Essay on "John Coltrane's Version"

Essay 3 pages (1062 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

And what of the snare drum, it just keeps marching. If one were to picture it as a cartoon, it would be several colors with the saxophone being the brazen red and the snare a peaceful gray. The piano alive and free at first turns yellow, then green as the rain pours in. That's what the improvisation sounds like, rain coming down and filling the notes with effervescent water.

The saxophone serves to bring back the "These are my favorite things" words. It also livens up the song which for the most part is mellow and just ongoing, repetitious. The saxophone comes in to wake things up, to inject freedom, life back into the song. No rules apply to the saxophone's dream world painted by its sweet and sharp, lengthy wails. It is wailing. It is crying out for some relief from the never-ending beats of the piano and the snare drum. It needs to break free from it all.

I think looking back at the semester, seeing how music is arranged to provoke thoughts, scenarios, ideas in one's head, this piece does that. It's amazing how the first go around I pictured a race, and now listening to it for the third time I hear a party at the beach, everyone is wearing their best because the mighty sax man will play for as long as they will hear. The music is like sunlight slowly fading. And when the saxophone says goodbye, that's when the sun sets. The drum at the end really helps cast off the end credits of the song like a car crash or a sudden darkening.

The musicians, especially as seen in Jazz, often discuss through their work a sadness, an uncertainty. Coltrane decided to do such a disordered, yet ordered, version of "My Favorite Things" to symbolize the insecurity of possibility he felt within himself. The jarring, joyful, at times depressing notes and beats of the song remind the listener that although one can smile amidst all the chaos, there is still chaos and the chaos is frightening.

Coltrane's use of the soprano saxophone makes the notes played on it seem like screams. Whether they are screams of relief, joy, or both, they feel like excited, energized screams. It continues no matter how many times I've listened to it (I am already up to number 7). So pure are the feelings within this rendition, much like "Salt Peanuts" and its continual melody with the trumpets and "Salt Peanuts" uttered repeatedly, this ongoing repetition marked by prolonged improvisation is like a make your own mark feeling. He wants to show how life can be, (stable) and also how change can affect that stability. Overall it is still hard to truly understand the song. It is not because it is hard to decipher the notes or the tone, it is because the improvisation, because each time I listen to it, a new image pops into my head. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what is going. I think is the point. This song is about life, about living even if it's hard, and enjoying one's… READ MORE

How to Reference "John Coltrane's Version" Essay in a Bibliography

Related Essays:

John Coltrane's Jazz Album Term Paper

Love Supreme by John Coltrane

By 1965, John Coltrane's legacy was already secure. The tenor saxophonist who cut his teeth with Dizzy Gillespie and gained fame with the Miles Davis… read more

Term Paper 2 pages (591 words) Sources: 2 Topic: Music / Musicians / Instruments

---

John Coltrane Retrospective: Jazz Performance Term Paper

John Coltrane Retrospective: Jazz Performance

For my chosen performance, I listened to a local jazz band perform a reworking of some of John Coltrane's arrangements of American standards, like "My… read more

Term Paper 2 pages (590 words) Sources: 2 Topic: Music / Musicians / Instruments

---

John Stuart Mill's Utilitarian View Term Paper

Utilitarianism: John Stuart Mill's Concept Of Justice

John Stuart Mill was one of the leading liberal thinkers of the 20th century. His philosophy of utilitarianism attempted to improve upon Jeremy… read more

Term Paper 5 pages (1510 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Ethics / Morality

---

John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism Research Proposal

John Stuart Mill's philosophy of utilitarianism were a popular moral guidepost for leadership today, it would be interesting to see how many leaders embrace the idea that actions are correct… read more

Research Proposal 5 pages (1730 words) Sources: 1 Style: MLA Topic: Philosophy / Logic / Reason

---

Communications Analysis on JFK's 1961 Inaugural Term Paper

John F. Kennedy's January 20, 1961 Inaugural address president's inaugural speech, particularly its conclusion, is meant to set the tone for the speaker's entire presidency. Long after he was tragically… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (2060 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: World History

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>