Gig Machine 5000: John Coltrane

I plan this to be the first of a recurring type of post that I'll be calling "Gig Machine 5000".  The concept is this - Everyone who's a fan of music has said at least once in their life, "Man, I wish I had a time machine so I could go back and see blah,blah, blah".  We have all come across bands that we will never be able to see perform live caused either by a death or break up of a band.  With Gig Machine 5000, I will talk about such an artist or band and explain my own reasons for needing to jeopordize the space/time continuum by traveling to the past and seeing them.  Get it? Great.  So without further ado...

My first trip in the Gig Machine 5000 will bring me to John Coltrane, one of the biggest musical influences in my life.  First, let's start out by listening to some Coltrane, shall we?  This is On Green Dolphin Street.

When I was a freshman in high school and MTV still was interested in music, they had an ad campaign featuring seminal artists talking about their influences in little snippets.  I saw one particular commercial with Iggy Pop talking about John Coltrane.  At the time I had only a vague idea of who Coltrane was, but Iggy's description of his impact really peaked my interest.  Iggy talked about listening to Coltrane blaze on the sax and how frenetic and energetic his delivery was.  The ad then showed a classic early 70's clip of Iggy Pop performing live, twisting and writhing with reckless abandon, while a Coltrane song (the exact one used escapes me right now) played over the image.  Then the thing that captivated me the most was what Iggy said next, "Once I heard John Coltrane play the way he did, that was it for me.  From then on I tried to move my body around on stage the way that Coltrane played his sax."  Not an exact quote since I saw this ad over a decade ago, but that's the version I've manifested in my brain.  I was sold.  The next day I went and bought Coltrane's classic, My Favorite Things. 

I still get chills listening to this record.  At the time I was 2 years into playing the drum set and this was primarily in my school's jazz band.  In my drummer infancy, I played jazz music so straight and safe that when I watch home movies of myself playing from that era, I cringe.  After I put on My Favorite Things, my perception changed.  Coltrane's drummer, Elvin Jones, made it seem so easy to just throw in extra hits in random places and make them fit while maintaining the groove effortlessly.  Coltrane, himself, was all over the map in the best possible way, weaving these tapestries of sound from outer space.  He heard things differently and exploited that ability.

For the first time, I actually heard the swing in jazz and understood it.  My musical world was altered forever.  I began applying my new understanding of technique and took more risks.  I implemented these jazz elements into all styles of music I attempted and developed in to a more rounded musician.  John Coltrane is who I have to thank for that.


Here is a clip of the gig I would have loved to see.  It's a performance in Belgium in 1965, an outdoor show in apparently freezing weather.  The give away that it's so cold is that the players have steam rising from their bodies, their heat mixing with the weather makes for such a killer set.  Enjoy!

Who's an artist you would use the Gig Machine 5000 to see?