John Coltrane, legendary American modern jazz saxophonist, was born on 23rd Sept. 1926

We’re a day late with this because of a clash of dates yesterday. Born in North Carolina in 1926, Coltrane played in the US Navy jazz band during the latter part of WWII and settled in Philadelphia after the war to study jazz theory, originally playing alto sax. In 1945 he saw Charlie Parker play, and experience which had a profound influence on him, and he became an early disciple of bebop during the late '40s, playing with Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Bostic and others. In 1955 Miles Davis invited him to join his quintet, a liaison which lasted for two hugely productive years in recording terms, but terminated due to Coltrane's heroin-related problems. He teamed up with Thelonious Monk before rejoining Davis in the late '50s, participating in the landmark "milestones" and "Kind of Blue" sessions. During this time he recorded his important "Giant Steps" album for Atlantic, famous for its complex use of altered chord progressions, and then formed his own group to record for the label, a time which saw him successfully experiment with the soprano sax on "My Favourite Things". His work of the early '60s saw him move to the new Impulse label with further departures into modal free form jazz, attracting some criticism which saw him become somewhat more conservative with some recordings with Duke Ellington. However, from about 1965, his work became increasingly avant-garde as, along with the likes of Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler, he explored yet more abstract and challenging musical areas, possibly a reflection of his use of LSD, with the music developing a cosmic spiritual flavour. His death from liver cancer in 1967 at the age of 40 came as a shock to the jazz fraternity. His influence was perhaps even greater after his death than while he was playing, as up-and-coming musicians absorbed his innovative style and techniques, and he remains among the great saxophonists in the annals of the genre. Acrobat has on catalogue a collection of some of his work - for details click here.