While there are dozens of significant and virtuoso jazz musicians that emerge in the 1950’s-60’s, the three
most celebrated are Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, and John Coltrane.
Miles Davis influenced and inspired new directions in modern jazz from the 1940’s-1970’s. He was at the
forefront of numerous new directions in jazz, constantly innovating but also trying to keep jazz commercially
accessible for the public.
Thelonius Monk was modern jazz’s composer of very odd but unique and innovative music. His music was not
well received by the public but musicians knew of his eccentric genius. His unique sound and contribution to
American music was finally awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2006, 24 years after his death in
1982.
John Coltrane, who learned jazz playing with Miles Davis and Monk among many others in the 1950’s, imbued
his tenor sax with what has been described as an ‘existential’ sound. He pushed the boundaries of
improvisation from ‘paragraphs’ of sound to ‘novels’ of sound. Having kicked a heroin habit (as did Miles
Davis), Coltrane was born again and explored jazz improvisation from a spiritual perspective. He transcended
the concept of playing notes and demonstrated that jazz improvisation could be an extension of one’s soul and
spirituality.
Assignment
Choose one of the musicians and create a powerpoint presentation that includes:
1st SLIDE: Biographical information
2nd SLIDE: Musical career
3rd SLIDE Description of their sound and style
4th SLIDE Significance in jazz history
5th SLIDE NEW: An analysis of a tune of your choosing that you found and why that track is a good
representation of the musicians significance and style.