Melodic and Polyrhythmic Development of John Coltrane's Spontaneous Composition in a Racist Society

This study posits an essential relationship between the spontaneous compositions of John Coltrane's late period, his musical evolution from his formative years to the end of his career, his spiritual development, and the socioculture in which he lived and created. Because of this interdependence, it proposes that racism in American society had significant negative impact upon the music of this African-American composer and his musical colleagues.