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There are few jazz musicians who have been as influential
as John Coltrane. Part of the reason this statement can be made
is that Coltrane's influence extended far outside the realm of jazz,
a form of music that few were listening to by the time Coltrane
led his own groups and became famous. John Coltrane became an inspiration
and a symbol to those involved with social causes, with world peace,
with the music and religion of the East, with rock and roll, with
the connection between the musical and the spiritual, with the future
of jazz and of the human race in general. Yet
Trane himself was a conflicted and anxious man, constantly
searching, never feeling that he had "arrived" musically
or spiritually. He fought hard to overcome addiction, yet was unable
to conquer his craving for sweets, he was a vegetarian and spoke
for world peace, yet his music is often viscerally violent and disturbing.
The only other jazz musicians with as far-reaching an impact on
the cultural terrain of humanity are probably Miles Davis and Louis
Armstrong. What all three musicians have in common is an ability
to transcend their chosen art form in communicating with the world
at large. Armstrong was able to do so by being the consummate entertainer,
even though he hid a world of rage and hurt to do so. Davis did
it by sheer ambitious determination, gritting his teeth and presenting
a confrontational yet often enigmatic image in the face of diversity.
Coltrane was able to do it in spite of, or maybe because of, his
quietness, his internal focus. The world might rage around him,
but Trane was able to present an air of peacefulness largely by
withdrawing into himself and his music.
Like so many jazz musicians, Davis and Coltrane both succumbed
to heroin addiction early in their careers. Both realized that it
was impairing their ability to develop as players and make the musical
statements they wanted to make. Both overcame their addiction with
sheer willpower. They played together in one of the most influential
small jazz groups (the original Miles Davis Quintet) and on one
of the most influential jazz recordings of all time (Davis' Kind
of Blue). Somehow, both of these musicians appealed greatly
to the imagination of the general public, and both became legends
even before their respective deaths. On the one hand, writing about
both musicians has centered either on their mystique or on the fact
that their mystique was overblown, that they were flawed humans
and that much of their music was similarly flawed. This is something
akin to punishing the memory of Beethoven because he had deplorable
table manners, or saying that Shakespeare didn't deserve to become
one of world literature's most influential authors because Titus
Andronicus isn't up to the standards of Hamlet. Both
miss the mark-the fact is that Coltrane and Davis created some of
the most influential and beautiful music in existence and that,
though both were mere mortals, it is necessary to deal with the
cult of personality surrounding each in order to understand the
impact their work has had and continues to have. Since Coltrane
would have turned 75 this past September, it seems like an appropriate
time to undertake such considerations.
EARLY YEARS
 Coltrane
was born in the town of Hamlet, North Carolina in 1926. He was raised
in High Point, North Carolina, a town now known for its furniture
industry. He had a maternal grandfather, one William Blair, who
was a widely known and charismatic preacher. John's father owned
and ran a tailor shop, and the entire clan did fairly well economically
by the standards of their community and the period of time. His
mother and father were apparently both musical, and his early home
life is generally considered to have been a fairly happy one. Though
he performed well enough in school, John was considered to be a
quiet boy, and something of a loner.
During his twelfth year, however, both John's father and grandfather
passed away, causing his mother to move alone to Philadelphia in
1941, where the war provided relatively high-paying work. She sent
money home to keep the family together. John remained in High Point
until 1943 when he moved to Philadelphia with a couple of friends.
His mother was at this time working in Atlantic City, and he frequently
visited her. Late in 1943 he studied alto saxophone at the Ornstein
School of Music, during which time he took work in a sugar refinery
to support himself. In 1945 he was drafted and stationed in Hawaii,
playing clarinet in a military band.
He returned to Philadelphia after his military time, studying again
at Ornstein while palying in a variety of R&B bands, including
those led by King Kolax and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson,
who required Trane to switch to the tenor sax, which Coltrane didn't
want to do. Over time, though, he began to play mainly the tenor,
his style influenced by Dexter Gordon and, of course, Lester Young.
By the end of 1949 he had acquired work with the big band of Dizzy
Gillespie, and Gillespie kept him on when economic conditions forced
him to cut the group to a small combo. Coltrane stayed with Gillespie
until around 1951, moving back to Philadelphia and again embarking
on a course of formal study, this time in music theory at the Granoff
School of Music. The next year he was working for dance bandleader
Earl Bostic, then worked with Johnny Hodges in Hodges' own band,
put together shortly after Hodges left the employ of Duke Ellington.
At the same time, Coltrane was becoming a heroin addict, and by
1954 Hodges was forced to fire him for nodding off during gigs.
He again returned "home" to Philly, where he took what
gigs he could get. Now twenty-six, he was using heroin, smoking
cigarettes, and drinking fairly heavily, gaining weight, and generally
not in good spirits. In addition, his teeth hurt him constantly
as a result of his inability to control his love of sweets. He consumed
candy bars, other sweets, and Coca-Cola so rabidly that his teeth
began to deteriorate. For whatever reason, he was loath to see a
dentist, despite the fact that dentistry was not particularly painful
at the time. Despite these problems, Coltrane continued on, marrying
Juanita Grubbs, the sister of a friend, in late 1955. Juanita was
known as Naima, and later Trane would write one of his most lovely,
haunting ballads and name it after her. Before the year was out,
Miles Davis called Trane in to play in his newest group, a quintet.
This is the time that he picked up the nickname "Trane",
which stuck with him for good. There seems to be no record of who
originated it, but by the time he was playing with Davis, everyone
called him "Trane".
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