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Collection Citation:
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Collection, Acc. 1992.0023, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Philately, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
The original manuscript for Coltrane's compositionA Love Supreme.
Scope and Contents:
The music manuscript is the original 1964 manuscript of A Love Supreme, a work that exalts the greatness, power, and love of God. The collection includes handwritten music, doodles, lyrics, and notes. A Love Supreme is thought to be one of the greatest jazz albums of all time.
Biographical / Historical:
John Coltrane was born September 23, 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina. Surrounded and influenced by music from a young age, Coltrane trained in Philadelphia at Granoff Studios and the Ornstein School of Music. He went on to play in the U.S. Navy Band when he was called to military service during World War II.
When the war was over, Coltrane played with the likes of Jimmy Heath, the Eddie "CleanHead" Vinson Band, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1958, he joined the Miles Davis Quintet and became famous for his three-on-one chord approach and "sheets of sound," a method of playing multiple notes a one time.
Coltrane formed his own quartet by 1960 with pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and bassist Jimmy Garrison. It was with this group that he created his famous A Love Supreme, a work that discusses the greatness, power, and love of God. Coltrane believed that everyone should contribute positively to the world, and his way of doing so was creating positive thought patterns through his music.
Coltrane accumulated much recognition throughout his career, including a posthumous 1982 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Solo Performance for "Bye Bye Blackbird" and the organization's esteemed Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1995, he was honored by the United States Postal Service with a commemorative postage stamp. He also has a street named on the Universal Studios lot in his honor. Coltrane's former home has been turned into a National Historic Landmark to commemorate his influence on American culture.
Coltrane died of liver disease in July 1967. His music is still heard today in various avenues of popular culture, including movies and television shows. Coltrane and his wife Alice had one child, Ravi, a prominent jazz saxophonist.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
William Claxton Photographs, 1955-1960 (NMAH.AC.0695)
Audrey Wells "Women in Jazz" Radio Series, 1981-1982 (NMAH.AC.0899)
Provenance:
Collection purchased at auction, 2005.
Restrictions:
Copy available for general research use. Original manuscript available by special request.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Music -- 20th century -- United States Search this
