How does "controlling", "self assured" and "calculating" seem more INTP than INTJ? These are often (negative) descriptions of INTJs, are they not?
He seems more like an empirical thinker anyway, and he kept people around based on their value to him, which I think would point more in the direction of some (really twisted) Fi and I just see extraverted sensing as having something to do with his drug use (whether teritary or inferior), as well his awareness of the world around him.
I think he wrote 'I'll Be Your Mirror" for Nico to sing... and it was probably done Tongue-in-Cheek, knowing him.
To be honest, I always saw Cale as INTP and Reed as INTJ. Lou Reed was more interested in his lyrics (in projecting some kind of point, a message, etc...) as he was quite taken with the early 60's Folk revival (especially Dylan); John Cale, on the other hand, seemed to be interested in making complex music and loathed the Folk scene. I believe this is what ultimately led to Cale splitting from the group - Reed had more of an agenda of how he wanted things to go.
I've seen him listed as 6w5 (counterphobic), which seems to fit. John Cale was the 5w4.
What exactly about Coltrane's music makes it unfathomable for INFJ? A Love Supreme I always see as an example of an INFJ in their prime, doing what they do best (In Coltrane's case, Music). Transcendent, Spiritual (He was a very spiritual person) introspective and wholly emotional. Coltrane was also ridiculously meticulous about the structure and the overall production of his music.
From Wikipedia:
Coltrane also explored Hinduism, the Kabbalah, Jiddu Krishnamurti, African history, and even the philosophical teachings of Plato and Aristotle.[14] In the liner notes of A Love Supreme Coltrane states "[d]uring the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music." In his 1965 album Meditations, Coltrane wrote about uplifting people, "...To inspire them to realize more and more of their capacities for living meaningful lives. Because there certainly is meaning to life
That's seems pretty INFJ to me.
He would also spend hours in a room by himself, to be alone with his thoughts and the "music in his head". I've never known ISFPs (or Sensate based types in general) to consciously withdraw from the world in this way. He may not be INFJ, but I don't think ISFP is possible for Coltrane.
He does seem much more like an INFJ to me than Davis (Who I always thought was ENTx).