Attaining unity
Self-reference in the music of John Coltrane
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jazz.v2i2.119Keywords:
John Coltrane, Modernism, Self-reference, JazzAbstract
John Coltrane’s final works have been ignored and reviled, but there have been only a few enthusiasts seeking to find order in the challenging compositions Coltrane recorded between June of 1965 and April of 1967. In the present study, I demonstrate that Coltrane’s life-long interest in unity gave rise to the final works, which he acknowledged publicly to be “music of the individual contributor” and labeled “Classical music.” I show that, through musical self-reference and self-quotation, Coltrane recontextualized his entire oeuvre during his final two years, bringing his musical biography to bear on a compositional aesthetic outside of that associated with jazz. Furthermore, by giving many of his pieces geographical and “universal” titles, he renders his art a mirror in which the journey from racial and sociopolitical struggle to affirmation is reflected.
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