Coltrane, John (William) (1926–1967)

US jazz saxophonist. He first came to fame in 1955 with the Miles Davis quintet, later playing with Thelonious Monk in 1957. He was a powerful and individual artist, whose performances featured much experimentation. His 1960s quartet was highly regarded for its innovations in melody and harmony.

Like Charlie Parker, Coltrane marked a watershed in jazz and has been revered by his fans. The free-jazz movement of the 1960s owed much to his extended exploratory solos, for example on ‘Giant Steps’ (1959), the year he traded tenor saxophone for soprano. His first recording with a soprano saxophone was the Rodgers and Hammerstein song ‘My Favorite Things’, which became a jazz hit. A highly original musician, he has been much imitated, but the deeply emotional tone of his playing, for example on ‘A Love Supreme’ (1964), was unique.