180 Culture, Identity, and Community: From Slavery to the Presentbut was inhibited by headaches and stomach pains. In 1967,
he recorded the albums Expression and Interstellar Space. In
March of that year, he also performed at the opening of the
“Center of African Culture” in Harlem, a project developed
by Nigerian percussionist Michael Babatunde Olatunji, an
artist signifi cantly infl uenced Coltrane’s interest in African
music. Th at same month, he renewed his contract with Im-
pulse Records.
In April 1967, Coltrane became ill while visiting his
mother’s home in Philadelphia. John Coltrane died in Hun-
tington, Long Island, from liver cancer on July 17, 1967.
See also: Black Folk Culture; Davis, Miles; Jazz; Parker, CharlieElisa Joy WhiteBibliography
Cole, Bill. John Coltrane. New York: Schirmer Books, 1976.
Kahn, Ashley. A Love Supreme: Th e Story of John Coltrane’s Signa-
ture Album. New York: Viking Press, 2002.
Nisenson, Eric. Ascension: John Coltrane and His Quest. New York:
Da Capo Press, 1993.
Porter, Lewis. John Coltrane: His Life and Music. Ann Arbor: Uni-
versity of Michigan Press, 2001.
Th omas, J. C. Chasin’ the Trane: Th e Music and Mystique of John
Coltrane. New York: Da Capo Press, 1975.
Woideck, Carl, ed. Th e John Coltrane Companion: Five Decades of
Commentary. New York: Schirmer Books, 1998.Congo Square, New Orleans
For over a hundred years, New Orleans’ Congo Square
was the only venue in North America where the public
performance of African drumming, music, and dance was
offi cially sanctioned. Th e fusion of African and European
rhythms and instrumentation that developed over the
course of the square’s history has led to its designation as
the “birthplace of jazz.”
During Louisiana’s French colonial period (1718–
1763), an area called the Place des Nègres, located just out-
side the ramparts of the original settlement, was set aside
for use by enslaved Africans and people of African descent.
Slaves were free from work on Sundays and holidays, and
by about 1740, they had begun to congregate at the Place
des Nègres to market their garden produce, wild herbs and
berries, fi sh and game, furs, fi rewood, and craft s. Th ey also
used this opportunity to socialize and to make music and
dance aft er the manner of their African nations. Th e marketVanguard in New York City. In 1962, Coltrane recorded
three albums: Coltrane, Ballads, and the acclaimed Duke
Ellington and John Coltrane. During this period, Coltrane
became further interested in the music of sitar player Ravi
Shankar, as evidenced in “My Favorite Th ings,” and the
improvisational styles of avant-garde alto-saxophonist Or-
nette Coleman, an artist who inspired Coltrane’s ventures
into “Th e New Th ing.”
Coltrane separated from Naima Coltrane in 1963, sub-
sequently divorcing in 1966 and marrying Alice McLeod, a
pianist with whom he resided beginning in 1964. Coltrane
and McLeod lived in Huntington, Long Island, with their
three children: John Jr., Ravi, and Oran.
Coltrane recorded A Love Supreme in 1964. Th e album,
considered a musical manifestation of Coltrane’s spiritu-
ality, consists of a four-part suite with sections titled “Ac-
knowledgments,” “Resolution,” “Pursuance,” and “Psalm.”
In 1965, the album was awarded “Album of the Year” by
the infl uential magazines Down Beat and Jazz. As well, he
was entered into the Down Beat Hall of Fame and voted
as “Jazzman of the Year” and best tenor saxophonist in the
magazine’s reader poll. Additionally, the album fortifi ed
Coltrane’s mystical popular image, notably inspiring the
creation of an eponymous church in San Francisco.
With A Love Supreme representing Coltrane’s move-
ment into new realms of musical experimentation, further
exploration was evidenced in June 1965, when he as-
sembled 10 emergent avant-garde musicians to record the
album Ascension. By the time Coltrane recorded the fi ve-
part suite Meditations, he had added tenor saxophonist Far-
rell “Pharoah” Sanders and a second drummer, Rashied Ali,
to his band. Elvin Jones, a strong drummer in his own right,
eventually left the band in 1966. Further exemplifying Col-
trane’s musical direction, the piece “Om,” recorded while
the band experimented with LSD, featured Hindu chanting.
As well, when McCoy Tyner left the band in 1965, Alice
Coltrane replaced him as pianist.
Coltrane recorded his second live album at the Vil-
lage Vanguard in May 1966. Th e album included only two
songs: “Naima” and “My Favorite Th ings.” In July 1966, the
John Coltrane Quintet experienced a well-received tour of
Japan, in which Coltrane became acquainted with his pop-
ularity when he was greeted at the airport by a crowd of
Japanese fans.
Upon returning from the Japan tour, between late 1966
and early 1967, Coltrane worked in the recording studio