Happy Birthday, John Coltrane!

Two days ago, the great John Coltrane would have turned 83 years old. Belated but from the heart, I want to salute the saxophonist who pioneered jazz and redefined bebop, the forefront of the freejazz movement, husband of the unforgetable Alice Coltrane, or simply the Trane.

John Coltrane, July 27, 1965 in Antibes with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones

John Coltrane was, of course, part of Miles Davis' legendary sextet that recorded Kind of Blue in 1959 together with pianists Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly, drummer Jimmy Cobb, bassist Paul Chambers, and and Julian “Cannonball” Adderley.

Miles Davis & John Coltrane, So What

On his birthday, New York jazz-singer José James and Belgian pianist Jef Neve played their a tribute Facing East, which was recorded at Ancienne Belgique.

Thanks to Beyondjazz for sharing the link to the video on their Twitter stream!

Sept 26, 2009 I'm adding a recording of the concert that I have found on the net