John Coltrane was born on September 23, 1926, in Hamlet, North Carolina, and died on July 17, 1967, in New York City. He is one of the most important—and controversial—individuals in the history of jazz. Many consider the saxophonist a father figure in the development of avant-garde jazz, and his recordings during the period of 1961 to 1967 have become the foundation of modern jazz.

Coltrane’s father was a tailor who played several instruments. In school, young Coltrane studied the E-flat alto horn and clarinet before taking up the saxophone. In 1939 his father and grandfather died, and he moved to Philadelphia, where his mother lived, and studied at the Ornstein School of Music. Coltrane’s real musical education came on the bandstand, and he made his professional debut in 1945, performing at a cocktail lounge in Philadelphia.

Coltrane served in the navy and performed with the navy band in Hawaii from 1945 to 1946, then toured as a road musician with Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson’s R&B group and Dizzy Gillespie’s group, where he switched to tenor sax. In the 1950s he played with Earl Bostic’s combo, Johnny Hodge’s group, and Miles Davis’s ensemble. During the summer and fall of 1957, Coltrane played with Thelonious Monk at the Five Spot club in New York City, then rejoined Davis in January 1958; he performed with Davis off and on, from 1955 until 1960.

Coltrane did not begin his solo career until 1960, when he was 33 years old. He recorded for Prestige, Atlantic, and Impulse and the seven years of intense solo activity—done by the time he was 40—constitutes one of the major bodies of work in jazz. His solo work parallels the intense period of civil rights in the United States, and his artistry and life captured—and were captured by—the political consciousness and action of Blacks during that period.