Coltrane. Can we talk?

Robert,
Ah, it really is a small world after all. Do you know Scott Reeves at school? we used to teach together at the University of Maine. He was the head of the jazz dept., my boss- a nice guy and good player. There were quite a few great Maine musicians who moved to NY, Ben Street comes to mind. You also may know my cousin, another bass player, Chris Dahlgren, who lives in Brooklyn and plays around town with some good players, sometimes in Maria Schneider's band among others. Anyway, after I left my teaching position, I came to the Virgin Islands, where I live and play jazz, guitar... I've been strictly playing for three years down here. (Which is why I have time to surf the net during the days)... It's nice, pretty lucrative, but lonely. I have a solo gig at the Ritz Carlton, just got home from work. I'm out there 3 nights a week, and also do private functions for corporate groups here on vacation/incentive trips. I like to get up to NY or Boston a few times a year for my own sanity, and may move back soon, or go to grad school in NY or back to Boston at Boston Conservatory. Sounds like you were in Boston as well. I guess I really should send you a cd as you suggested, as long as you don't compare me against any monsters! Jay

I just love you Coltrane guys. I am working on him but haven't arrived as of yet but I won't give up. Same with Schoenberg. I just haven't "gotten it"....yet.

Does it move you? There's not much that needs getting... The last thing you want to do is get caught up in the kind of banter that we've been involved in on this thread. Time to tape my mouth shut, make another pot of coffee, and do some listening. As Burroughs said, "Rub out the word".

Jay yeah some of Coltrane does move me and that is the point. There is more to his music than one might initially realize but some of it is so far out there. Sometimes music hits you like a thunderbolt and then you arrive. A moment of consciousness. If it didn't have some interest to me I would't even bother.

As others who have read my posts know, I've been a pretty serious jazz buff for more than 40 years, have taught a course in jazz appreciation, and have been priveleged to hear many of the jazz greats "live" in a club setting. The first time I became seriously aware of Coltrane as a force in jazz was in 1959 when I purchased my first copy of "Kind of Blue". I heard Coltrane live for the first time when he was in Seattle in the early 1960's, and I was not ready for him "in the flesh". Staggering power, extraordinary emotional power in his playing, and profound musical conception. Coltrane's music must be studied to be fully appreciated. His harmonic conception is a stretch for many, and it took me many years to fully understand what he was saying in his music. For me, one of the marks of a truly great jazz artist is the appeal of their music over decades, and Coltrane is in the first rank of "classical" jazz musicians. One of the most interesting stories about 'Trane in concert occurred when he was playing in a theater in France during the mid-1960's. The entire concert consisted of 1 tune, which 'Trane improvised on for 3 hours without a break. Regarding some of the previous posts: music and compositional theory can be very interesting -- for example, the use of modes in the music of Bill Evans and Miles Davis -- but jazz is a listener's art form, and it must ultimately move the listener in some way. There is nothing wrong with saying that Coltrane doesn't move you. Most of the popular "smooth jazz" musicians do not move me at all, probably because years of listening to more complex jazz and classical music has expanded my tastes. There are many roads to reach an appreciation of Coltrane's music. The most accessible numbers by 'Trane are typically his ballads, and there are several compilation CD's of his ballad playing. I still find it difficult to listen to some of Coltrane's "free" playing from the 1965-67 period, and I listen to those recordings only when I am trying to "stretch my ears". Overall, however, I am profoundly grateful that God allowed such a presence to visit among us, even if for a short time. His playing changed the landscape of American jazz, and in a broader sense the world musical palette.