John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina — July 17, 1967 at Huntington Hospital in Long Islan, NY) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Born in Hamlet, North Carolina, Coltrane grew up in High Point, North Carolina and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in June 1943. He was inducted into the Navy in 1945 and returned to civilian life in 1946. Coltrane worked a variety of jobs through the late forties until he joined Dizzy Gillespie's big band in 1949 as an alto saxophonist. He stayed with Gillespie through the band's breakup in May 1950 and, now on tenor saxophone, worked with Gillespie's small group until April 1951, when he returned to Philadelphia to go to school.