Pictures of john coltrane discography

John Coltrane is rightly regarded as one of the major forces in twentieth-century jazz, a distinction made all the more remarkable by the fact that the majority of that force came in the span of a few short years, from 1960 until his death in 1967 at the age of 40. Before recording the landmark Giant Steps (1960), Coltrane was known to jazz fans as the tenor saxophonist from Miles Davis’ first great quintet. A heroin addiction got him booted from the band, and Coltrane signed with Prestige Records while he cleaned up his act. The Prestige sessions have been recycled and repackaged over the years, have garnered occasional praise (some of it undeserved) and no doubt vexed numerous novices who stumbled upon them thinking they were vintage Coltrane recordings and were left wondering what the fuss was all about.

If that’s where the story ended, Coltrane would be remembered today as a good tenor saxophonist in a great band. But beginning in 1960, Coltrane seemed to invest his entire being into taking his instrument (and jazz along with it) into new dimensions. He fearlessly explored the avant-garde, African music, the conventional limits of song and (heresy of heresies!) intertwined his own deep religious beliefs into his music. Coltrane’s music from this period ranges from agita

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