Robbie Coltrane

John Coltrane John Coltrane was born on September 23, 1926, in Hamlet, North Carolina. This particular day had important astrological significance. It was the day of the autumn equinox, one of only two days through the year where night and day are perfectly equal (Fraim 7). Shortly after his birth, Coltrane's family moved to High Point, North Carolina. He lived in a nice neighborhood sharing a house with his mom and dad, aunt and uncle and cousin, and his grandparents, the Blairs (7)

search for the incorporation of his spirituality with his music. John Coltrane was not only an essential contributor to jazz, but also music itself. John Coltrane died thirty-two years ago, on July 17, 1967, at the age of forty. In the years since, his influence has only grown, and the stellar avant-garde saxophonist has become a jazz legend of a stature shared only by Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker. As an instrumentalist Coltrane was technically and imaginatively equal to both;

musician (Larson 2). John Coltrane was one of many musicians that used jazz as this medium. Through his early works in the bebop and hard bop styles to free form and more spiritual styled music later in his career, Coltrane pursued deeper expression from his music (Wikipedia). John Coltrane’s upbringing and early interest in music led to a successful career of highly innovative works that have left a lasting legacy and influence on the jazz community. John William Coltrane was born September 23, 1926

In the air lays an intense tension, an intense concentration, nearly palpable to all those engaged within it. All people are focused in, perhaps on a single leader, perhaps on the slightest breath or noise. And all of this happens within the blink of an eye, merely an instant, but in the eyes of these musicians, it may be the instant that matters the most. It may in fact be the instant that sets the tone of the entire performance to come. The moment that decides whether all of those extra hours of

Despite this turn over, the pattern of moving from one style to the next benefited postmodern jazz musicians as they were able to capitalize upon the apparent open mindedness from the public to the varied methods of musical expression (358). Through the help of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), musicians were able to find performing opportunities, rehearsal space, and other career support (358). The first president of the organization, pianist Richard Abrams, gathered

The alto saxophonist, John Coltrane, was one of the most cultural-ethical leaders of avant-garde jazz, in the 1960’s. He was an innovative composer and artist who pushed the boundaries of contemporary jazz. Avant-gardism liberated artists from the traditional form of jazz and pushed them to question and change the whole idea of jazz itself. Coltrane was the type of musician who believed that he could always be better than he already was. It was not unusual for someone to see him always practicing

When it comes to music, Miles Davis is one of the finest in the business. He was one of the most talented African American trumpet players from a small town in St. Louis. Davis changed the face of Jazz music between the 1950s and 1990s; he was one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Miles was the first jazz musician to influence many listeners in his jazz and rock rhythms. Not only was Davis a musician he was a composer, a producer and a bandleader. Miles Davis was an efficacious

Introduction This task requires the close comparison of two jazz pieces of different decades and their defining styles. The musical styles, instrumentation, compositional techniques, structure, technology and role of lyrics are key factors in the comparison and will be focused on. The artists’ lives as well as the historical and social contexts of those decades will also be analysed because they played key roles in the composition of the music. Charlie Parker’s 1945 Bebop recording “Ko Ko” will

improvisation. Marsalis closes out his improve by returning to the head chorus, this signaled Walter Blanding for the sax solo. Blanding begins playing right where Marsalis left off with the chorus. He transitions into his sax solo that has John Coltrane feel to

A one of a kind, expressive soloist and an asking for social occasion pioneer, Miles Davis was the most dependably creative craftsman in jazz from the late 1940s through the 1960s. Davis experienced youth in East St. Louis, and took up trumpet at 13 years old; following two years he was by then playing professionally. He moved to New York in September 1944, evidently to enter the Institute of Musical Art however truly to locate his loved picture, (Charlie Parker). He joined Parker in live appearances