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I've read quite a few things over the years that did knock Coltrane's playing. 'Could not sustain a long solo,' things to that effect. I know I have a book somewhere with a similar comment, and when I first saw it I sought out others. I found a few, and my father confirmed that there were some who did look at things this way, although it does seem that most people chose not to view it as a vitally important aspect of what he did. Some of it may have been fueled by the 'classical is better & more important than any other form of music, including jazz' school of thought, a member of which we of course have trolling around this board, even in this thread.

I didn't post that in any other way but to use a 'devil's argument' line of reasoning, in which there may well have been some truth, but my aim was to point out that focusing on playing ability at the expense of the music is ridiculous.

When I first read these sorts of criticisms, I'm not sure if I realized how piddling they would, or should, seem. Some may have been based in politics, the jealousy of others, or some sort of vendetta against musicians who had drug problems. But I did realize that there were some recordings that featured performances that sounded like they might just have been beyond Coltrane's capabilities. Now, I'm really in no position to judge that, but it sorta gave some credence to those comments. Probably a Sonny Rollins recording here or there. But, aside from the 'so what' that I think should be attached to a 'Coltrane couldn't do that' sort of thought, I just don't find his music quite as interesting, and just never liked it quite as much. Perhaps if I hadn't heard Coltrane first it'd be different, but who knows. Until recently I believe I had as many solo Rollins recordings as Coltrane titles, though I've picked up some more Coltrane in the recent past.

Bottom line, if you believe that Coltrane did have any shortcomings so far as technical ability, then I say that factors into addressing Mike K's post. From what I can tell, he was & is considered to be a less-than-superior player whose artistic vision nonetheless created superior work, and who should be considered a great talent on THAT basis.

If you were to argue that he was in fact a superior player on every level, then I'd probably ask why he drove himself as hard as he did, given that a superior player should--generally speaking--possess the ability to articulate their artistic vision with less effort than he seemed to put into it?

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