John Coltrane: Jazz Great and Navy Sailor

By Zach Smyers
HRNM Educator

The son of a preacher, John Coltrane was born on September 23, 1926, in High Point, North Carolina. He came from a religious family, and gospel music was a big influence in his life. In high school, Coltrane played the clarinet, alto horn, and saxophone. He graduated from high school in 1943 moving to Philadelphia with his mother. There, Coltrane’s mother bought him his first alto saxophone, and he began taking lessons at the Ornstein School of Music. In 1945 Coltrane saw the legendary Charlie Parker perform, and during that performance, Coltrane knew what he wanted to do with his life. But his dream of being the next jazz great would have to wait.

John Coltrane in the studio (johncoltrane.com)

With World War Two still raging in the Pacific, John Coltrane joined the Navy to avoid being drafted into the Army. On August 6, 1945, Coltrane traveled to Naval Training Center Sampson, located in upstate New York, for basic training. The Second World War ended on September 2, 1945, and Coltrane completed basic training in October 1945. Due to his ability to play two musical instruments, he received orders to the Navy band in Hawaii.

John Coltrane's enlistment photo (nationalww2museum.org)

When he arrived in Hawaii in November 1945, Coltrane began performing with the base swing band called the “Melody Masters.” The majority of the band members in the Melody Masters were white since segregation in the armed forces was still in effect. Because of this, Coltrane was not listed as an official member of the band and instead was referred to as a “guest performer.” During his tour of duty in Hawaii, Coltrane carried out his regular duties as a Sailor and continued to play with the band. He made his first recordings as a musician during his time in the Navy, playing some bebop and jazz songs with other members of the band.

Seaman 1st Class Coltrane was honorably discharged on August 11, 1946, after serving one year of his two-year enlistment. He returned home to Philadelphia and used his GI Bill to continue studying music at the Granoff School of Music. Coltrane studied music theory, continued to take saxophone lessons, and focused his energy on becoming a professional musician.

Coltrane's discharge papers (nationalww2museum.org)

After World War Two, Philadelphians needed musicians to perform at the various theaters, clubs, and bars, all of which offered live music. For Coltrane, he was in the right place at the right time to continue honing his musical skill. Instead of focusing on just one genre of music, Coltrane learned a variety of genres and over time became a seasoned musician. From 1946 to 1955, Coltrane played with a variety of groups, eventually making his way to the big bands with well-known leaders like Johnny Hodges and Dizzy Gillespie. It was during his time with Dizzy Gillespie that Coltrane switched from alto saxophone to tenor saxophone.

In 1955 Coltrane’s status as a musician would rise to a whole new level when he auditioned to play with trumpeter Miles Davis. From 1955 to 1959, Coltrane continued to develop his signature style (described as “sheets of sound”) as a tenor saxophonist. Davis and Coltrane went on to record Kind of Blue in 1959, which many jazz fans consider to be the definitive jazz album.

Album cover for Kind of Blue (kdmusicandarts.com)

Eventually, Coltrane started recording his own music and released his first album, Blue Train, in 1958. By 1960 he was one of the most famous musicians in the world, and in 1964, he released what is regarded as his masterpiece, A Love Supreme. Additional hit recordings include In a Sentimental Mood, My Favorite Things, and Blue In Green.

A Love Supreme album cover (nationalww2museum.org)

Tragically, John Coltrane passed away from liver cancer in 1967 at the age of 40. After his death he earned numerous awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award received thirty years later. His music continues to inspire new musicians and entertain fans around the world. As John Coltrane once said: “I know that there are bad forces, forces that bring suffering to others and misery to the world. I want to be the opposite force. I want to be the force which is truly for good.”

Coltrane with his tenor sax (johncoltrane.com)

Tito Puente: Mambo King and Sea-Going Sailor

By Zach Smyers
HRNM Educator

Before he became the “King of Latin Jazz,” Ernest Anthony Puente Jr., better known to the world as Tito Puente, served his country in the Navy during World War Two. Puente, who was born in New York’s Spanish Harlem in 1923, developed an ear for music at a young age. Listening to Puerto Rican and Cuban music on the radio, Puente also developed a love of the big band music that was growing in popularity. Puente was a natural when it came to music, learning multiple instruments, including his signature instrument, the timbales. Developed in Cuba in 1900, the timbales are shallow single-headed drums with a metal casing. They are tuned much higher than the single-headed tom-toms (which are typically found on a trap set).

Young Tito Puente playing the timbales (wbgo.com)

By the time he was 13 years old, Puente was working as a professional musician. He got his first big break as a professional playing with the Machito Orchestra as the drummer in the early 1940s. The Machito Orchestra, formed by Frank “Machito” Grillo in 1939, combined Afro Cuban Jazz with traditional salsa music. The popularity of this hybrid genre continued to grow with fans; however, Puente’s roll as the drummer was put on hold when he was drafted into the Navy in 1942.

Frank "Machito" Grillo and his orchestra (last.fm)

Nineteen-year-old Tito Puente completed his basic training and received orders to USS Santee (ACV 29). Puente was one of the ship’s buglers and during his time aboard Santee, he became a co-leader of the ship’s band. The Hampton Roads-based carrier would take Puente and the crew to the shores of North Africa during Operation Torch in 1942, and into the Pacific during the Battles of Leyte Gulf in 1944 (Santee was actually hit by a Kamikaze during the battle) and Okinawa in 1945. USS Santee received two battle stars for service in the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign, seven battle stars for service in the Pacific, and a Presidential Unit Citation. Puente served aboard Santee from 1942 to 1945.

Seaman First Class Puente aboard USS Santee (wbgo.com)

After the war, Puente received an honorable discharge and used his GI Bill to attend the Juilliard School of Music. While at Juilliard, Puente studied orchestration, conducting, and music theory. He graduated in 1947, and in 1948 formed his own band called the Tito Puente Orchestra. In 1958, Puente released his best-selling album Dance Mania. In 2002, Dance Mania was added to the National Recording Registry, a list of sound recordings preserved by the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” to life in the United States. Dance Mania also made the list of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Album cover from The King of the Cha-Cha Mambo (jazzmessengers.com)

Tito Puente had a fifty-year career in the music business as a musician, songwriter, bandleader, and producer. He was also a pioneer of combining his beloved Latin and big band music into one fused style. His talent as a performer carried over to film and television. He played himself in the 1992 film The Mambo Kings with Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas, and he appeared in a two-part episode of The Simpsons. Puente received numerous awards during his career, including five Grammy Awards, an induction into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1999, as well as a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. Puente recorded over one hundred albums and performed with music legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones. Of his many hit songs, probably the most memorable are "Babarabatiri," "Ran Kan Kan," and "Oye Como Va." Tito Puente was a gifted musician and performer, and also a member of the Second World War’s Greatest Generation.

Tito Puente with Armand Assante in the film The Mambo Kings (imdb.com)

The Band is Here! USS New York Musicians Heading Out to Sea

While coxswains hold their steam launches fast to the dock, U.S. Marine Corps musicians from the armored cruiser USS New York (ACR-2) carefully board them near the Chamberlain Hotel (on the northeastern shore of Hampton Roads, next to Fort Monroe), 1893 Notice that musicians are wearing a "Pickelhelm" style cover and grey coats. Also notice the script "NY" on the launches indicating that they belong to New York.