Coltrane. Can we talk?

Whoops. I had just wanted to start a thread about my boiyyy.

The term 'mastery' i guess needs to be defined by those using it. for me coltrane mastered the sax because IMHO there isn't anyone out there who was able to communicate feeling like him. That is a mastery. when i hear that mofo play it's like he's singing - maybe off-key at times and maybe freaking out totally at other times - but that's part of the beauty of it and the soul of coltrane that will live forever. imho no one comes close to him in this regard: all the rest to me are almost forgettable - they play the notes beautifully, emotionally, have their own style but my appreciation for that pales in comparison to someone who seems to have a direct line from his emotions to his instrument.
Someone up there asked for recs and here are a few:
Ballads is good for beginners as an intro to coltrane, especially his syncopation on 'all or nothing at all.' i like his more 'modern' stuff when he really lets go of convention and frees himself to speak the truth. anything after 1959 starting with the classic 'giant steps'. check out 'live in seattle' for some real free jazz beginnings. I love, love, love the village vanguard 4 disc set. it's live stuff from consecutive days at the vv and you can really hear how coltrane just goes with his emotions by comparing the same songs on different nights. for die-hard fans only. admittedly coltrane went out the window with recordings like 'intersteller space' and his super-late stuff...he's so deep down there in the last years of his life i find it hard or scary to relate but you know immediately when you listen that this guy has found it. maybe that's why it was ok for him to leave when he did.
group hug?

jay anyone who has a 'couple dozen' coltrane cds is a-ok in my book as is nyjazzcat for being so passionate about the man. i too wonder how he would have developed had he lived. i really like (love!) the spiritual late late stuff too although it's not my favorite coltrane. i think that maybe alice coltrane's music offers insight as to where coltrane would have gone. i like her too but she's not her husband. i prefer tyner backing him up as opposed to her as well but it's all good. she's a contender i think too. i would give anything to have hung out at their house during some family jam sessions.

campbell: Amen, brother. do you think there is any chance of finding that french concert you mention on lp or cd somewhere?
i was doing some reading last night and came across a beautifully written intro to a little book on trane. it was by branford marsalis and i'll just quote two sentences:
"Throughout his life, Coltrane was so engaged in the creative process that his growth as a musician closely paralleled his own personal and spiritual development. for this reason, there is an emotional depth to coltrane's music, an almost unearthly quality to his tone, that can leave the listener stunned, if not thoroughly seduced and moved in extraordinary ways."
i thought this was happening only to me! not so sound like i'm going to float away in my loafers over here but coltrane's music is the only jazz that can move me to tears. i love this guy's music so much i can barely stand listening to him. i hope all these posts about trane at the very least encourage some people to pay a just little more attention next time they hear him so perhaps they too might some day be able to appreciate him this way. it's all about taking small steps and then suddenly BANG, you're in. his early stuff with miles davis is not the music i'm referring to, by the way. that is the music which i would hear and wonder what the hell everyone was going on about coltrane for. little did i know what came later in his life.
little trivia fyi: there is a 'church of st. John Coltrane' in san francisco. these people are serious, too. (i'm not a member...yet). they have a website but i dont remember it off hand. it's listed in the search engines.
peace

I gotta chime in here one last time. I just bought a coltrane cd i'd never seen before: "Live at the half note" - it is really f*king weird. if you are a coltrane freak like i am you need to get this. from a 1963 session. the first few notes coltrane hits are seriously out-of-key and even draw laughter from the audience. he then goes on to stumble through a version of 'i want to talk about you' like i've never heard before. he starts hitting some marks and wins the audience over by the end and gets some hoots and hollars. by the middle of his next 'brazilia' coltrane's already out of his mind. if you know coltrane you'll recognize this as a very interesting set for the time. 'i want to talk about you' 'brazilia' 'song of praise' 'one up, one down' - this is a little gem and a must have if you are a fan of the man. not the greatest sound - very tinny and seems to be recorded from an LP - but eh, who cares? i picked it up at tower for $7!

Just noticed cdnow selling 'live at the half note' for $5.50!