round. She was a good influence on Coltrane and helped him to take control of his life once again (24).Coltrane joined Miles Davis’s group in 1955. He switched from playing alto sax to tenor (Wilson D23). Coltrane began to develop his own style by combining all that he had learned from the musicians he’d worked with (Fraim 30).Coltrane left Davis’s group and went back to Philadelphia in 1956. He and Naima lived together in his mother’s house. Coltrane then realized that he had to make a decision: be a successful musician with loads of potential or be a drug addict (33).In the spring of 1957, Coltrane asked for his mother’s and Naima’s help. He’d finally made the decision that drugs and alcohol were to no longer be a part of his life. He spent four long days in his room alone. When Coltrane was finally ready to face the world, he was a completely new man (34).After conquering his addiction, Coltrane created some of his most emotional, intense music. He played Indian and African music and even some chants. One of his best albums documenting his change after his drug addiction was A Love Supreme in 1964. Some of his other famous compositions include “Giant Steps,” “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,” and “Blue Train” (“Coltrane” 22).In early 1966, John Coltrane was at his highest point in his career. He had been named “Jazzman of the Year” in Down Beat magazine in 1965. A Love Supreme had alsobeen named Record of the Year (Fraim 191).Coltrane grew confused at the type of music he began playing (191). In April 1967 Coltrane went to visit Thelonious Monk. Distressed, he explained to Monk that he didn’t understand the music he was playing. Monk just told him to play the music, don’t worry about it (198).Coltrane’s extreme stomach pains began in May of 1967. His wife Alice forced him to go to a stomach specialist wh...
