There is an asteroid, 5893, named after John Coltrane, and this episode zooms in on the single turning point that set his cosmic legacy in motion. In September 1957 Coltrane was a respected sideman, in the middle of a residency at the Five Spot with Thelonious Monk and deeply associated with Miles Davis, but executing other people's visions. On September 15, 1957 he walked into Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, for his one and only session as a leader for Blue Note Records, drafting Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones from the Miles Davis rhythm section, pianist Kenny Drew, and rising horn players Lee Morgan and Curtis Fuller.

The hosts explain why one economic detail mattered so much: Blue Note paid the musicians to rehearse, which let Coltrane bring original, complex material instead of safe standards. He wrote four of th ...