On this day in 1967, John William Coltrane died of liver cancer at Huntington Hospital on Long Island at the age of 40. Coltrane came into prominence playing with the Miles Davis Quintet in the late 1950s, performing on the landmark album Kind of Blue. During this same time period he began releasing his first albums as a leader and developing his trademark "sheets of sound" playing technique. Coltrane's music transcends genre and for this reason he is remembered as more than just a musician, but a Saint.
"My goal is to live the truly religious life, and express it in my music. If you live it, when you play there's no problem because the music is part of the whole thing. To be a musician is really something. It goes very, very deep. My music is the spiritual expression of what I am - my faith, my knowledge, my being."
- John Coltrane
Below is a live clip of one of my favorite Coltrane songs, Naima:
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