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John Coltrane Illustrates the Mathematics of Jazz

by luu on 4/7/2026, 5:58:01 AM

https://www.americanjazzmusicsociety.com/blog/john-coltrane-draws

Comments

by: taylorbuley

I notice it's a double ring, not a single circle. Two concentric chromatic rings, offset. That's not decoration: the outer ring and inner ring are the same field read at a phase offset (looks like a tritone / minor-third rotation). Fault tolerance!

4/7/2026, 6:09:38 PM


by: rectang

The Coltrane changes are great, but on the scale of other harmonic innovations over the years inside Jazz and other traditions. They aren&#x27;t analogous to Einstein.<p>What makes Giant Steps so amazing is the sheer speed at which those changes go past — if you slow it down, it&#x27;s not that different from other Jazz tunes. It took took years of practice for Coltrane to acquire the specialized skillset for improvising over Giant Steps.

4/7/2026, 6:44:16 PM


by:

4/7/2026, 5:31:55 PM


by: jejejejejajajaj

[flagged]

4/7/2026, 6:15:15 PM