The John Coltrane Quartet this Sunday – recorded live by Sveriges Radio at the Konserthuset in Stockholm on November 19, 1962. featuring McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass and Elvin Jones, drums.
An artist I don’t post nearly as much as I should, John Coltrane has been such a universal inspiration for countless artists that it’s almost impossible to imagine what the musical landscape would have looked (or sounded) like had we never knew about him.
There are few artists whose sound is instantly recognizable, and Coltrane is one of them. From the intricate, harmonically rich first album ”Giant Steps” to the deeply meditative “A Love Supreme,” his most famous and Grammy-nominated work, Coltrane’s music wasn’t just about technical mastery (although his mastery was apparent). His tone — brooding, intense, searching — cuts straight to the core.
Coltrane saw music as a way to communicate with the divine, heal, and uplift. “I want to be the force which is truly for good,” he once said. His saxophone voice — at times searching and urgent, at others meditative and transcendent — helped evolve jazz. His approach to his instrument and its sound was revolutionary, but his reach extended far beyond jazz. He embraced the blues, bebop, modal jazz, and the avant-garde. Rock icons like Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, and even hip-hop artists cite him as a foundational inspiration.
Coltrane, like Mozart, was taken from us at a young age, leaving us wondering what else he still had to give. As he once said, “There are always new sounds to imagine.”
Dive in – the notes are fine.
And while you’re here:
