Proponentsofdifferentjazzstyleshavealwaysarguedthattheirpredecessor’smusicalstyledidnotincludeessentialcharacteristicsthatdefinejazzasjazz。Thus，1940’sswingwasbelittledbybeboppersofthe1950’swhowerethemselvesattackedbyfreejazzesofthe1960’s。Theneoboppersofthe1980’sand1990’sattackedalmosteverybodyelse。ThetitanicfigureofBlacksaxophonistJohnColtranehascomplicatedtheargumentsmadebyproponentsofstylesfrombebopthroughneobopbecauseinhisownmusicaljourneyhedrewfromallthosestyles。Hisinfluenceonalltypesofjazzwasimmeasurable。Attheheightofhispopularity，Coltranelargelyabandonedplayingbebop，thestylethathadbroughthimfame，toexploretheouterreachesofjazz。

Coltranehimselfprobablybelievedthattheonlyessentialcharacteristicofjazzwasimprovisation，theoneconstantinhisjourneyfrombeboptoopen－endedimprovisationsonmodal，Indian，andAfricanmelodies。Ontheotherhand，thisdoggedstudentandprodigioustechnician—whoinsistedonspendinghourseachdaypracticingscalesfromtheorybooks—wasneverabletojettisoncompletelytheinfluenceofbebop，withitsfastandelaboratechainsofnotesandornamentsonmelody。

TwostylisticcharacteristicsshapedthewayColtraneplayedthetenorsaxophone：hefavoredplayingfastrunsofnotesbuiltonamelodyanddependedonheavy，regularlyaccentedbeats。ThefirstledColtraneto“sheetsofsound”whereheracedfasterandfaster，pile－drivingnotesintoeachothertosuggeststackedharmonies。Thesecondmeantthathissenseofrhythmwasalmostasclosetorockastobebop。

ThreerecordingsillustrateColtrane’senergizingexplorations。RecordingKindofBluewithMilesDavis，Coltranefoundhimselfoutsidebop，exploringmodalmelodies。Hereheplayedsurging，lengthysolosbuiltlargelyaroundrepeatedmotifs—anorganizingprincipleunlikethatoffreejazzsaxophoneplayerOrnetteColeman，whomodulatedoralteredmelodiesinhissolos。OnGiantSteps，Coltranedebutedasleader，introducinghisowncompositions。Herethesheetsofsound，downbeataccents，repetitions，andgreatspeedarepartofeachsolo，andthevarietyoftheshapesofhisphrasesisunique。Coltrane’ssearchingexplorationsproducedsolidachievement。MyFavoriteThingswasanotherkindofwatershed。HereColtraneplayedthesopranosaxophone，aninstrumentseldomusedbyjazzmusicians。Musically，theresultswereastounding。Withthesoprano’spipingsound，ideasthathadsoundeddarkandbroodingacquiredafeelingofgiddyfantasy。

WhenColtranebeganrecordingfortheImpulse！Label，hewasstillsearching。Hismusicbecameraucous，physical。Hisinfluenceonrockerswasenormous，includingJimiHendrix，therockguitarist，who，followingColtrane，raisedtheextendedguitarsolousingrepeatedmotifstoakindofrockartform。