Help me understand John Coltrane .... seriously.

Coltrane gave me an appreciation for Miles.

I saw Davis play towards the end of his career as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Good lord was he awful! I swore i would never listen to anything related to Miles again. EVER! 
Fast forward to 2015: a friend sold me about 6 crates of vinyl for $50.00 USD. In the crates were some miles and coltrane. Including "Kinda Blue" (original Columbia pressing on the 'eye dot' logo). I thought "what the hell?" I came away OMG!

The clarity, enunciation, fluidity was there. It made me realize what i had missed all these years. This made me dive into Coltrane a little more. He does take a little effort, but the journey is well worth the trip.

OR listen to the Lucinda Williams song that says "Just play me John Coltrane"

A Love Supreme is a masterpiece.

sometimes i think John Coltranes spirit was one of pain and suffering. I have enough pain and suffering to deal with day in and day out than to put myself through it when I am trying to relax and enjoy. His best music is the early stuff.

Gaining an appreciation for Coltrane is like gaining an appreciation for Charles Mingus, Yusef Lateef, Charlie Parker or Puccini operas. Set the CD to "play," sit back and listen over and over, and soon the understanding will click in.

Frank

@oregonpapa ,
I am inclined to agree with you. Sometimes, complete immersion yields a greater understanding.
But,
Sometimes the dissonant/discordant sounds force me to flee the room or switch to Mozart.

B