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John Coltrane: Blue Train

· Tuesday, January 26th 2010 at 1:47PM · 422 views
John Coltrane: Blue Train

If you are a jazz fan, then you know this has to be a standard in any fan’s collection. Coltrane was a giant of his time, not only a master of improvisation but an innovator as well. He made the transition from the hard bop style of jazz, which Blue Train exemplifies, to the avant garde era, where musicians like Miles, Herbie Hancock and others dominated.

Blue Train is a hard bop jazz album by John Coltrane, recorded on September 15, 1957, at the Van Gelder Studio. It is considered Coltrane's first solo album, as it is the first he recorded featuring musicians and songs entirely of his choosing. All of the compositions were written by Coltrane, save "I'm Old Fashioned", a Jerome Kern/Johnny Mercer standard. The title track is a long, rhythmically variegated blues with a brooding minor theme that gradually shifts to major during Coltrane's first chorus.

John William "Trane" Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967[1]) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.

Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz. He was prolific, making about fifty recordings as a leader during his recording career, and appeared as a sideman on many other albums, notably with trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk. As his career progressed, Coltrane's music took on an increasingly spiritual dimension. His second wife was pianist Alice Coltrane, and their son Ravi Coltrane is also a saxophonist.

He influenced innumerable musicians, and remains one of the most significant tenor saxophonists in jazz history. He received many awards, among them a posthumous Special Citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board in 2007 for his "masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz."

Coltrane produced a tremendous body of work in his relatively short career.

Enjoy!

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Comments (4)

Richard Kigel Tuesday, January 26th 2010 at 4:14PM

Hey Clark:

SWEET!!!!!

Thanks.

Jen Fad Tuesday, January 26th 2010 at 10:32PM

He's really playing that sax & it sounds real nice!

Richard Kigel Wednesday, January 27th 2010 at 6:08PM

Hey Clark:

Sounds like we could use some MORE COLTRANE on this site!!!

ROBINSON IRMA Thursday, April 10th 2014 at 6:47PM

Clark, I am not familiar with this jazz artist...I am going to go to the library and listen to your tape of him though.(smile)

(I can't get DSL as I am too close to the Air force's radars so I go to the library to get this)

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