Widely acknowledged as Trane’s first masterpiece, anyone looking to buy John Coltrane for the first time needs to start here. Worm Jazz is a wriggly puzzler with a unique blend of game mechanics inspired by familiar classics such as Snake and Bomberman. All but one of the tunes is by the saxophonist, and it’s the title cut, with its memorable clarion call theme, which is the stand-out. He was still playing with Monk’s quintet when he recorded Blue Train with a sextet that included young trumpet genius Lee Morgan. After going cold turkey and successfully beating his addiction, Coltrane was a man reborn whose music became more sharply focused, especially after he began working with Thelonious Monk. So if you’re looking to buy John Coltrane, the following albums will be essential.īlue Train (Blue Note, 1958) This album, recorded in September 1957, marked John Coltrane’s comeback after his heroin use led to his ejection from Miles Davis’ band earlier in the year. You’ll find them later in the list - suggestions to explore once you’ve got a taste for Coltrane and want to discover more. Having said that, we haven’t avoided some of Trane’s more demanding and esoteric works. The albums aren’t ranked according to their merits - this isn’t intended as a definitive rundown of Coltrane’s work - but are positioned in relation to their accessibility. But the sheer amount of his music can be intimidating, so how do newcomers start to buy John Coltrane?įor those seeking to buy John Coltrane for the first time and start a collection from scratch, the following list offers a suggestion of ten Coltrane albums that will hopefully function as a foundation for amassing an even bigger cache of the saxophonist’s work. Wiggle your way through intricate, mind-bending mazes filled with mines, wormholes and powerups. Mark, an earthworm with a particular fondness for smooth jazz and dapper headwear. Indeed, since his death, in 1967, Coltrane and his music, aided by its pronounced spiritual and metaphysical dimensions, has inspired a kind of religious devotion that no other jazz musician has experienced (there’s even a church named after him in San Francisco - the St John Coltrane Church). Worm Jazz is a wriggly puzzler with a unique blend of game mechanics inspired by classics such as Snake and Bomberman. That’s because Trane - as his disciples refer to him - is regarded as a deity whose extraordinary musical powers far exceed those of other mere mortals. Symposium is published annually, released in the fall.In jazz circles, the smallest mention of John Coltrane usually invokes a mood of hushed reverence, and the discovery of a previously unreleased album, Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, promises a Holy Grail-like revelation for fans. Second, the journal presents articles that cross traditional boundaries between areas of music, as well as articles addressing topics of significance to broad segments of the membership. First, the journal presents articles that have a narrow individual focus but which collectively represent the breadth of the spectrum of specialized interests throughout the music field.

The journal's content reflects the broad interests of the Society's membership in two ways.

Although its content consists primarily of formal, refereed articles, Symposium also presents reviews and commentaries of appropriate substance and length. The content of the publication highlights concerns of general interest and reflects the work of the music and higher education community in all areas of music. Although the group would reach the peak of their collective powers with A LOVE SUPREME two years later, THE INCH WORM finds them with no shortage of inspiration. College Music Symposium, the interdisciplinary journal of The College Music Society, serves as a vehicle for the dissemination of information and ideas on music in higher education. Recorded live in Austria in 1962, THE INCH WORM captures John Coltranes legendary quartet from the early 1960s in action.

The inch worm jazz