John Coltrane enlisted in the Navy in 1945 at the age of eighteen. It was then, stationed in Hawaii, where he played with the Navy jazz band as alto saxophonist. After moving back to Philadelphia in '46, he took up jazz theory studies with guitarist Dennis Sandole and got one of his earliest gigs with the Eddie Vinson band where he switched to playing the tenor saxophone. Coltrane went without much popular notice for a while but did get to record with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Bostic, and Johnny Hodges. He continued to study and freelance until the mid-fifties.
"Trane" then hit two big breaks. First, he got a call to be in Miles Davis's "First Great Quintet" with which he played from 1955 to 1957. And second, he received a similar prominent role with Thelonious Monk, playing in his quartet. Coltrane also picked up his first recording contract with Prestige Records in 1956. He worked as a sideman on most of his Prestige recordings but gradually took more of a leading position as he recorded with Prestige "All Star" groups and then co-lead his first recording session with Paul Quinichette. As John Coltrane's name grew in recognition thanks to his early work with Davis and especially his broadcast playing with Monk, he lead his first recording session that resulted in his 1957 debut album Coltrane.
(Forgot to mention the connection is Coltrane introduced Babatunde to John Hammond, Jr. who signed him to his recording contract.)
Here is the discography surrounding John Coltrane's debut album:
Tenor Conclave (1956 album with Hank Mobley, Al Cohn & Zoot Sims)
The Cats (1957 album with Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Burrell & Idrees Sulieman)
Cattin' with Coltrane and Quinichette (1957 album with Paul Quinichette)
John Coltrane
Dakar (1957 album)
Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors (1957 album Idrees Sulieman, Webster Young & Bobby Jaspar)
"Bakai" by John Coltrane
Pass the Headphones!!
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