The Impact of John Coltrane

by Moira O'Sullivan

“John Coltrane ain’t playing for the patrons of the bar, he playing for them guys outside. Because the people inside the bar, they don’t even know how to pronounce John Coltrane’s name….But for the guys outside they see it as their weapon."

— How I Learned What I Learned

John Coltrane (1926–1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. His talent was only matched by his outreach. In 1966, he stated, “I know that there are bad forces, forces that bring suffering to others and misery to the world. I want to be the opposite force. I want to be the force which is truly for good.” As we see in How I Learned What I Learned, he was more than just the music he played, and his impact on the Black community is still felt today.

Coltrane grew up in High Point, North Carolina, where his grandfather was an African Methodist Episcopal minister in the community. His involvement in the church was formative in his musical sensibilities, as his knowledge of spirituals influenced his music later in life. After his father passed away and the family suffered financially, Coltrane moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with his mother. There he began taking lessons at the Ornstein School of Music before being drafted into the US Navy at the end of World War II.

After his time in the military, Coltrane dove into his music career, working for several bandleaders and building his reputation as a talented saxophonist. In 1955, he played in a band led by Miles Davis and also worked with jazz pianist Thelonious Monk. In 1960, he formed the Classic Quartet, which played avant-garde jazz. The ensemble created a unique compositional and improvisational style that used dense, quickly changing chords and rejected traditional harmonies. The group, as well as Coltrane, became well known for their fresh take on the genre.

From there, Coltrane released several critically acclaimed albums including Giant Steps (1960), Ascension (1966), and his most successful, A Love Supreme (1965). What made these records so distinctive were his eclectic inspirations. His music incorporated African traditions, slave spirituals, and the blues, as well as classical European and Indian musical styles. Audiences connected to his music in a whole new way, and by the late 1960s, Coltrane was viewed as a leader in the Black Arts movement. Coltrane wrote the song “Alabama” in response to the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, which cemented his footing in the civil rights movement and inspired subsequent action in the Black Power movement.

Coltrane’s infusion of African music into the American music scene thrust a new Black aesthetic into the mainstream. The younger generation of revolutionary artists, musicians, poets, and activists looked to Coltrane for inspiration. John Coltrane died of cancer in 1967. He posthumously won a Grammy Award in 1981 for Best Improvised Jazz Solo Performance as well as a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 1992. He received a Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for his iconic centrality to the history of jazz.

August Wilson was deeply inspired by Coltrane and his artistry, describing in How I Learned… that he never understood the appeal of jazz until Coltrane played in a club in the Hill District. Wilson never forgot his experience seeing a crowd of people in his neighborhood “stunned into silence by the power of art and the soaring music of John Coltrane and his exploration of man’s connection to the divinity. And the power of possibility of human life.”

Glossary

by Rachel Ropella

Bowie knife: A large sheath-style fighting knife, known for its crossguard and curved clip point at the tip. It was created by American Rezin Bowie in the early 1800s for his brother, Jim Bowie, whose role in the Texas Revolution and the Battle of the Alamo made the style of knife famous.

Buick: A subdivision of American automobile manufacturer General Motors, known for its premium car models.

Burnished: Polished through rubbing, in order to make appear attractive; used often to describe metal.

Cochise: (1805–1874) A prominent Chiricahua Apache leader throughout the Apache Wars in the American Southwest. He led the uprising in 1861 which incited the wars, persisting until a peace treaty was negotiated in 1872 and the Chiricahua Reservation was established.

John Coltrane: (1926–1967) An African American saxophonist, bandleader, and composer who is considered one of the most acclaimed and influential pioneers within jazz music. Posthumously awarded a Pulitzer and the Grammy for Best Jazz Solo Performance for the album Bye Bye Blackbird. Coltrane’s bestselling album, A Love Supreme, is considered his masterpiece.

Crucible: A ceramic or metal vessel that can melt down metals or other substances because of its high temperatures. Crucibles have been used dating back to 6000 BCE and are integral to the process of creating new materials or metals. A crucible can also refer to a pressing, high-stakes test or trial that a person goes through, leading to a change.

Duel: A prearranged engagement between two people with matching weapons, such as swords or pistols, in which the combat between them follows agreed-upon rules. Duels deal heavily with the code of honor and were often incited if one party felt they were being dishonored. Duels were popularized in the 17th and 18th centuries, but were around centuries prior as alternatives for the usual process of justice.

Greyhound: Referring to a coach bus from Greyhound Lines, Inc., the largest intercity bus service in North America, which currently serves 16 million riders every year.

Jean Harlow: (1911–1937) An American actress who was known as a sex symbol of the 1930s before the Hays Code enforced censorship in the film industry. Playing femme fatale roles in films including Hell’s Angels and The Public Enemy, Harlow was nicknamed “The Blonde Bombshell.”

Hill District: A grouping of historically African American neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, PA. Since the 1920s, "the Hill'' has been the cultural center of Black life in the city and a major center of jazz. Notable people born in the Hill District include civil rights attorney Derrick Bell, Pittsburgh mayor Sophie Masloff, and playwright August Wilson.

IBM: International Business Machines Corporation, an American technology corporation that produces tech including computer hardware and software. IBM is one of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones stock market index, noted for being profitable and consistent as a company.

Jitney: An unlicensed taxicab that doesn’t comply with city regulations, but often operates in areas underserved by traditional taxis and public transport. Jitney is also the title of an August Wilson play that examines the lives of the jitney drivers at a station in the Pittsburgh Hill District.

The Hope Diamond: A famously large, 45.52-carat diamond originally mined in Guntur, India, during the 17th century. It’s famous for its blue coloring, caused by traces of the element boron. It was worn by King Louis XIV of France before it eventually came into possession of Henry Philip Hope, of the Hope & Co. banking conglomerate. It has been on display as part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History since 1958.

Kroger: An American retail company founded in 1883 that operates different supermarkets, such as Ralphs and Pick ’n Save, throughout the country.

Douglas MacArthur: (1880–1964) An American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States in the 1940s. He was known for his tactical brilliance and a bombastic and arrogant personality.

Guy de Maupassant: (1850–1893) A French author known for his short stories that focus on the struggles of both civilians and soldiers in the 1870s during the Franco-Prussian War.

Monsignor: An honorific title for male clergy members of the Roman Catholic Church. It is a title granted by the Pope to a priest who has distinguished himself through exceptional service for the church he serves.

The World of hoW I learned WhaT I learned

Morton Salt: An American food company that produces salt for food, agriculture, and roads. Well known for their round canisters of table salt that feature their mascot: a young girl in a yellow dress carrying an umbrella.

Samaria’s Well: A reference to the biblical parable of Jesus and the woman of Samaria, the central region of modern Palestine. In this parable, which takes place at Jacob’s well, the giving of water is seen as salvation, and once one drinks it, they will never thirst again.

Elijah Muhammad: (1897–1975) The prominent religious leader of Black separatist organization the Nation of Islam, which he was the head of from 1934 until his death in 1975. While some of his more controversial beliefs about racial supremacy were met with criticism from other Islamic groups and Black civil rights leaders, he was a mentor to Malcolm X before he separated from the Nation in 1964.

The Origins of Table Manners: Written by French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, this book focuses on Indigenous North American mythology. It is the third book of the fourvolume cultural anthropology collection referred to as Mythologiques

Reefer: A slang term that originated in the 1930s for marijuana. Cemented as a phrase because of the 1936 film Reefer Madness, a campy anti-marijuana propaganda film that became a cult classic in the 1970s.

Salvation Army: A Protestant church and an international charitable organization known for helping with disaster relief, running charity shops, and creating community centers.

Bessie Smith: (1894–1937) An influential African American blues and jazz singer, known for her solo career as well as her performances with other artists, including Louis Armstrong and Ma Rainey. She tragically died in a car crash, but has left a lasting impact on blues music. She was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and is often referred to as “the Empress of Blues.”

Art Tatum: (1909–1956) A legendary African American jazz pianist who was legally blind and largely self-taught, Tatum has been widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field because of his prodigious technical and improvisational skills.