John Coltrane Influence On African-American

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Jazz was created in the early 20th century as a way for African-Americans to express themselves during a time of adversity. Since that time, a plethora of talented jazz artists have been put into the spotlight. Duke Ellington, Miriam Anderson, and the very famous John Coltrane. Although Coltrane came later than some of these great acts, he is still known as a pioneer and trailblazer in the jazz industry. Even though now, he is now seen as one of the greats, not everything was always smooth sailing for this legend.
John William Coltrane was born in Hamlet, North Carolina on September 23,1926. He lived with his mother and father in his early years. His father was the first person to fuel his love for music. With music being a driving force in his household, Coltrane soon learned to put his love into action. He taught himself how to play the saxophone when he was 13, and subsequently how to sing tenor. Sadly, the happiness that music brought him was suddenly overshadowed by tragedy. In 1939, his father, grandparents, and uncle all died within the same year. His mother was left to take care of …show more content…

During that time, he was never sent into combat. Therefore, he spent most of his time working on his music. After his time in the army, he moved to Philadelphia to pursue a full-time music career. Soon after the move, her started performing for Joe Webb Band. From that time until 1948, he performed with a multitude of different jazz bands, until he resigned from Jimmy Heath’s band and started performing as a solo artist. On March 1, 1951, he performed his first solo performance of the song “We Love to Boogie” with Gillespie. However the success that his music brought him, was beclouded by the horrible turn his heroin addiction took on his life. This addiction was truly life altering. Because of this addiction, he was not able to keep a job. Over the course of three years, he jumped from band to band

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