The World According To John Coltrane

John William Coltrane (also known as "Trane"; September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967[1]) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz.

He organized at least fifty recording sessions as a leader during his recording career, and appeared as a sideman on many other albums, notably with trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk.

As his career progressed, Coltrane and his music took on an increasingly spiritual dimension. His second wife was pianist Alice Coltrane, and their son Ravi Coltrane is also a saxophonist. Coltrane influenced innumerable musicians, and remains one of the most significant tenor saxophonists in jazz history.

According to wikipedia; he received many posthumous awards and recognitions, including canonization by the African Orthodox Church as Saint John William Coltrane. In 2007, Coltrane was awarded the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for his "masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz."

Melody Gardot: "Baby I'm A Fool " (2009)

"Baby I'm a Fool" is a song written and composed by American jazz singer-songwriter Melody Gardot. It was released as the second single from her second full-length album, My One and Only Thrill. According to Gardot, the lyrics are about "two coquette people who won't admit they are in love with each other." A live rendition of the song was also recorded and released on her Live from SoHo EP.

A music video for "Baby I'm a Fool" was directed by Aaron Platt produced by Justin Cronkite, and filmed entirely in black-and-white. The video displays Gardot resting in an Clawfoot bathtub flanked by dancers dressed in tuxedos who perform an elaborate choreographic sequence to the rhythm of the song.


- Lyrics:

Who was I to know that this was always
Only just a little game to you?
All the time I felt you gave your heart
I thought that I would do the same for you

Tell the truth, I think I should have
Seen it coming from a mile away
When the words you say are
Baby, I'm a fool who thinks
It's cool to fall in love

If I gave a thought to fascination
I would know it wasn't right to care
Logic doesn't seem to mind that
I am fascinated by a love affair

Still my heart would benefit from
A little tenderness from time to time but never mind
'Cause, baby, I'm a fool
Who thinks it's cool to fall in love

Baby, I should hold on just a moment
And be sure it's not for vanity
Look me in the eye and tell me
Love is never based upon insanity

Hear the way my heart is beating
every other moments fleeting
Kiss me now, don't ask me how

'Cause,baby, I'm a fool
Who thinks it's cool to fall
Baby, I'm a fool
Who thinks it's cool to fall
And I would never tell if you became a fool
And fell in love

Duke Ellington: "It don't mean a thing"(1943)

"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Irving Mills, now accepted as a jazz standard. The music was written and arranged by Ellington in August 1931 during intermissions at Chicago's Lincoln Tavern and was first recorded by Ellington and his orchestra for Brunswick Records (Br 6265) on February 2, 1932.

Ivie Anderson sang the vocal and trombonist Joe Nanton and alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges played the instrumental solos. In accordance with wikipedia, he title was based on the oft stated credo of Ellington's former trumpeter Bubber Miley, who was dying of tuberculosis. The song became famous, Ellington wrote, "as the expression of a sentiment which prevailed among jazz musicians at the time." Probably the first song to use the phrase "swing" in the title, it introduced the term into everyday language and presaged the swing era by three years.

The Ellington band played the song continuously over the years and recorded it numerous times, most often with trumpeter Ray Nance as vocalist.


- Lyrics:

It Don't Mean A Thing, if it ain't got that swing

do bop do bop do bop do bop do bop

It Don't Mean A Thing, all you got to do is sing

do bop do bop do bop do bop do bop

What good is melody, what good is music

If it ain't possessin' something sweet

It ain't the melody, it ain't the music

There's something else that makes the tune complete

It Don't Mean A Thing, if it ain't got that swing

do bop do bop do bop do bop do bop

It Don't Mean A Thing, all you got to do is sing

do bop do bop do bop do bop do bop

It makes no diff'rence if it's sweet or hot

Just give that rhythm ev'rything you got

do bop do bop do bop do bop do bop

It Don't Mean A Thing, all you got to do is swing

do bop do bop do bop do bop do bop

Sarah Vaughan: "The Sassy One" (1955)

Sarah Vaughn in a an excerpt from the 1955 film, "Rhythm and Blues Revenue". The film is now in public domain and can be downloaded from http://www.archive.org


Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century". She had a contralto vocal range.


Nicknamed "Sailor" (for her salty speech), "Sassy" and "The Divine One", Sarah Vaughan was a Grammy Award winner.


The National Endowment for the Arts bestowed upon her its "highest honor in jazz", the NEA Jazz Masters Award, in 1989.