Search & Destroy: John Coltrane

RIP, a remarkable man.

Phil's explanation of "playing the changes" on this thread is so clear and to the point -- it sheds a lot of light in three short paragraphs.

As close to a God to me as anything I hold dear. Sincerely. God schmod.

RIP indeed...

http://s3.amazonaws.com/findagrave/photos/2001/222/coltranejohn2.jpg

Looks like the AP and NY Times just found out about Art Davis.

for the "far out free jazz" type stuff, just look for anything from 1964 to 1967 (the year he died)

my favorites are a love supreme, one down one up (recently released live recording with a long insane title track solo), interstellar space, stellar regions (this one was unreleased until the 90s or something, it's awesome), and live in japan (4 cd set with intense long ass songs).

hate when ppl say blue train is 'boring'

yeah the solo on blue train is awesome

more like BLUE LAME

j/k

I did get that "Live In Japan" box -- quite an interesting, disjointed group that came up with some pretty corrosive passages. xp

Is there somebody speaking in tongues during Tyner's solo on "My Favorite Things" from New Thing at Newport??

What the hell is that? Thought it was bowed bass, but you can hear pizz clearly. Is it maybe Trane just puttering? I really can't tell.

Yeah, that is 'Trane doing his basso profundo incantating.

heheh "Search And Destroy John Coltrane" sounds like the heading to a Philip Larkin jazz review!

any AWESOME books I should read about Coltrane?

Not yet read it myself, but this is meant to be v. gd and is likely the easiest to find:

Coltrane

Africa/Brass (shite Greensleeves is on it, but...

omar u crazy! it's a beautiful start to A/B, if a weird choice.

...he tells omar 6 years later

Is there somebody speaking in tongues during Tyner's solo on "My Favorite Things" from New Thing at Newport??

I've found that usually muttering that sounds like "speaking in tongues" on live jazz recordings is the sound of the pianist or drummer vocalizing as they play, and the close proximity of the mics picking it up. Not having heard that piece in a while, I suspect that it's Tyner. You can hear Bud Powell, and countless other pianists doing the same thing. I'd posit that there's nothing particularly spiritual or mystical about it.

i always thought the muttering was elvin jones, though now that you mention it, i'm not sure why i assumed that ... but uhhh yeah, that Coltrane book by Ratliff is pretty solid. Not the same ol same ol Coltrane is God kinda stuff, but a fresh ears approach.

Is there somebody speaking in tongues during Tyner's solo on "My Favorite Things" from New Thing at Newport??

I haven't heard the recording in question, but as someone who was forced to go to Pentecostal church for 17 years, does it sound like "SHA la la la la la Fie sha lala, sha lie COM la la la la la, fie sha la la com lie"? Because that's what speaking in tongues sounds like.

meditations WOW! nothing else to say, just have the feeling this is becoming my favorite album

yeah, Meditations. I put it on one Sunday morning, knowing little about Coltrane; halfway through the first song I was screaming and in tears (in an awesome way, if that makes any sense)---was happy no one else was around.

lol that makes perfect sense actually and would probably be a compliment to all of these guys except elvin jones who i understand didn't care for this thing at all. luckily you can't tell

whenever this thread opens and I see "Blue Train...boring as fuck" I'm like whaaaaa? I understand that it has a weird, maybe slightly overrated status being Coltrane's only Blue Note record, but uhhh, that record is not boring!

but, i can see how someone whose fave bands are Beefheart and the Stooges maybe not being a fan. i think it's one of the best "late-night" listens i own

The "Crescent" on disk 2 of Live In Japan, from 1966, is incredible! Alice's piano interlude achieves liftoff without losing the groove.

Can't believe no-one has mentioned Olé in this thread

I can't imagine any Beefheart fan not appreciating Coltrane. Beefheart certainly did, though he was quoted most referring to Coleman and Ayler.

After A Love Supreme:

My Favorite Things (Atlantic) 60
Crescent (Impulse) 64
Meditations (Impulse) 65
First Meditations (For Quartet) (Impulse) 65
Transition (Impulse) 65
Giant Steps (Atlantic) 59
The John Coltrane Quartet Plays (Impulse) 65
Ole Coltrane (Atlantic) 61
Coltrane Plays The Blues (Atlantic) 60
Coltrane (Impulse) 62
Sun Ship (Impulse) 65
Ballads (Impulse) 61
Africa/Brass (Impulse) 61
John Coltrane With Johnny Hartman (Impulse) 63
Impressions (Impulse) 63
Coltrane Live At Birdland (Impulse) 63
Live At The Village Vanguard (Impulse) 61
Newport '63 (Impulse!) 63
The Avant-Garde (Atlantic) 60
Blue Train (Blue Note) 57
Coltrane's Sound (Atlantic) 60
Coltrane Jazz (Atlantic) 59
Soultrane (OJC/Prestige) 58
Black Pearls (OJC/Fantasy) 58
Duke Ellington and John Coltrane (Impulse) 62

Destroy: nothing

yeah, Meditations. I put it on one Sunday morning, knowing little about Coltrane; halfway through the first song I was screaming and in tears (in an awesome way, if that makes any sense)---was happy no one else was around.

― begs the question, when is enough enough (Euler), Friday, 5 March 2010 19:53 (4 months ago)

whoa

yeah, Meditations. I put it on one Sunday morning, knowing little about Coltrane; halfway through the first song I was screaming and in tears

Stubbed your toe on the way back from the CD player?

i haven't made it to those later-period live recordings (like LIve in Japan) yet ... the recording quality is good? is it radio broadcasts or something?

Live In Japan quality is v. good

meditations is basically the best record ever made by humans on earth

that said, the vastly underrated "stellar regions" is probably my favorite in the realm of ~coltrane records~ vs. whatever pantheonical land meditations inhabits

was checking out a new collected Coltrane interviews thing in the bookstore this week. amazing how chill the guy was, considering some of the music he made. seems almost ridiculously down to earth.

I like "First Meditations" a lot

Recent favorites are Ole:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hN5JpIG0B0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsIOgLp5rlU

and Alabama (this is live version but you get the point):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j_TDoOPnIA

Does anyone have the Prestige Box Sets - Fearless Leader, Interplay or Side Steps? Worth picking up?

i have 'em. some great stuff, also some very so-so, under-rehearsed blowing session-type stuff. I'd say Fearless Leader is the best of the lot.

Yeah, I have all three, too. I agree that Fearless Leader is the best one, but each has plenty to recommend it. I find myself listening to '50s Coltrane more often than '60s Coltrane these days; sometimes you just want to hear a dude with incredible talent playing melodic, easily-understood and -enjoyed music rather than listening to that same incredibly talented dude Brillo-ing his soul in front of you.

yeah, true. one essential thing that's included on Interplay is the Kenny Burrell collab album. Great from start to finish.

Love the Coltrane/Burrell record. Otherwise I agree his Prestige work was inconsistent but has some great moments. A couple of tracks that come to mind are Good Bait and Goldsboro Express.

Wow. How did I never hear Olé before? It's brilliant.

All the Atlantic stuff is top notch. Used to own the Complete Prestige set but sold it because it was never getting played. It wasn't bad, just nothing compared to the Atlantic and Impulse stuff.

Wow. How did I never hear Olé before? It's brilliant.

I know, right?

meditations is basically the best record ever made by humans on earth

Yes.
yes, it is.

Kind of ashamed I never got around to some of the later material until recently. Sun Ship and Interstellar Space are so incredible.

eh, no reason to be ashamed. i'm holding off on the later stuff, just because i'm scared of not having any more coltrane albums to discover!

Giant Steps still rules and is a permanent feature on my mp3 player. Need to get my hands on Olé and the Kenny Burrell collab. What's so great about the latter?

latter is great just to hear coltrane in a different context -- pretty much the only time he really played with a guitarist, i think? some of it is straightforward late 50s hard bop, but really good straightforward late 50s hard bop. highlight is the coltrane/burrell duet on "why was i born" which is insanely pretty.

Now remembering some tangentially relevant funny things I heard Tootie Heath say at Smalls that I’m afraid I can’t type here

Meant to add something to that other post to the effect of “study, study or bonk, bonk on the head with Henry’s Swing Club!”

TBC, I love Tommy Flannagan. I saw his trio live at least three times.

It's pretty much understood these days that Coltrane practiced so assiduously only in the hope of someday bursting in on a urinating David Crosby

Loool!

Just remembered that bit of business in THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS