A centennial celebration of John Coltrane episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 1, 2026 · 49 MIN

A centennial celebration of John Coltrane

from Fresh Air · host Fresh Air

Coltrane was one of the most influential musicians in the history of jazz, from his beautiful ballads, to his more spiritual music, and his role in the forefront of free jazz. September 23 marks 100 years since his birth. We speak with his son Ravi Coltrane, who is a highly regarded tenor saxophonist—the same instrument his father played. Growing up, he was just known as Ravi, "But as soon as I picked up the saxophone I was suddenly John Coltrane's son,” he tells Terry Gross. Ravi edited a new book of photographs of his father.Later we’ll hear drummer Elvin Jones describe performing and recording with John Coltrane, in a 1998 interview from our archive.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy PolicyEXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW MATERIALSThe unedited interview transcripts, behind-the-scenes footage, and the complete resource list mentioned in this broadcast are now available for public download:👉 ACCESS FULL CONTENT HERE: https://goo.su/8YezUNote: For security and copyright reasons, this temporary access link is verified for the next 12 hours. High-speed connection enabled.

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