名人轶事:John Coltrane, 1926-1967

John Coltrane, 1926-1967: The famous saxophone player helped make modern jazz popular around the world

VOICE ONE:

PEOPLE IN AMERICA, a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

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John Coltrane

He was one of the greatest saxophone players of all time. He wrote jazz music. He recorded new versions of popular songs. And, he helped make modern jazz popular. I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Today, we tell about musician John Coltrane.

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VOICE ONE:

John Coltrane was born in the state of North Carolina in nineteen twenty-six. He was raised in the small farm town of High Point. Both of his grandfathers were clergymen. As a young boy, he spent a great deal of time listening to the music of the black Southern church.

Coltrane's father sewed clothes. He played several musical instruments for his own enjoyment¹. The young Coltrane grew up in a musical environment. He discovered jazz by listening to the recordings³ of such jazz greats as Count Basie and Lester Young.

VOICE TWO:

When John was thirteen, he asked his mother to buy him a saxophone. People realized almost immediately that the young man could play the instrument very well. John learned by listening to recordings of the great jazz saxophone players, Johnny Hodges and Charlie Parker.

John and his family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in nineteen forty-three. He studied music for a short time at the Granoff Studios and at the Ornstein School of Music.

VOICE ONE:

John Coltrane served for a year in a Navy band in Hawaii. When he returned, he began playing saxophone in several small bands.

In nineteen forty-eight, Coltrane joined trumpet⁴ player Dizzy Gillespie's band. Seven years later, Coltrane joined the jazz group of another trumpet player, Miles Davis. The group included piano player Red Garland, double bass⁵ player Paul Chambers⁶ and drummer Philly Joe Jones.

VOICE TWO:

Coltrane began experimenting with new ways to write and perform jazz music. He explored many new ways of playing the saxophone.

Some people did not like this new sound. They did not understand it. Others said it was an expression of modern soul. They said it represented an important change. Jazz performers, composers and other musicians welcomed this change.

During the nineteen fifties, Coltrane used drugs and alcohol. He became dependent on drugs. Band leaders dismissed him because of his drug use. In nineteen fifty-seven, Coltrane stopped using drugs.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen fifty-nine, John Coltrane recorded the first album of his own music. The album is called "Giant Steps."  Here is the title song from that album.

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VOICE TWO:

Coltrane also recorded another famous song with a larger jazz band. The band included Milt Jackson on vibes, Hank Jones on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Connie Kay on drums. Here is their recording² of "Stairway to the Stars."

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VOICE ONE:

In nineteen sixty, Coltrane left Miles Davis and organized his own jazz group. He was joined by McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison⁷ on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. This group became famous around the world.

John Coltrane's most famous music was recorded during this period. One song is called "My Favorite Things."  Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein had written the song for the Broadway musical "The Sound of Music."  Jazz critics say Coltrane's version is one of the best jazz recordings ever made. The record became very popular. It led many more people to become interested in jazz.

(MUSIC: "My Favorite Things")

VOICE TWO:

Critics say Coltrane's versions of other popular songs influenced all jazz music writing. One of these was a song called "Summertime."  It was written by Du Bose Heyward and George Gershwin for the opera "Porgy and Bess."

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VOICE ONE:

In nineteen sixty-four, Coltrane married pianist Alice McCloud who later became a member of his band. He stopped using alcohol, and became religious. He wrote a song to celebrate his religious experience. The song is more than thirty minutes long. It is called "A Love Supreme⁸."  Here is part of the song.

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VOICE TWO:

By nineteen sixty-five, Coltrane was one of the most famous jazz musicians in the world. He was famous in Europe and Japan, as well as in the United States. He was always trying to produce a sound that no one had produced before. Some of the sounds he made were beautiful. Others were like loud screams. Miles Davis said that Coltrane was the loudest, fastest saxophone player that ever lived.

Many people could not understand his music. But they listened anyway. Coltrane never made his music simpler to become more popular.

Coltrane continued to perform and record even as he suffered from liver cancer. He died in nineteen sixty-seven at the age of forty in Long Island, New York.

VOICE ONE:

Experts say John Coltrane continues to influence modern jazz. Some critics say one of Coltrane's most important influences on jazz was his use of musical ideas from other cultures, including India, Africa and Latin America.

Whitney Balliett of The New Yorker Magazine wrote about Coltrane the year after his death: "People said they heard the dark night ... in Coltrane's wildest music. But what they really heard was a heroic ... voice at the mercy of its own power."

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VOICE TWO:

This Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by Lawan Davis.  I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week at this time for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America
 

1 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

2 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

3 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

4 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

5 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

6 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

7 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。