John Coltrane died fifty-eight years ago this week on July 17, 1967.
By 1966, John Coltrane had established himself as one of jazz's most innovative voices through his work with Miles Davis and the albums Giant Steps and A Love Supreme. Yet as he ventured deeper into free jazz, he faced the harshest criticism of his career—attacks that would have broken a lesser artist but ultimately revealed his profound artistic conviction.
The turning point came with Ascension (1965), a sprawling 40-minute collective improvisation that abandoned traditional harmonic structures entirely. Where once Coltrane had been praised for his technical mastery and spiritual seeking, critics now accused him of self-indulgence and cacophony. The jazz establishment that had embraced his earlier innovations began turning against him as he pushed into what many considered mere noise.
DownBeat, long a supporter, published reviews reflecting the growing divide. Critics complained his music had become "screaming" and "incoherent," with Martin Williams writing that Coltrane's new direction represented "an all-too-willing surrender to chaos." Personal attacks followed, with reviewers questioning his mental state and suggesting his spiritual searching had devolved into self-absorbed navel-gazing.
The criticism peaked in 1967 with albums Expression and Interstellar Space. These recordings, featuring extended saxophone solos that stretched the instrument's limits, were met with bewilderment and hostility. Critics who had once hailed him as a master now wrote him off as a has-been who had abandoned melody, harmony, and structure for formless experimentation. Yet Coltrane's response revealed his true artistic integrity. Rather than retreating to safer territory, he doubled down on his explorations. "I know that there are some people who say I've gone too far," he told journalist Nat Hentoff. "But I can't worry about that. I have to follow what I hear and what I feel."
Coltrane viewed his musical journey as part of a larger spiritual quest. "My music is the spiritual expression of what I am," he explained. "If you don't like it, you don't like me. But I can't change what I am to please other people."
His refusal to compromise his vision, even facing widespread rejection, demonstrated artistic integrity few musicians have matched, establishing him as a model of artistic courage whose uncompromising vision continues to inspire.
Jazz Video Guy
John Coltrane died fifty-eight years ago this week on July 17, 1967.
By 1966, John Coltrane had established himself as one of jazz's most innovative voices through his work with Miles Davis and the albums Giant Steps and A Love Supreme. Yet as he ventured deeper into free jazz, he faced the harshest criticism of his career—attacks that would have broken a lesser artist but ultimately revealed his profound artistic conviction.
The turning point came with Ascension (1965), a sprawling 40-minute collective improvisation that abandoned traditional harmonic structures entirely. Where once Coltrane had been praised for his technical mastery and spiritual seeking, critics now accused him of self-indulgence and cacophony. The jazz establishment that had embraced his earlier innovations began turning against him as he pushed into what many considered mere noise.
DownBeat, long a supporter, published reviews reflecting the growing divide. Critics complained his music had become "screaming" and "incoherent," with Martin Williams writing that Coltrane's new direction represented "an all-too-willing surrender to chaos." Personal attacks followed, with reviewers questioning his mental state and suggesting his spiritual searching had devolved into self-absorbed navel-gazing.
The criticism peaked in 1967 with albums Expression and Interstellar Space. These recordings, featuring extended saxophone solos that stretched the instrument's limits, were met with bewilderment and hostility. Critics who had once hailed him as a master now wrote him off as a has-been who had abandoned melody, harmony, and structure for formless experimentation.
Yet Coltrane's response revealed his true artistic integrity. Rather than retreating to safer territory, he doubled down on his explorations. "I know that there are some people who say I've gone too far," he told journalist Nat Hentoff. "But I can't worry about that. I have to follow what I hear and what I feel."
Coltrane viewed his musical journey as part of a larger spiritual quest. "My music is the spiritual expression of what I am," he explained. "If you don't like it, you don't like me. But I can't change what I am to please other people."
His refusal to compromise his vision, even facing widespread rejection, demonstrated artistic integrity few musicians have matched, establishing him as a model of artistic courage whose uncompromising vision continues to inspire.
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