Premier Rock Forum

Coltrane over Miles. No contest.

I can't even believe this is open for discussion...

i love miles davis

but john coltrane was the master. untouchable an awful lot of the time. he made a few records that weren't that great, but not many.

i think you can go either way as a matter of preference and not really have to argue about it. coltrane might never have made _you're under arrest_, but he never made _agharta_ either. he lived at the wrong time to make music like that, in either case.

coltrane vs. ornette coleman is an interesting choice. i think i still take coltrane, but it's interesting.

J. Coltrane > Miles Davis
Coltrane's music is the peak. The peak of all. The cosmic disipline displayed on ; OM, SUN SHIP, VV AGAIN, ..... soaring and FUCKING FLYING. The quartet was so tight. The musicians he worked w/ after
the original breakup were just as impressive. Alice, Rashied, Pharoah,
... All flying with pure energy. I believe Coltrane was a visionary. Miles was good, but J. Coltrane was the best. Y=allw.

Coltrane.

Ole Coltrane is one of my favourite pieces of music. The stuff that guy does building to the end of that piece is beyond human.

Miles Davis- On the Corner.

John Coltrane- The Africa brass sessions.


I love these 2 records so much. I can't choose , the best course of action is to go and listen to both of these albums. Have fun splittin' hairs!

glynnisjohns wrote:Miles Davis- On the Corner.

In my opinion, this is the only Miles record anyone needs.

Buster wrote:J. Coltrane > Miles Davis
Coltrane's music is the peak. The peak of all. The cosmic disipline displayed on ; OM, SUN SHIP, VV AGAIN, ..... soaring and FUCKING FLYING. The quartet was so tight. The musicians he worked w/ after
the original breakup were just as impressive. Alice, Rashied, Pharoah,
... All flying with pure energy. I believe Coltrane was a visionary. Miles was good, but J. Coltrane was the best. Y=allw.

I'm going to have to go with Coltrane for a lot of these same reasons. I got real chills listening to Ascension and Om while reading about all of his Hindu beliefs the other day. It really is a matter of preference, though, I'm sure a lot of people get the same strong feeling while listening to Miles.

Kind of Blue: A windy, NYC loft apartment on a fall afternoon, windows open. Turtleneck sweaters, a good pack of smokes, and black coffee.

Interstellar Space: Interstellar Space.

Thats a rash comparison in that the albums were spread apart by a good many years, I know, but its sortof analogous to the way I feel about Miles and Coltrane.

Miles is better for getting that special..."mood", but Coltrane made the most positive music I've ever heard. The intro to A Love Supreme is literally the sound of the sun rising to me.

Plus, I'm more of a saxophone guy.

Coltrane served up in an extra-large waffle cone.

P.S.-West coast jazz was not shit. Stan Getz and Art Pepper were not shit.

Bruce wrote:Miles is better for getting that special..."mood", but Coltrane made the most positive music I've ever heard. The intro to A Love Supreme is literally the sound of the sun rising to me.

Plus, I'm more of a saxophone guy.

Coltrane served up in an extra-large waffle cone.

P.S.-West coast jazz was not shit. Stan Getz and Art Pepper were not shit.

neither was charlie haden. 'cmon!

As much as I love some of Miles's work (60s and 70s), I have to throw in with trane on this, particularly on the strength of Live at the Village Vanguard, Live at Birdland, and his work with Monk. In all honesty, a lot of the later (post-classic-quartet) work hasn't opened to me yet in the right way, but I expect picking up Live in Seattle and Interstellar Space will correct that.

Anyway, just over a year ago I picked up Lewis Porter's John Coltrane: His Life and Music, and Porter does a lot of work to explain what Trane was doing musically at many key points. Worth picking up, if this kind of thing interests you.