John Coltrane and the “replacement child” syndrome

Abstract

John Coltrane is a singular character: few musicians have developed such a creative, dense and dazzling career. He is also singular in the obsessive, almost manic way he is said to have practiced his instrument all his life. Singular indeed, if we consider his evolution from self-destructiveness to rebirth, through the Born Again doctrine. He stands as an enigmatic, mythological even messianic figure among music lovers and those who played with him. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the saxophonist’s development was conditioned by his being a “replacement child”, as it was the case for Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Ludwig van Beethoven, Chateaubriand, Camille Claudel, Stendhal .