--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When John Coltrane passed, we were in the…" description: "\"When John Coltrane passed, we were in the church for the memorial. Albert Ayler came walking in playing, real out there. He was actually mourning throu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/wayne-shorter-15146_church_when-john-coltrane-passed-we-were-in-the_885437.jpg" --- # When John Coltrane passed, we were in the church for the… ![“When John Coltrane passed, we were in the church for the memorial. Albert Ayler came walking in playing, real out there. He was actually mourning through his horn. Mourning, but it was also like a call to wake up. Wake up!” quote by Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/wayne-shorter-15146_church_when-john-coltrane-passed-we-were-in-the_885437.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/wayne-shorter-15146_church_when-john-coltrane-passed-we-were-in-the_885437.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/wayne-shorter-15146_church_when-john-coltrane-passed-we-were-in-the_885437.jpg) > “When John Coltrane passed, we were in the church for the memorial. Albert Ayler came walking in playing, real out there. He was actually mourning through his horn. Mourning, but it was also like a call to wake up. Wake up!” [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A musician expressed grief through improvisation, turning sorrow into a powerful, awakening call. **In simple terms:** Mourning can become a catalyst for awareness. Key Takeaway Channel grief into purposeful expression. Themes grief creativity awakening music spirituality Mood reflective intense inspirational Type musical philosophical emotional When to use this quote - memorial services - live performances - personal loss - artistic creation Key Concepts improvisation emotional catharsis call to consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How can sorrow be transformed into artistic energy? - What does “wake up” mean in personal growth? A Different Perspective The intensity may overwhelm listeners not ready for raw emotion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Mourning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mourning/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Wake up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wake-up/) ## Related quotes > [ John \[Coltrane\] was like a visitor to this planet. He came in peace and he left in peace; but during his time here, he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ayler/john-coltrane-was-like-a-visitor-to-this-planet-he-came-in-peace-and/) [Albert Ayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ayler/) > [For me, the bold jazz of John Coltrane and Miles Davis reflected the bold attitude in African-Americans finding their political identity and voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/for-me-the-bold-jazz-of-john-coltrane-and-miles-davis-reflected-the/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) > [I try to make my flow sound like a John Coltrane solo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakim/i-try-to-make-my-flow-sound-like-a-john-coltrane-solo/) [Rakim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakim/) > [Lately, Ive been listening to some jazz albums. I love the new Pat Metheny album. John Coltrane. I still like good metal, though!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geezer-butler/lately-ive-been-listening-to-some-jazz-albums-i-love-the-new-pat/) [Geezer Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geezer-butler/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-rea/when-you-re-playing-the-part-of-a-saxophone-or-a-trumpet-player-both/) [Stephen Rea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-rea/) > [See, we started out with a foundation of blues. But then we added people like Miles Davis and John Coltrane to the mix and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butch-trucks/see-we-started-out-with-a-foundation-of-blues-but-then-we-added/) [Butch Trucks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butch-trucks/) > [John Coltrane is still probably one of the greatest musicians of this century. His tone truly puts demons on a leash. His gift is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-santana/john-coltrane-is-still-probably-one-of-the-greatest-musicians-of-this/) [Carlos Santana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-santana/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/listen-to-john-coltrane-enough-and-after-two-bars-just-two-bars-at/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-harris/i-love-music-sounds-that-have-a-passion-a-fire-an-energy-i-can/) Mick Harris > [As much as I think John Coltrane belongs on the list, I think without Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, both of whom defined improvising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-mann/as-much-as-i-think-john-coltrane-belongs-on-the-list-i-think-without/) [Herbie Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-mann/) > [I'm influenced by Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelly, Roland Kirk, John Coltrane, B.B. King, and then by bluegrass. But when I was 16, bluegrass wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dickey-betts/i-m-influenced-by-django-reinhardt-stephane-grappelly-roland-kirk/) [Dickey Betts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dickey-betts/) > [My dad would play me all of these records: Miles Davis records, John Coltrane records, Bill Evans records, a lot of jazz records. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldar-djangirov/my-dad-would-play-me-all-of-these-records-miles-davis-records-john/) [Eldar Djangirov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldar-djangirov/) > [“Now listen for your song. Everybody’s got a song. When I used to chase the Trane— John Coltrane that is— he used to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mutti-clark/now-listen-for-your-song-everybody-s-got-a-song-when-i-used-to-chase/) [David Mutti Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mutti-clark/) > [I listened to King Oliver and I listened to Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Archie Shepp... I listened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/i-listened-to-king-oliver-and-i-listened-to-louis-armstrong-jelly/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [I love, you know, a lot of jazz, John Coltrane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakim/i-love-you-know-a-lot-of-jazz-john-coltrane/) [Rakim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakim/) ## More by Wayne Shorter > [The arts can open the door to the imagination, pushing the envelope of how peace can be created. It takes courage to take this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/the-arts-can-open-the-door-to-the-imagination-pushing-the-envelope-of/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [It’s making a statement about what life is, really. And I’m going to end the line with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/it-s-making-a-statement-about-what-life-is-really-and-i-m-going-to/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [There's a certain road in life most people walk on, because it's familiar, and they can jostle to get in front place. I prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/there-s-a-certain-road-in-life-most-people-walk-on-because-it-s/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [I'm learning more about life when I'm playing too, and writing music. I'm learning more about life, the connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/i-m-learning-more-about-life-when-i-m-playing-too-and-writing-music-i/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [Music is just sound - what's more important to me is behavior. I'm watching these play-offs - basketball - it's interesting to watch behavior,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/music-is-just-sound-what-s-more-important-to-me-is-behavior-i-m/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [I always say that music is a small drop in the ocean of life. I was told a long time ago that your horn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/i-always-say-that-music-is-a-small-drop-in-the-ocean-of-life-i-was/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [It's up to the person who's being creative to find ways to emerge and shake up the world of wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/it-s-up-to-the-person-who-s-being-creative-to-find-ways-to-emerge-and/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [There's a steady forward march of a creative process that some of us stay with and don't give up - that should be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/there-s-a-steady-forward-march-of-a-creative-process-that-some-of-us/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [If all you have is music, then you don't have music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/if-all-you-have-is-music-then-you-don-t-have-music/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [Music is interior decoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/music-is-interior-decoration/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [Jazz shouldn't have any mandates. Jazz is not supposed to be something that's required to sound like jazz. For me, the word 'jazz' means,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/jazz-shouldn-t-have-any-mandates-jazz-is-not-supposed-to-be-something/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [To me, the definition of faith is to fear nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/to-me-the-definition-of-faith-is-to-fear-nothing/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [I think that music opens portals and doorways into unknown sectors that it takes courage to leap into. I always think that there's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/i-think-that-music-opens-portals-and-doorways-into-unknown-sectors/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [I'm trying to do music which inspires the desire to transcend politics, which has a limited and selfish and egoist and unknowledgable end about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/i-m-trying-to-do-music-which-inspires-the-desire-to-transcend/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [Jazz is a fighter. The word 'jazz' means to me, 'I dare you. Let's jump into the unknown!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/jazz-is-a-fighter-the-word-jazz-means-to-me-i-dare-you-let-s-jump/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) [Explore all 44 Wayne Shorter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) ## More Church quotes > [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [God is not calling us to go to church; he is calling us to be his church, the hope of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/god-is-not-calling-us-to-go-to-church-he-is-calling-us-to-be-his/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The minute you walk outside of your church on Sunday you're in mission territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/the-minute-you-walk-outside-of-your-church-on-sunday-you-re-in/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) [Browse all 9,430 Church quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When John Coltrane passed, we were in the church for the memorial. Albert Ayler came walking in playing, real out there. He was actually mourning through his horn. Mourning, but it was also like a call to wake up. Wake up!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wayne Shorter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/when-john-coltrane-passed-we-were-in-the-church-for-the-memorial/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Church" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/when-john-coltrane-passed-we-were-in-the-church-for-the-memorial/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/wayne-shorter-15146_church_when-john-coltrane-passed-we-were-in-the_885437.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/wayne-shorter-15146_church_when-john-coltrane-passed-we-were-in-the_885437.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/wayne-shorter-15146_church_when-john-coltrane-passed-we-were-in-the_885437.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When John Coltrane passed, we were in the church for the memorial. Albert Ayler came walking in playing…” — Wayne Shorter", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Wayne Shorter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When John Coltrane passed, we were...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/when-john-coltrane-passed-we-were-in-the-church-for-the-memorial/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/when-john-coltrane-passed-we-were-in-the-church-for-the-memorial/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```