Aural archetypes and cyclic perspectives in the work of John Coltrane and ancient Chinese music theory.

The shaman is, then, a cosmically instructed man. His initiation is appropriate to the outer forms of his existence, yet bears an archetypal stamp.

--Stephen Larsen (1988, 81)

The following work, by relating musical constructs with cross-cultural concepts, proposes essential parallels between John Coltrane's enigmatic diagram of 1960 (see Lateef 1981, inside cover; Schott 2000, 355-356) and several ancient cyclic music theories of China. Consequently, with a reconsideration of commonly accepted analytical approaches to Coltrane's later musical periods, a new perspective offers a more artistically relevant view toward his developing musical conceptions of the 1960s as well as a more integrated understanding of modal practices in general.

Historically, the inclusivity of jazz tradition has inspired many musicians to introduce a variety of world influences into a predominantly African-American musical heritage. Beyond general concepts of pentatonicism, though, specific Chinese references to historical jazz practices have thus far remained untapped. Scholarly significance in this area must move both analytical and performance worlds forward, primarily because of the manifold potential in applying ancient Chinese theories toward the analysis of a twentieth-century musical culture like jazz.

Indeed, from two seemingly far-removed worlds, tangible new relationships are generated for Chinese traditional and American jazz music scholars alike in ways such as the following.

* Ancient esoteric Chinese concepts applied practically by the jazz performer will affect cognitive interaction both socially with the listener and personally with the historical tradition at hand.

* Theoretical insights, when compatible between two or more removed cultural-historical contexts, raise important potential for creating larger, more unifying musical theories--not necessarily of any particular practice in itself but rather for more cultural practices in general--in all, furthering our understanding of human commonalities through music.