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He was one of the greatest saxophone players of all time. Hewrote jazz music. He recorded new versions of popular songs. And, hehelped make modern jazz popular. I’m Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Today, we tell about musician John Coltrane.
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VOICE ONE:
John Coltrane was born in the state of North Carolina inNineteen-Twenty-Six. He was raised in the small farm town of HighPoint. Both of his grandfathers were clergymen. As a young boy, hespent a great deal of time listening to the music of the blackSouthern church.
Coltrane’s father sewed clothes. He played several musicalinstruments for his own enjoyment. The young Coltrane grew up in amusical environment. He discovered jazz by listening to therecordings of such jazz greats as Count Basie and Lester Young.
VOICE TWO:
When John was thirteen, he asked his mother to buy him asaxophone. People realized almost immediately that the young mancould play the instrument very well. John learned by listening torecordings of the great jazz saxophone players, Johnny Hodges andCharlie Parker.
John and his family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania inNineteen-Forty-Three. He studied music for a short time at theGranoff Studios and at the Ornstein School of Music.
VOICE ONE:
John Coltrane served for a year in a Navy band in Hawaii. When hereturned, he began playing saxophone in several small bands.
In Nineteen-Forty-Eight, Coltrane joined trumpet player DizzyGillespie’s band. Seven years later, Coltrane joined the jazz groupof another trumpet player, Miles Davis. The group included pianoplayer Red Garland, double bass player Paul Chambers and drummerPhilly Joe Jones.
VOICE TWO:
Coltrane began experimenting with new ways to write and performjazz music. He explored many new ways of playing the saxophone.
Some people did not like this new sound. They did not understandit. Others said it was an expression of modern soul. They said itrepresented an important change. Jazz performers, composers andother musicians welcomed this change.
During the Nineteen-Fifties, Coltrane used drugs and alcohol. Hebecame dependent on drugs. Band leaders dismissed him because of hisdrug use. In Nineteen-Fifty-Seven, Coltrane stopped using drugs.
VOICE ONE:
In Nineteen-Fifty-Nine, John Coltrane recorded the first album ofhis own music. The album is called “Giant Steps.” Here is the titlesong from that album.
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VOICE TWO:
Coltrane also recorded another famous song with a larger jazzband. The band included Milt Jackson on vibes, Hank Jones on piano,Paul Chambers on bass and Connie Kay on drums. Here is theirrecording of “Stairway to the Stars.”
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VOICE ONE:
In Nineteen-Sixty, Coltrane left Miles Davis and organized hisown jazz group. He was joined by McCoy Tyner on piano, JimmyGarrison on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. This group became famousaround the world.
John Coltrane’s most famous music was recorded during thisperiod. One song is called “My Favorite Things.” Richard Rogers andOscar Hammerstein had written the song for the Broadway musical “TheSound of Music.” Jazz critics say Coltrane’s version is one of thebest jazz recordings ever made. The record became very popular. Itled many more people to become interested in jazz.
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VOICE TWO:
Critics say Coltrane’s versions of other popular songs influencedall jazz music writing. One of these was a song called “Summertime.”It was written by Du Bose Heyward and George Gershwin for the opera”Porgy and Bess.”
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VOICE ONE:
In Nineteen-Sixty-Four, Coltrane married pianist Alice McCloudwho later became a member of his band. He stopped using alcohol, andbecame religious. He wrote a song to celebrate his religiousexperience. The song is more than thirty minutes long. It is called”A Love Supreme.” Here is part of the song.
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VOICE TWO:
By Nineteen-Sixty-Five, Coltrane was one of the most famous jazzmusicians in the world. He was famous in Europe and Japan, as wellas in the United States. He was always trying to produce a soundthat no one had produced before. Some of the sounds he made werebeautiful. Others were like loud screams. Miles Davis said thatColtrane was the loudest, fastest saxophone player that ever lived.
Many people could not understand his music. But they listenedanyway. Coltrane never made his music simpler to become morepopular.
Coltrane continued to perform and record even as he suffered fromliver cancer. He died in Nineteen-Sixty-Seven at the age of forty inLong Island, New York.
VOICE ONE:
Experts say John Coltrane continues to influence modern jazz.Some critics say one of Coltrane’s most important influences on jazzwas his use of musical ideas from other cultures, including India,Africa and Latin America.
Whitney Balliett of The New Yorker Magazine wrote about Coltranethe year after his death: “People said they heard the dark night …in Coltrane’s wildest music. But what they really heard was a heroic… voice at the mercy of its own power.”
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VOICE TWO: This Special English program was written by ShelleyGollust. It was produced by Lawan Davis. I’m Steve Ember. VOICE ONE:
And I’m Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week at this timefor another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.