The Correlation Between the Rimsky-Korsakov False Progression and the Coltrane Cycle

Abstract

Abstract: The goal of my research is to illustrate several shared harmonic devices used by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and John Coltrane. I also seek to offer new analyses of these devices as used by John Coltrane in his compositions between 1958 and 1961. They are analyzed as singular harmonic devices first codified by Rimsky-Korsakov. Jazz pedagogy may benefit from viewing these devices, which are found within the "Coltrane Cycle," in this new light. Extensive research has been done on the music of John Coltrane. However, the music of Rimsky-Korsakov, and the modulatory schemes governing his compositions, have been largely overlooked in the world of jazz. Several harmonic devices that he first codified in his Practical Manual of Harmony have also been overlooked. These devices, originating with Rimsky-Korsakov, appear as identical harmonic schemes in several of Coltrane's groundbreaking compositions. Analysis of excerpts from several works of Rimsky-Korsakov and Coltrane will illustrate areas of overlap of these devices.