John Coates Jr.

John Francis Coates Jr. (February 17, 1938 – November 22, 2017) was an American jazz pianist, composer and arranger. He regularly performed at the Deer Head Inn and the Celebration of the Arts in the Pocono Mountains for over 50 years.

Early life Coates was born in Trenton, New Jersey and attended Ewing High School. His father was a full-time performing musician and a bandleader, and his mother was a dancer and actress. He began his formal study every Thursday traveling from Trenton to New York City at age eight with Urana Clarke at the Mannes College of Music on full scholarship. Early influences were credited to listening to Symphony Sid on his AM radio. On Wednesdays, from age 11 to 14, John would play clarinet with his father at the Trenton YMCA dance hall night, where he learned to improvise. His father began teaching him jazz piano around age 12. Another of his father's students, Jack Weigand, influenced Coates and talked him into joining the Trenton musicians union at age 12. By age 14 he was playing gigs two nights a week, as well as weekends. At age 16, Coates was asked to play six nights a week during the summer at the Deer Head Inn, where he lived and ate dinner with the proprietors, Bob and Fey Lehr. It was that summer at the Deer Head where Savoy Records discovered him.

Professional career He recorded his first LP, Portrait, with bassist Wendell Marshall and drummer Kenny Clarke and produced by Rudy Van Gelder, for Savoy Records 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 playing clubs like Birdland, Small's Paradise, the Blue Note, the Brass Rail, and The Flame among others. After Ventura and while in college John played with Barry Miles, Eddie Gomez, Ron Carter, Woody Shaw, Harry Leahey, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Kal Winding, Urbie Green, and Pepper Adams. After graduating from Rutgers in 1962, John returned to the Deer Head where he played 6 nights a week, four alone and two as bandleader. He recorded multiple live albums for them at Northampton Community College, the Deer Head, and even Japan. Following those records he toured briefly with bassist Paul Langosch. Starting in 1993 John began recording for Pacific St Records, including two album with Phil Woods. John promoted these albums at several venues including Blues Alley in Washington DC. Later in the 1990s, Coates became homeless and attempted suicide, then moved to Coney Island and began playing again around the year 2000.

Coates performed primarily as a pianist, but also occasionally played vibraphone and clarinet.

Discography Wendell Marshall