Duke Ellington was the greatest jazz composer and bandleader of his time. One of the originators of big-band jazz, he led his band for more than 50 years and composed thousands of scores.  John Coltrane, in full John William Coltrane, byname Trane, (born September 23, 1926, Hamlet, North Carolina, U.S.—died July 17, 1967, Huntington, New York), American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and composer, an iconic figure of 20th-century jazz.