Updated June 18, 2026 at 3:03 PM EDT
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Few musicians have changed American music quite like John Coltrane did.
Over a career cut short by liver cancer when he was just 40, Coltrane pushed jazz in entirely new directions, especially through his “sheets of sound” technique where he tore through chord changes at a superhuman pace.
One of the tenor saxophones that Coltrane played during the final years of his life is part of the collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Curator Krystal Klingenberg explains how Coltrane’s legacy and style changed the landscape of music in the U.S.
Can you tell us about John Coltrane?
“I would call him certainly an American original: A saxophonist, composer and band leader. And for somebody who had a relatively short life, he gave us so much in terms of music and the musician’s place in the world to both innovate and orient us toward the spiritual.”
Was he self-taught?
“Part of this is his own virtuosity and part of this is the people that he was playing with. I think one thing that’s incredible about Coltrane is that he is connected to so many other incredible jazz figures that contributed to his development — and that he contributed to their development. So key among those are Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, and these artists giving him space to continue to explore and push the boundaries in his own work.
“He starts off as more of a bebop player, and by the time he passes away, he’s more in the free jazz avant-garde space.”
What kind of techniques was he experimenting with on this saxophone that you have?
“The sax we have is from the mid [1960s], and if you’re looking for specific melodies to follow in songs from this period, you’re not going to find it. But if you let it wash over you and just feel all of the emotions and the colors that Coltrane is giving you, it’s a very different experience.
“With Coltrane, we all know his unique tone on the sax, and you hear it across these even more avant-garde recordings.
“The saxophone that we have here at the Smithsonian is one of three main saxes that he played. It’s a beautiful object in addition to being a hallowed piece of jazz history, and it’s currently on display in our Entertainment Nation exhibit.”
It’s been almost 60 years since Coltrane died. How is his influence still shaping American music and the American story in general?
“He’s a figure that I think we can look at for a number of things. He shows us how Black music has pushed art forward. We’re so fortunate to have these greats that we can look to who really pushed the boundaries. And people have continued to follow the trails that he blazed toward free jazz, toward avant-garde.
“There’s also a way in which his virtuosity is held up as a particular kind of standard. What does it mean to try to record or play his solos? It’s technically very difficult. So there’s a way in which his legacy continues to live through people pushing art forward and being a virtuoso.
“Also, he’s a larger figure in the spirit of American innovation and creativity. And he’s an American original in that way. And then on a larger level, he represents the power of music to speak to circumstance and the nature of existence and the way that music can guide us toward the sublime.”
This interview has been edited for clarity.
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This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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