NPR's jazz blog A Blog Supreme recently concluded a series in which they asked jazz bloggers to "name five albums you would recommend to somebody looking to get into modern jazz". The results are now up in the category Jazz Now; the intro has the index, including reactions elsewhere. Destination: Out had some pricklier suggestions—see also their best of the 90s list (and their own nominations). [more inside]
posted by kenko on Nov 14, 2009 - 40 comments

Jazz pioneer Rashied Ali Has died. He leaves behind him a lifetime of collaborations in out jazz, with artists like Ayler, Coltrane, Cherry, Haino, Laswell, Bley, Sanders, and Ulmer. [more inside]
posted by idiopath on Aug 13, 2009 - 21 comments

Giant Steps by John Coltrane, note by note. (slyt)
posted by pyramid termite on Jun 7, 2009 - 57 comments

As jazz fans know, fifty years ago on March 2, 1959, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb met at the Columbia 30th Street Studios in NYC for the first session of Miles new album, Kind of Blue. (Link goes to the 50th anniversary collector's box set edition page at amazon.) It was the touchstone for many other future recordings bearing its mighty influence and it fostered several high profile careers, and a new modal sound for jazz. Kind of Blue went on to be certified platinum, selling 4 million records, the most ever for a jazz album. Bill Evans had left the band in late 1958, but was called back by Miles for the sessions, which included his new pianist Wynton Kelly on one track only, Freddie Freeloader. The tunes they did that day, "So What", "Blue in Green" (written by Evans, though credited to Miles) and "Freeloader" all became standards as did "All Blues" from the April session. Documentaries and entire books have been written on this one album alone. The phenomenon lives on. (previously on AskMeFi, but just on Trane and Miles.)
posted by Seekerofsplendor on Mar 3, 2009 - 71 comments

A cool tale about second graders at P.S. 178 in Queens falling in love with John Coltrane, and raising funds to help restore the house in nearby Dix Hills [previously on mefi] where the saxophonist (and saint?) composed his spiritual masterpiece A Love Supreme [last four links go to Youtube].
posted by the_bone on Aug 21, 2008 - 18 comments

johncoltrane.com. Why can't all music promo sites give you an entire album's worth of greatest hits with zilch download time?
posted by Zootoon on Oct 19, 2001 - 10 comments

Some good music . . . and a nice flash implementation of access to it. A respite from the toil and strife of the day.
posted by fpatrick on Oct 18, 2001 - 9 comments

Coltrane at 75: the Man and the Myths. The evolution of the view of John Coltrane as a spiritual figure. Is this a process that happens to any great musician dying at the height of their powers? (NYT link, registration required, blah, blah) Link via the AJList.
posted by pascal on Sep 23, 2001 - 4 comments