| John Coltrane |
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John William Coltrane | |
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Born: September 23, 1926 Hometown: Hamlet, North Carolina Instrument: Tenor Saxophone Music Training: Played Clarinet and Saxophone in high school; Ornstein School of Music; Granoff Studios Bands and Orchestras: "king" Kolax, Eddie "Cleanhand Vinson", Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Smith, Miles Davis Signature Song: John Coltrane biography: The son of tailor and amateur musician John R. Coltrane and Alice Coltrane. Shortly after his birth his maternal grandfather Reverend William Blair moved the family to High Point, NC where young John grew up. His father, uncle and grandparents died shortly after he finished grammar school and he was raised by his mother and aunt. He began playing clarinet that same year and in high school he took up the alto sax. His mother and aunt moved to New Jersey during WWII to find work leaving young John behind. After his graduation from high school he moved to Philadelphia, PA and the family was reunited. While working outside the industry he studied at the Ornstein School of Music and the Granoff Studios. He played at local clubs until he was drafted into the navy where he was stationed in Hawaii. He never saw combat and actually made his first recording with a group of sailors. After his release he played with the Joe Webb Band then switched to the King Kolax Band. He switched from alto to tenor sax after joining a band led by alto player Eddie Vinson. After stints with a few other bands he joined Dizzy Gillespie where he stayed till 1951. It was around this time that Coltrane became a heroin addict. He found work around the Philadelphia area, but his addiction made it tough for him to hold a job. He finally landed with recovering heroin addict Miles Davis in the mid 50s where he garnered national attention. Davis had recently signed a new contract with Columbia Records, but was still obligated to Prestige Records for 5 more recordings. This led to a lot of recording work for John. After Coltrane became a known commodity Prestige began repackaging some of the groups recordings under his name, as if he were the lead performer and not Miles. The recordings are still available under the Fantasy Record label which bought out Prestige. He was officially fired by Davis in 1956 then rehired. The following year Coltrane signed on with Prestige Records as a solo artist. Once again Davis let him go and Coltrane made his solo recording debut. He put together a makeshift band and together they cut the album simply titled Coltrane. Although he joined the Thelonius Monk Quartet in 1957 he continued to record as a solo artist this time another self titled album with Blue Note Records. He rejoined Davis along with Canonball Adderly on Davis' Milestone album. He also recorded his third solo album Soultrane for Prestige. He continued to make appearances and record with some of the jazz world's premier artists until July of 1967 when he entered the hospital on a Sunday and died the following morning of what was diagnosed as liver cancer. In spite of his abbreviated career he is celebrated as one of the jazz world's most influential figures. Died: July 1967
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