I"m totally with the people who say start with early Coltrane. I say start with Kind of Blue (Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, and more), which is *the* most famous jazz album of all time for good reason. If you've not heard it before, you're losing out. The John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman is a good second album. Then move onto Blue Train and then Giant Steps after that. You should be totally hooked on Coltrane by then. Coltrane is sublime, just pure sublime.
There is a huge difference between early Coltrane and later Coltrane. Early Coltrane is pretty easy to grasp. Later Coltrane goes way outside and is not everyone's cup of tea, including me. I disagree with those who say start with A Love Supreme, it's too outside for most newbie jazz listeners. Later Coltrane IS another language and it takes some advanced jazz language skills to grasp it.
If you develop a taste for Cannonball Adderley after listening to Kind of Blue, I recommend the Cannonball album, Somethin' Else.
There is a huge difference between early Coltrane and later Coltrane. Early Coltrane is pretty easy to grasp. Later Coltrane goes way outside and is not everyone's cup of tea, including me. I disagree with those who say start with A Love Supreme, it's too outside for most newbie jazz listeners. Later Coltrane IS another language and it takes some advanced jazz language skills to grasp it.
If you develop a taste for Cannonball Adderley after listening to Kind of Blue, I recommend the Cannonball album, Somethin' Else.