February 15, 2002

John Coltrane: Small beginnings

Through A Glass Darkly, by John Myers, Internet Photojournalist

When I heard the Richmond County Daily Journal (where I work nights in Rockingham, NC) was planning to do a profile of John Coltrane for Black History Month, I jumped at the chance to do the story.

I love his music, but knew nothing about the man, so I was glad for the chance to learn about his history.

John Coltrane, playing his beloved sax, in an undated photo.

It's funny how my taste in music has changed over the years. When I was a young fool -- as opposed to now being an old fool -- the only music I would listen to was rock and roll and hard rock.

But somewhere along the way into adulthood, something happened. Or to be more exact, Someone happened to me, and His name is Jesus. When I was 29, I got saved and with becoming a Christian came a lot of changes, both inward and outward.

For a while, I listened to only Gospel music, but as the years went by, I found my tastes broadening to jazz, classical, folk, country, bluegrass and even revisited some of the rock classics.

But my ignorance remains vast about music. I know what I like, but it's very much an art form. It's hard to say just why you like what you like, but somehow you know it when you hear it.

And I like Coltrane without understanding very much about his music. But now that I know a bit about the man by researching his history, I feel I can appreciate his music more.

And I found a kindred soul in at least one regard. Coltrane didn't like talking about his music. "I can't explain anything," Coltrane said to one interviewer. "It's all in the music."

Another anecdote from the liner notes to "Lush Life" also offered an insight into the type of simple man Coltrane was. The reviewer waxed eloquent about three cuts on the album which were recorded without a piano, just Coltrane, bass and drums.

He asked Coltrane several questions about his motives for excluding the piano from his arrangements, but Coltrane simply answered the queries with, "The piano player didn't show up."

Dr. Fred McQueen, left, and Allen Mask at the state historical marker erected in 1992 one block from John Coltrane's birthplace in Hamlet, NC.

To acquaint myself with his music and history, I read everything I could get my hands on, with a lot of help from some local folks who know a lot about Coltrane as Hamlet's native son.

Dr. Fred McQueen, a Hamlet physician, was instrumental in keeping Coltrane's memory alive in his birthplace of Hamlet.

He bought the fallen-down hotel building where Coltrane was born and lovingly restored it with its original bricks in 1986.

And with the help of Allen and Gloria Mask of Hamlet, both musicians, McQueen led the effort to get a state historical marker placed on U.S. 74 Business near his birthplace in 1992.

And without the help of McQueen and the Masks, especially Gloria, my story would not have been anything worth reading.

But after reading all I could and writing the story, what have I really learned about one of the most famous jazz musicians ever?

When John Coltrane was born in 1926, nobody would have bet a plugged nickel he would ever be called "great" at anything.

But though his birth may have been an humble beginning, born in a second-floor hotel room to a poor tailor and a maid, that never stopped John Coltrane from pursuing greatness.

He learned to play saxophone and clarinet in a former Quaker school for blacks in High Point, and never stopped learning about music for the rest of his life. Coltrane often practiced blowing his horn until his lips bled, and was even known for practicing alone in his dressing room between sets on stage.

Great things always have small beginnings. The greatest man who ever lived was born in a lowly stable in a little town.

But for all his greatness, Coltrane's story is also a sad one. With the help of what his biographers called a "spiritual awakening" at age 30, Coltrane kicked the habit of heroin.

But his life was cut short by liver cancer and he died at 40.

His light shone brightly for a while, and then he was gone.

But someday, I'll meet John Coltrane and sit down on Hallelujah Square and listen to him blow his sax along with Gabriel and his horn and the rest of the heavenly band.