Today, John Coltrane, probably the most influential tenor sax player in history, would have been 94.
I first heard about Coltrane in high school when I went to a summer music camp at @BYU. Ray Smith mentioned Bird (who I'd probably heard of) and Trane. npr.org/2020/09/23/915… 1/
I remember walking to the lockers to put my horn away repeating "Coltrane, Coltrane, Coltrane" so that I wouldn't forget his name. During high school I bought Giant Steps, Blue Train, and a 3-CD Impulse! best-of Coltrane release.
I also had a bunch of Miles with Trane on tenor 2
Trane is best known for his sheets-of-sound approach, where he would apparently play basically every note, if not simultaneously (it is a sax, of course), in very short succession. 3/ news.allaboutjazz.com/john-coltrane-…
But he wasn't just an all-the-notes kind of guy. His version of "My One and Only Love" with Johnny Hartman may be the most beautiful song ever recorded. (And Hartman's voice? Swoon.) 4/
It wasn't until later that I got into his more experimental, more spiritual music. And his social music, like "Alabama," his response to the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. 5/
Anyway, happy 94th to one of the greatest talents to grace our country! #JohnColtrane 6/6
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