John Coltrane started playing professionally on the alto saxophone. He switched to tenor saxophone with which he built his reputation. He added the soprano saxophone around 1959 and played both tenor and soprano saxophones for the rest of his life. read more
He recorded an album of ballads and participated in collaborations with Duke Ellington on the album Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, and with deep-voiced ballad singer Johnny Hartman on an eponymous co-credited album. read more
John Coltrane was born on September 23, 1926, in Hamlet, North Carolina. During the 1940s and '50s, he continued to develop his craft as a saxophonist and composer, working with famed musicians/bandleaders Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis. read more