Aural Archetypes and Cycles Perspectives in the Work of John Coltrane and Ancient Chinese Music Theory

The following work, by relating musical constructs with cross-cultural concepts, proposes essential parallels between John Coltrane's enigmatic diagram of 1960 (see Lateef 1981, inside cover) and several ancient cyclic music theories of China. Consequently, with a reconsideration of commonly accepted analytical approaches to Coltrane's later musical periods, a new perspective offers a more artistically relevant view toward his developing musical conceptions of the 1960s as well as a more integrated understanding of modal practices in general. Historically, the inclusivity of jazz tradition has inspired many musicians to introduce a variety of world influences into a predominantly African-American musical heritage. Beyond general concepts of pentatonicism, though, specific Chinese references to historical jazz practices have thus far remained untapped. Scholarly significance in this area must move both analytical and performance worlds forward, primarily because of the manifold potential in applying ancient Chinese theories toward the analysis of a twentieth-century musical culture like jazz.