John Coltrane's Monk School Infographic
Chapter 1

Mastering the saxophone apprenticeship

Chapter 2

Giant Steps and the math of jazz

Chapter 3

A Love Supreme and the spiritual quest

Chapter 4

Alabama, civil rights, and the final avant-garde frontier

YOUR GOAL

Master of The unstoppable sound of John Coltrane

Ch 1 · Mastering the saxophone apprenticeship
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diego The short but brilliant Monk school

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diego Saxophone Apprenticeship

Play all night, play all night / Fall asleep with the mouthpiece in!

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True mastery is forged in the transition between different mentors.

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diego John Coltrane transformed his jazz style while playing with Miles Davis.

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The short but brilliant Monk school

diego After Davis fired him, Coltrane spent six crucial months in 1957 performing and studying with Monk at New

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The legendary apprenticeship with Miles Davis

diego Miles Davis plays trumpet beside saxophonist John Coltrane on a warm, glowing stage.

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The monumental Kind of Blue sessions
BETA

diego Drag the musical notes to discover how John Coltrane created his signature jazz sound.

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Fun Fact

Coltrane's first instrument: Before picking up the saxophone, a young John Coltrane actually played the community band's clarinet and the alto horn in North Carolina.

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Glossary
apprenticeship (noun)
A period of training during which a person learns a trade or craft from a skilled employer. Coltrane's musical apprenticeship lasted from 1946 to 1955 under bandleaders like Dizzy Gillespie.

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Gossip

Which jazz legend would you see live?

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Quiz

Which legendary trumpeter hired John Coltrane for his First Great Quintet in 1955?

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diego The U.S. Navy band in Hawaii has a rich history.

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Quiz

At which famous New York venue did John Coltrane perform with pianist Thelonious Monk in 1957?

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diego John Coltrane developed a rapid new style of saxophone improvisation.

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Quiz

In which year was John Coltrane born in Hamlet, North Carolina?

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Quiz

In which branch of the military did John Coltrane serve and play in a band during World War II?

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Quiz

On which best-selling 1959 Miles Davis album did John Coltrane play tenor saxophone?

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Quiz

What musical term did critic Ira Gitler coin to describe John Coltrane's rapid, dense style of improvisation in the late 1950s?

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Quiz

What instrument did John Coltrane play first before switching to the saxophone?

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Quiz

What technique of playing two or more notes simultaneously on a saxophone did Thelonious Monk help Coltrane develop?

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