I second other posts about listening to the Miles' albums first; also "Ballads."
Maybe even better would be "Duke Ellington and John Coltrane," the 1962 recording in which each of these great musicians gracefully gave up ground to meet the other in the middle. It might have been easier for Ellington, as he was a gifted accompaniest, able to comp virtually any other style of player. But Coltrane made his real gift apparent in the slower tunes, especially Strayhorn's "My Little Brown Book."
It's true that Coltrane developed a different language on his horn. But that's the norm in jazz...Parker, Gillespie, Armstrong, and any number of others had done the same thing in their time. To really hear what they're doing, listen to slow tunes; it's much easier there.
Maybe even better would be "Duke Ellington and John Coltrane," the 1962 recording in which each of these great musicians gracefully gave up ground to meet the other in the middle. It might have been easier for Ellington, as he was a gifted accompaniest, able to comp virtually any other style of player. But Coltrane made his real gift apparent in the slower tunes, especially Strayhorn's "My Little Brown Book."
It's true that Coltrane developed a different language on his horn. But that's the norm in jazz...Parker, Gillespie, Armstrong, and any number of others had done the same thing in their time. To really hear what they're doing, listen to slow tunes; it's much easier there.