So now that we’ve talked about Miles Davis and Red Garland, let’s move on to the next member of the Miles Davis Quintet: John Coltrane.
Like Miles Davis, one of Coltrane’s biggest influences was Charlie Parker (he says the first time he heard him play “hit [him] right between the eyes”). Coltrane’s career pretty much began in the ’40s, after Coltrane left the Navy (where he still managed to find a way to play jazz through the Navy jazz band), but it launched after Miles Davis asked him to be a part of the Miles Davis Quintet (Relaxin’/Cookin’/Workin’/Steamin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet) in 1955. Jazz fanatics and casual listeners alike finally got a look at Coltrane’s genius ability when these sessions were released in 1956.
Coltrane’s also a part of the Kind of Blue album — along with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. What’s especially important here is that Coltrane, surprisingly even more so than Davis, took the modal approach (simpler melody, fewer chords, the use of modes (check this out in So What from the Kind of Blue album — it only uses D and Eb dorian mode), and an overall cooler, more laid-back sound) used in the Kind of Blue album and used it as an inspirations throughout the rest of his career.
I know that Miles Davis could put his own sound into his own words, but Coltrane was kind of the quiet type, like Bill Evans. But lucky for us, jazz critic Ira Gilter managed to sum up Coltrane’s sound into three words: “sheets of sound.” What this basically means is that Coltrane always played a massive amount of notes in a very little amount of time. (There’s a good example of this here.)
Coltrane’s also one of those brave musicians that ventured into the fields of free jazz and avant-jazz — jazz without any real structure or limitations. We’ve got a lot of this in today’s jazz, but back in Coltrane’s time, this genre of jazz was probably one of the strangest (and sometimes even super uncomfortable to listen to). But it’s probably Coltrane’s bebop/hard bop/post-bop where you can hear him at his best.
What you’ll see in a lot of Coltrane’s compositions is that the melody makes the song seems ten times slower than it actually is. Take Giant Steps for example; the melody’s pretty much only two half notes a measure (which makes it sound like it’s in cut time). But this contrast between the simple, slow melody and Coltrane’s complex, one-hundred-mph solos makes him sound even faster. Check this out in this recording of Giant Steps. (Pay special attention to the bass, too.)
Where to start…
ALBUMS:
Workin’/Steamin’/Relaxin’/Cookin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet (all four of them!)
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall
Blue Train
Giant Steps
My Favorite Things
Impressions
Duke Ellington and John Coltrane
A Love Supreme
SONGS (& WHERE THE MODAL TONE COMES IN):
Giant Steps
A Love Supreme
Moment’s Notice
Acknowledgment
Lazy Bird
Make sure you get around to hearing Coltrane play with musicians Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. Happy listening!
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Evidence/Thelonious Monk/Jazz Piano Anthology: Bop
