 
                                                                                       
Coltrane received a posthumous Special Citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board in       
2007 for his "masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic                 
centrality to the history of jazz."