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John Francis Coates Jr. was born February 17, 1938 in Trenton, New Jersey to a full-time performing musician and bandleader father, and his mother a dancer and actress. He attended Ewing High School and began his formal study in New York City at age eight with Urana Clarke at the Mannes College of Music on full scholarship. His earliest influences were credited to listening to Symphony Sid on his AM radio.

From age 11 to 14 he played clarinet with his father at the Trenton YMCA dance hall night, where he learned to improvise. His father began teaching him jazz piano at twelve and influenced by Jack Weig he joined the Trenton musicians union the same year. By 14 he was playing gigs two nights a week, as well as weekends and at sixteen he was gigging six nights a week during the summer at the Deer Head Inn where Savoy Records discovered him.

He recorded his debut Savoy album, Portrait, with bassist Wendell Marshall and drummer Kenny Clarke during his senior year of high school. He performed on the Steve Allen, Mike Douglas, and Merv Griffin tv shows in support of that album. From 1956 to 1958 he toured with Charlie Ventura, then while in college John played with Barry Miles, Eddie Gomez, Ron Carter, Woody Shaw, Harry Leahey, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Kai Winding, Urbie Green, and Pepper Adams.

Attending Rutgers University he graduated with a degree in romance languages in 1962. After graduating Coates returned to Deer Head where he again played six nights a week, four alone and two as bandleader. He took a position with Shawnee Press as an arranger and editor. He began performing at Henderson’s Club 50, where he had a six night per week gig and played with Coleman Hawkins, Clark Terry, Doc Severinsen, Phil Woods, Marvin Stamm and Bill Watrous among others.

Moving to Mountain Lake, New Jersey in 1966 and began working as an editor at Shawnee Press, arranged on his own time on a royalty basis, and playing at the Deer Head year round where he became an early inspiration for Keith Jarrett, who would listen and sit in occasionally. His arrangement for Amazing Grace has sold more than 750,000 copies and remains one of the publishing company’s best sellers.

John recorded nine albums for the record label Omnisound, toured briefly with bassist Paul Langosch, then began recording for Pacific St Records, including two albums with Phil Woods. In the 1990s, he became homeless and attempted suicide, then moved to Coney Island and began playing again around the year 2000.

Pianist, composer and arranger John C. Coates Jr., who occasionally played vibraphone and clarinet, died on November 22, 2017.

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