Born on Sept. 23, 1926, in Hamlet, N.C., he moved to Philadelphia after high school. Trane started out on alto saxophone, but while gigging with Dizzy Gillespie in the early '50s made the transformation to tenor, where he found his voice. He did stints with Johnny Hodges and Jimmy Smith during the mid '50s and in 1955 joined Miles Davis' first legendary quintet, which included Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. Coltrane went on hiatus from Davis' group to kick his drug habit, returned to the stage in Thelonious Monk's band and later returned to Davis. During this time Coltrane also began his solo recording career, making albums for Blue Note and Prestige before jumping ship to Atlantic in 1959.

During Trane's brief tenure there (January 1959 to May 1961), the saxophone master catapulted from the status of a mere mortal who blew tenor gusto alongside Davis and Monk to his own lofty jazz throne as bandleader, composer and improviser par excellence. His classic Giant Steps album contained the mighty tunes "Giant Steps" and "Countdown," and My Favorite Things jettisoned the saxophonist into the commercial realm.

But it wasn't until Trane jumped to the start-up Impulse! label in 1961 that he truly became a jazz god, beginning with his triumphant live shows at the Village Vanguard (documented on record) and concluding with several posthumous releases following his death in 1967. During his Impulse! days, Trane not only broke the jazz sound barrier with his restless experimentation and cathartic improvisations, but he also piloted one of the genre's legendary quartets, starring the young but powerful rhythm team of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones.

In the mid '60s Coltrane began to explore a range of new jazz territory, including so-called free-jazz and collective improvisation, which limited his audience yet opened up new portals in the jazz realm. Although he turned off numerous listeners, he became a messiah to a faithful legion of fans. Even though he sought to lead a more helathy life, the excesses of his youth resulted in his early death on July 17, 1967.

In 1965, Coltrane was elected by the Readers into the Down Beat Hall of Fame.