What sets Coltrane apart from other icons such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk? The essence of Parker and Monk is already encapsulated in their early work. Their music remained true to an original vision. Davis, the ultimate chameleon, took a different approach: he reinvented himself every five years. Coltrane tells a different story. His decade as a bandleader reads like one long transformation, driven by an insatiable desire for greater depth. The result is an oeuvre that crackles with intensity and personal commitment.
Coltrane went all the way, at every stage of his career. Like any musician, he was a child of his time and of the influences that shaped him, but he soon became something of an outsider. Many found his early music exhausting: restless and difficult to grasp. The young Coltrane, who made his breakthrough alongside Miles Davis, first made his mark in the late 1950s with albums that showcased his technical mastery. Above all, however, he was a relentless explorer of form, harmony and technique.
They called it ‘sheets of sound’: a torrent of notes sweeping through the music. Coltrane piled chord upon chord and phrase upon phrase in a quest to push jazz to its very limits. This approach reached its apotheosis with Giant Steps (1959): part album, part litmus test for aspiring saxophonists. But Coltrane wanted to go even further. Inspired by Miles’s modal jazz and Ornette Coleman’s newfound freedom, he embraced a more horizontal approach. Influences from Eastern music gradually found their way into his work, though his artistic path remained restless.
The spiritual A Love Supreme (1965) marked a personal and stylistic turning point. In his final years, Coltrane completely shattered the boundaries of jazz, embracing radical freedom and marathon sessions in which he pushed the capabilities of his instrument to the absolute limit. Such an intensely personal journey encompasses several phases, each offering a different perspective on his work. We’re eager to hear what Aaron Parks and Walter Smith III will do with Coltrane’s tender ballads, and which compositions Flat Earth Society and Joe Lovano & co. will reinterpret. After all, copying is out of the question. A personal response in the form of a tribute, however, is more than fitting.
Ancienne Belgique joins in on celebrating the 100th birthday too. They do so with an impressive series of projects.
