John Coltrane’s 100th Birthday Marked in 2026

John Coltrane’s 100th birthday is being marked on September 23, 2026. His catalog contains approximately 200 hours of recordings. Coltrane was part of Miles Davis’s quintet in the 1950s, and A Love Supreme is described as one of the most important musical works of the last 100 years.

One of Coltrane’s first recordings was made on July 13, 1946, at Manana Barracks in Hawaii. After high school, he moved to Philadelphia and studied at the Granoff School of Music. In early 1959, he recorded Bags & Trane with Milt “Bags” Jackson. In 1959, he played on Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue and on his own Giant Steps.

The Live at Birdland album includes Coltrane performing Billy Eckstine’s I Want to Talk About You. Live in Seattle was recorded at the Penthouse club on September 20, 1965, with Coltrane accompanied by Tyner, Garrison, Jones, Sanders and Donald Garrett. Live in Japan documents a series of concerts from 1966 and includes Coltrane’s performance of My Favorite Things.

At the end of Coltrane’s 1966 album Meditations, McCoy Tyner continues playing piano.