John Coltrane is one of the giants of North Carolina. He was born in Hamlet in 1926 and grew up in High Point. Both his grandfathers were AME Zion ministers. In his late teens (1943), Coltrane’s widowed mother moved him to Philadelphia. In 1945, he joined the Navy. He studied music after leaving the service. A few years ago, I took the time to track down the High Point home in which he was raised.

Charlie Parker’s playing, Trane said, “Hit me right between the eyes.” Over the next few years he played with bands led by Eddie Vinson, Johnny Hodges, Earl Bostic, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1955, Miles Davis recruited Coltrane. The two of them were joined by Philly Joe Jones (drums), Red Garland (piano), and Paul Chambers (bass) to create what is often called the “First Great Quintet.”

He performed with in the late ‘50s with Thelonius Monk, another North Carolina giant. In 1957, he recorded his hard bop masterpiece Blue Trane. 1960 saw other astounding albums with Coltrane as band leader: Giant Steps and My Favorite Things are the best known. This was the time when Coltrane developed long-term relationships with drummer Elvin Jones and pianist McCoy Tyner. Eric Dolphy also joined him during this period.

In his time with Impulse records, in the early ‘60s, Coltrane ventured into increasingly spiritually exploratory territory. He delved into religions around the world at the same time he experimented with increasingly bold styles of jazz including the sometimes screaming ratchets of free jazz and miasma of the avant-garde movement. He was joined in bands and projects by such greats a Freddie Hubbard, Pharoah Sanders, and Archie Shepp.

In 1967, Coltrane died of liver cancer at age 40. (He was born one month before my father, and died nine months after my father.)

Congregants of Yardbird Temple celebrate John Coltrane as God incarnate, using his music and lyrics in their liturgy.

My favorite albums are: A Love Supreme, Impressions, Blue Trane, Giant Steps, Live at the Village Vanguard, and My Favorite Things.