One of only three saxophones played by John Coltrane has been donated to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.
 Coltrane's memorabilia is incredibly rare, with only three saxophones known |
A Mark IV tenor by Henri Selmer Paris, it is one of only three principal saxophones used by the great jazz musician. It dates to 1965, the year in which Coltrane's classic album, A Love Supreme, was issued.
The improvised album, recorded in a single 33-minute session with Coltrane's quartet, marked an important moment in his life, with the four phases: Acknowledgement, Resolution, Pursuance and Psalms, representing his reaffirmed faith and resolve to quit the drugs that had seen him fired from the Miles Davis group years earlier.
"As time and events moved on, I entered into a phase which is contradictory to the pledge and away from the esteemed path," the record's liner notes read.
"But thankfully now, through the merciful hand of God, I do perceive and have been fully reinformed of his omnipotence. It is truly a love supreme."
The saxophone will now sit alongside 100,000 pages of Duke Ellington's unpublished music, Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet and Herbie Hancock's cordless keyboard.
Due to his lifestyle and early death at the age of 40, very few museum-quality John Coltrane collectibles have survived for collectors. Paul Fraser Collectibles has a John Coltrane handwritten manuscript for sale.
