jazz1
John Coltrane Jazz, taking its roots in African American folk music, has evolved, metamorphosed, and transposed itself over the last century to become a truly American art form. More than any other type of music, it places special emphasis on innovative individual interpretation. Instead of relying on a written score, the musician improvises. For each specific period or style through which jazz has gone through over the past seventy years, there is almost always a single person who can be credited with the evolution of that sound. From Thelonius Monk, and his bebop, to Miles Davis' cool jazz, from Dizzy Gillespie's big band to John Coltrane's free jazz; America's music has been developed, and refined countless times through individual experimentation and innovation. One of the most influential musicians in the development of modern jazz is John Coltrane. In this paper, I examine the way in which Coltrane's musical innovations were related to the music of the
his era and to the tribulations and tragedies of his life. " In the mid-sixties, Coltrane began to take LSD fairly regularly, in an effort to help him explore in greater depth both himself and his music. Depressed and dejected, his addiction grew. He didn't feel right, and by early 1967, he stopped performing in public. "To any serious musician, it was an incredibly humiliating experience - to someone like Coltrane, who was developing a type of religious fervor for his music, it was devastating. It was an inborn curiosity to a certain extent, but one that had also developed from events from his early life such as his religious upbringing, and the early deaths of the most important men in his life. At this time, he met Naima, a Moslem woman, and an able musician. " With the Thelonius Monk quartet, Coltrane learned many techniques that he incorporated into his distinctive style. John Coltrane's music both led the way and reflected the enormous varieties of experimentation and development of American Jazz of the 1950's and 60's. I feel this has been granted through His grace. Each part details a different element of his spiritual journey. With Monk, he was transformed into a legend. Both of his parents were musicians, his father played the violin and ukulele, and his mother was a member of the church choir. It was during this time that Coltrane searched for the 'mysterious sound'.
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