Coltrane's height.

[Jonah]

A bit stupid topic... but just for fun

I talked with my friend (a tenor player by the way)... and he occasionally said in re-telling some anecdote from some jazz history book... that Trane was very big guy...

I thought that actually I never thought he was really big...

He often has that posture on pics and there is some force in his appearance in general that can make you think that he is big... but I thought he was about average or a bit above average like about 5'10'' or 6'.

We argued a bit without much passion really)

But I finally decided to search in the net... jazz players are not movie stars so there is not much info about their weight and height (and this is really good).

I did not search too much but the only thing I found that he was about 5'6'' - 5'7''

I looked at many other pics in the net and then I thought it could really be around that maybe...

It does not change anything about him of course for me...
but it is interesting becasue we read books we imagine some contexts and people in these contexts and suddenly that picture changed a bit for me...

In a word.. I cannot imagine I could stand next to Trane and he is shorter than me...

Finally I came across that pic

[vintagelove]

Always thought the same thing about Hendrix. I remembered his Woodstock performance, and his freakishly long thumb reaching back and walking up 4 frets to the root. Figured, he must be a big guy. Come to find out, he wasn’t.

THE MAN IS ALL THUMBS!!!


My god, JC looks like just a kid in that pic. Cool find.

[joe2758]

wow I pictured him over 6'...I guess I've never seen a pic of him next to someone though. That is noticeably short

[grahambop]

He doesn’t look particularly tall in that photo with Bird and Dizzy:

[grahambop]

Here’s another one with Diz:

[grahambop]

Of course it’s album covers like this that make him look monumental (what a great photo!)

[joe2758]

yeah see it wouldn't have registered that was Coltrane in the bird photo.I guess it's pretty common to meet a celebrity and think "much smaller than you look on tv"

[greveost]

Also he used to never wear shoes before he came to NYC

[grahambop]

If you’re looking for a tall sax player there’s only one candidate:

[Doug B]

Long Tall Dexter!

[dingusmingus]

For me, he reached his height in the hard bop stuff, up through Giant Steps, I guess? For many, his height is later, in the Love Supreme era, or even in the Impulse/Interstellar Space era.

[ragman1]

He was actually very, very small. No, really

[wintermoon]

If you’re looking for a tall sax player there’s only one candidate:

I've seen lots of pics of Dexter riding bikes but never w his horn around his neck

[grahambop]

I've seen lots of pics of Dexter riding bikes but never w his horn around his neck

yes it looks quite dangerous!

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Seems that everyone was wheelin it back in the day.

[oldane]

Seems that everyone was wheelin it back in the day.

The Alvin Hotel. That's where Lester Young lived in the last part of his life after he left his wife/was kicked out by her and it was where he died the day after returning from Paris in 1959. It was situated on the corner of Broadway/52. Street opposite Birdland. It was said that it housed almost as many musicians as cockroaches. Whatver, it was popular with jazz musicians.

[oldane]

If you’re looking for a tall sax player there’s only one candidate:

Being from Copenhagen myself, I know exactly where that picture was shot: At the corner of Folehaven and Danhaven in Valby, Copenhagen where Dexter lived and owned a house. And no, I wouldn't fool around on a bycycle with an expensive instrument that way.

[wintermoon]

The Alvin Hotel. That's where Lester Young lived in the last part of his life after he left his wife/was kicked out by her and it was where he died the day after returning from Paris in 1959. It was situated on the corner of Broadway/52. Street opposite Birdland. It was said that it housed almost as many musicians as cockroaches. Whatver, it was popular with jazz musicians.

Just in case someone doesn't know, that's the great Paul Chambers

[basinstreet]

thats finally some good jazz news for me then

Basinstreet 1 - John Coltrane 0

[curbozer]

I saw Hendrix in concert twice...he was so thin, and lanky too, that, with the huge Afro, he looked to be maybe 6'1" or so...Later on, he had cut his hair down, and was wearing shoes with hardly any heels...in reality, he was about the same size as Coltrane...no more than 5'10''...his two original sidemen in the Experience were small dudes, like 5'6' or so...that contributed to people thinking Jimi was taller than average...it seemed that way in publicity photos...also, his hands were very large, maybe like that of a professional basketball player...I am convinced that large hands/long fingers are an asset for a guitar player.