One of my favourites. His more bluesy material especially.

'A Love supreme' is a defining moment in jazz. I love 'Cresent' too. Coltrane's solos seem to float above the band untill in an impossible moment, he shows you he never left the melody, the way he plays around or in the line.
Coltrane's band gets my admiration undyingly... McCoy Tyner, OH YEAH!!
Davis had some great bands, but never for more than an album or two. Coltrane's regulars knew how to react and play against him.

Geez ... Ascension is hard to get into for sure, but ultimately I like it better than Ornette's free-est stuff (for Ornette I like the Prime Time era the best, most days, but that's another story) ... couldn't say WHY I prefer it, but I went so far as to listen to both released takes of Ascension, days apart for clarity, and ended up agreeing that Coltrane's decision to change which was the official released take, not long after the album came out, was a wise decision ... it's subtle, but the energetic effects are distinctly superior (ie more refined in a particular direction) ...

But there's something to like and to study and learn from and freak about on every album I've heard. Some of the runs on "Village Vanguard" sound like falling leaves or eddies in running water. The "Giant Steps" album has some of the most insanely labyrinthine chord changes ever ... and he kept working those same changes for the rest of his life, he just stopped making the band play them and improvised through them himself over various kinds of drone or rhythmic din. And his experiments with group tone (in terms of personnel) on albums like Kulu Se Mama, Live In Seattle, or the duets with Rashied Ali (remarkable for many reasons but sounding now less like falling leaves than torrential rain on your windshield in a tropical forest) are also enlightening. And "A Love Supreme" is an astonishing kernel of wholeness. You can analyze any of these things to a point that would kill most music but it just gets more incredible with every magnification

'Ascent' off of Sun Ship is one of the best bass performances ever. Sorry Mingus.

John is great! I think his my favorite too, right after Lester Young! :)

one of my favorite if not my MOST favorite jazz musician, and yes i'm putting him ahead of miles davis.

the bass player in the popnroll group who played after mine Tuesday night warmed his fingers up with Giant Steps - hope for the culture?

sweeeeeet

I've been collecting more new than old jazz lately, but I realized just a bit ago that I really don't have that much Coltrane actually on my drive beyond A Love Supreme and Blue Train. :(

In Sun Ship highly recommendable?

I love John Coltrane.
 

You can't go wrong with John Coltrane.

I will be looking forward to more info on this thread. :wave: