John Coltrane was one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century. His early recordings capture a musician in the relatively conventional confines of bebop and hardbop, but his enduring legacy primarily rests on the modal jazz pioneered by his classic quartet and by free jazz explorations late in his career. Starting out as alto saxophonist, he played since the early 1950s tenor saxophone and from 1960 onward as well the soprano saxophone.