I wanted to make somebody feel like Coltrane made me feel…

I think we've all had enough of Coltrane saxophonists. There's a case of someone ruining a generation of saxophonists, as Louis Armstrong may have…

— Paul Bley

John [Coltrane] was like a visitor to this planet. He came in peace and he left in peace; but during his time here, he…

— Albert Ayler

I listened to King Oliver and I listened to Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Archie Shepp... I listened…

— Eric Clapton

For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.

— Cornel West

My dad would play me all of these records: Miles Davis records, John Coltrane records, Bill Evans records, a lot of jazz records. My…

— Eldar Djangirov

Find a beautiful piece of art. If you fall in love with Van Gogh or Matisse or John Oliver Killens, or if you fall…

— Maya Angelou

I hear many extra-musical things somehow in Coltrane.

— Lee Konitz

As much as I think John Coltrane belongs on the list, I think without Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, both of whom defined improvising…

— Herbie Mann

I love music/sounds that have a passion, a fire, an energy I can connect with. I love angry sounding beat tracks, dark sounds for…

— Mick Harris

Listen to John Coltrane enough and after two bars, just two bars at any place, and you know that's him. We all have signature…

— Bill Cosby

In short, [Coltrane's] tone is beautiful because it is functional. In other words, it is always involved in saying something. You can't separate the…

— Cecil Taylor

John Coltrane is still probably one of the greatest musicians of this century. His tone truly puts demons on a leash. His gift is…

— Carlos Santana

When you're playing the part of a saxophone or a trumpet player, both of which I have done, it would be nice to be…

— Stephen Rea

But you listen to Coltrane and that's something human, something that's about elevation. It's like making love to a woman. It's about something of…

— Wynton Marsalis

Coltrane was moving out of jazz into something else. And certainly Miles Davis was doing the same thing.

— Jan Garbarek