So, you can’t really talk about John Coltrane and not then talk about Charlie Parker, right? Right. Here’s the deal: yes, the two are pioneering saxophone players, and yes, Charlie Parker is better. What basis do I have for saying this? None whatsoever. It’s not that Parker came first, although he did. It’s not that Parker put more soul into his playing. Coltrane was clearly the more spiritual. Charlie Parker was, I believe, simply an extraordinarily gifted person.
Not that being gifted is enough, of course. Anyone who plays at that level has acquired a tremendous level of skill through a lot of hard work. But a gift transforms that work into something truly phenomenal. While so many great saxophone players are able to push huge volumes of notes out of the instrument, Bird calls them forth on their own accord. They are everywhere, effortlessly. It’s almost other worldly.