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
             jazz greats of his era and to the tribulations and tragedies of his life. John
             William Coltrane was born in Hamlet, North Carolina, on September 23,
             1926. Two months later, his family moved to High Point, North Carolina,
             where he lived in a fairly well-to-do part of town. He grew up in a typical
             southern black family, deeply religious, and steeped in tradition. Both of his
             parents were musicians, his father played the violin and ukulele, and his
             mother was a member of the church choir. For several years, young Coltrane
             played the clarinet, howev...