Sheets of sound - Definition and Overview

Sheets of sound was a term coined in 1958 by Down Beat magazine jazz critic Ira Gitler to describe the new, unique style of John Coltrane.

Coltrane employed improvisational, harmonic techniques where densely packed solos consisting of high speed arpeggios and scale patterns were played in rapid succession.

This style incorporates many elements, including the multichordal and melodic lyricism of Miles Davis, and the multiphonics Coltrane learned from Thelonious Monk. In retrospect, the influences of both Davis and Monk were key to the development of Coltrane's sheets of sound technique, but it was Coltrane himself who created it.

According to Coltrane, the freedom of Miles Davis' music allowed him to apply harmonic ideas to stacked chords and substitutions. Further, this open approach allowed Coltrane to play three chords simultaneously, a style Monk initially taught Coltrane. The "three-on-one chord approach" gave the music a fluid, sweeping sound that was harmonically vertical.

Selected recordings

• 1958 - Miles and Monk at Newport
• 1958 - Milestones
• 1958 - Soultrane
• 1960 - Giant Steps

See also

• Coltrane changes

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Sheets of sound

• 1958, 'Trane On The Track (http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp?sect=stories&subsect=story_detail&sid=355), Down Beat. Ira Gitler invents the phrase, "sheets of sound".
• 1960, Coltrane on Coltrane (http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp?sect=stories&subsect=story_detail&sid=353), Down Beat. Coltrane writes about the style.
• 1960, Liner Notes (http://web.archive.org/web/20020615215357/http://www.rhino.com/features/liners/75203lin.html): Giant Steps. Nat Hentoff refers to "sheets of sound".