Originally Posted by clutnuckle

On many levels, I consider John Coltrane to have reached certain levels of musicality that might never be reached again. His overall dynamic style of playing, mixed with his very spiritual and religious nature made him a force to be reckoned with. Notice how in any ensemble he plays in, whenever he sparks his first note, he takes control of the entire situation. His playing has become so enigmatic and immediately noticeable. He has a tone like no other jazz musician, and is a household name for good reason. Even in his most self-indulgent, overly-spiritual moments, Coltrane's music contains a sense of humanistic realism to it that makes it immediately relatable. Coltrane's late-period avant-garde music is even representative of the time around him, where he was often persecuted for his race, and even his free approach to music which garnered him hatred from some of his peers. Coltrane's music not only defines a specific period of time right down to the bone, but it also defines the human state of mind, which is an eternal thing that won't ever lose impact.

His ability to play fast is one attribute that makes him a very powerful all-around musician, and his ability to do it fluidly and improvised, using the very influences he had at that one moment, is another. I've never heard another musician so unbelievably skilled at his craft, at his compositions, AND at his expressing what was in his heart.