Happy Birthday, John Coltrane

September 23 is the birthday of John Coltrane, born in Hamlet, North Carolina (1926). When asked to describe his style, he said, "I start in the middle of a sentence and move both directions at once."

Coltrane is, at heart, a Philadelphian, having moved here after high school. It remained his base of operations even as he began to tour the country playing for Eddie (Cleanhead) Vinson, Johnny Hodges and Dizzy Gillespie. His home at 1511 N. 33rd has been designated a landmark, and although it is not open to the public, it is a nice reminder of a time when musical celebrities remained part of the neighborhood. In an age of gated communities, 24 hour papparazi, bodyguards and stalkers, it is hard to imagine someone keeping it real in Strawberry Mansion. Maybe Britney Spears ought to consider relocating to Frankford.

(A Giant Step - John Coltrane's Philadelphia house designated historic site)

It is hard to describe Coltrane's influence on later players, partly because his genius was so inimitable. Like Charle Parker before him, Coltrane played so spectacularly that his style couldn't be repeated. He does continue to inspire players by his spirit, both as a constant experimenter, one who constantly tried different things, expanding what was considered possible, and also by using jazz as a means of spiritual discovery. Some of his most important works--"Love Supreme," "Ascension," "Om," "Meditations" and others--all explore the lasting questions of God, love, and the longing of the soul.

The New York Times writes, "At a certain point, about 1961, Coltrane’s name became shorthand for the idea of cultural rarefaction. You might remember Coltrane references in movies like Woody Allen’s “Alice” or Spike Lee’s “Mo’ Better Blues,” or from books like Ken Kesey’s “Sometimes a Great Notion”: they propose Coltrane as a kind of sacred mystery, an unparsable source of enlightenment. But he was a down-home character too, and the raw country sound was always with him. "

Enjoy this down-home enlightenment:

Listen to "Blue Train," the title track from his 1957 album, the only one he made for legendary Blue Note Records. Trane is joined by an impressive set of musicians including Lee Morgan (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Kenny Drew (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), and Philly Joe Jones (drums). Warning: this is a ten minute song.

Listen to "Nutty" from the historic collaboration Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane.

Visit johncoltrane.com

Jazz in an Unexpected Place: Bengalis in Boston

"When she went upstairs to change, Shukumar poured himself some wine and put on a record, a Thelonius Monk album he knew she liked."

--"A Temporary Matter" from Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.

This story will break your heart and then punch you in the gut. It is the first and perhaps most affecting story in an excellent collection. Without giving too much away, it is the story of a young couple, a nightly power outage, dinner conversations, and the difficulty we have in communicating the difficult.

Thelonious Sphere Monk at All About Jazz:

Thelonious Institute offers a jazz curriculum, library, and a whole bunch of audio "snippets."

Other bits of goodness:

In classical mythology, Thelonious is a son of Mercury (featured in Ovid's Metamorphoses.)

The coffee-shop that is frequented in the show Seinfeld is called Monk's after Thelonious Monk. Apparently there was a Thelonious Monk poster hanging in the room Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld would write the script.

Listen to these:

"Blues Five Spot" (Also known as the "Five Spot Blues," it takes its title friom the famous New York Club where Monk had a long lasting residency. It is the place that made Monk a star while he in turn made it into the premier jazz club in America. Do not confuse it with this place. This version features full backing band.)

"I Should Care" (a short piano only track from his album Solo Monk.)

Another favorite, but I don't have it handy, is "Straight, No Chaser."

More from Joe Z.

On my way home today I was listening to local radio station 88.5 WXPN when all of a sudden came on this great tune. When it finished, the DJ identified it as "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" by the Cannonball Adderly Quintet. The piece was written by his keyboardist, Joe Zawinul.

Even if you don't like jazz, you'll love this one. You can smell the cigarette smoke in the air. Great intro, too.

"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy"


For serious jazz fans, you might also like this one:
"Birdland" by Weather Report

This song is a pretty good example of "fusion," a style I am typically not crazy about, but this has a catchy melody line. One critic says, "'Birdland' is a remarkable bit of record-making, a unified, ever-developing piece of music that evokes, without in any way imitating, a joyous evening on 52nd St. with a big band."

An interesting sidenote: "Weather Report started out as a jazz equivalent of what the rock world in 1970 was calling a "supergroup." But unlike most of the rock supergroups, this one not only kept going for a good 15 years, it more than lived up to its billing, practically defining the state of the jazz-rock art throughout almost all of its run." For more on supergroups, see the R.L.P.A.