the jazz authority; random dubiously zappy rants about 'the musicians music'.: January 2007

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Video: John Coltrane - Naima

Footage of Coltrane performing the beautiful piece Naima. From this website:
In 1957, after the age of 30, Coltrane began to shift spiritual directions. He married Juanita Naima Grubb, a Muslim convert, (for whom he later wrote the piece Naima), and came into contact with Islam, an experience that may have led him to overcome his addictions to alcohol and heroin; it was a period of "spiritual awakening" that helped him return to the Jazz scene and eventually produce his greatest work. The journey took him through Islam (particularly Sufism). Bassist Donald Garrett told Coltrane, "You've got to go to the source to learn anything, and Sufism is one of the best sources there is."


Video: Trane & Miles live '58 - So What

Miles Davis & John Coltrane, in "So what", live, 1958. Great footage. Great music.