Search & Destroy: John Coltrane

Coltrane w Kenny Burrell was one of my first jazz records and I love it so much

It's sort of interesting in jazz how since these guys all did so many sessions in short periods of time, it can be sort of arbitrary which one you wind up starting with and that one often becomes a favorite.

uh hi dere

Now comes word of another new album by the classic John Coltrane Quartet, with McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. Blue World will be released on Impulse!/UMe on Sept. 27, and like Both Directions it offers an unexpected view on a pivotal period in the band's evolution. It was recorded at Van Gelder Studios on June 24, 1964 — a few weeks after the quartet put a finishing touch on the album Crescent — as the soundtrack to a Canadian art film. Because the date had gone unnoted in session recording logs, this music has occupied a blind spot for Trane-ologists, archivists and historians.

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/16/751516859/a-lost-album-from-john-coltrane-is-found-with-thanks-to-a-french-canadian-direct

fuuuuck

nice

anything in the vicinity of Crescent already has my full attention

otm

The new song is really good, and the idea of the 1964 quartet re-recording "Naima," "Village Blues," "Like Sonny" and "Traneing In" is very interesting to me. I am fully on board for this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m24Q78QeHA

oh yeah that's fabulous, thanks

this is very good and exciting

Really want to listen to this on cd, from a black & orange digipack, on a boombox for full effect.

that new track is indeed wonderful. just what i needed on a sunday evening.

Listening to the whole album now. It's two versions of "Naima," three versions of "Village Blues," one each of "Like Sonny" and "Traneing In," and the one brand-new track. About 37 minutes of music in all. No bad performances, and the sound — it's in mono — has real punch. I love it. Gonna be listening to this one a lot more than Both Directions At Once, for sure.

oh you didn't like Both Directions? I really loved it. if this is better I'm really excited

I liked it (bought the 2CD version), but I didn't love it. This one hits my personal sweet spot better, both because of the mono sound and because all the tunes are basically blues riffs.

I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO HEAR THIS

I'm confused, isn't "Blue World" just a slower take of Out of this World?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTTNL-RHEMs

Barry Harris!

"bakai" (1957)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckwFw7YEzHg

this is some badass shit. from his first session as a leader. because of whatever reasons, he doesn't even take the first solo! also sahib shihab on baritone!

John Coltrane With Eric Dolphy - Evenings At The Village Gate

^^^

this newish dug up from the Impulse archives release is really good, it's a rough single mic recording but the music really cuts through and features some amazing playing from Dolphy.

I picked up one of the European tour box sets from FOPP a few years ago. Presumably same line up though not sure about bassist.
Cost I think £15 back then and there was a 2nd volume from the next year, or was it previous. It's 61 and 62 anyway.
Haven't looked at it in a while but I think it was pretty great.
The box set of Village Vanguard sets was quite good too

the star lineup on this one also includes McCoy Tyner/Elvin Jones/Jimmy Garrison/Art Davis.

I think he only had 2 steady lineups under his own name so it would either be Tyner/Jones plus Workman or Garrison and possibly Davis and depending on time some of the time either Dolphy or Sanders and then Sanders/Alice/Ali/Garrison plus possible augmentation.

This is the first time I've ever seen anyone describe A Love Supreme as boring.

nevertheless

Not the first time I've seen it described as boring tbh.

Dolphy's clarineting on my favorite things is some wonderful playing, then comes Trane ... it's great stuff

on this new live one I mean

It's a great Elvin record, what a gift

this dolphy recording is really excellent for a single mic recording. I saw notes that it was drum-heavy and maybe, slightly, but nothing inexcusable. that said with the advent of the technology peter jackson is using for demixing for the Beatles, I'd be really into seeing that same technology used in older jazz recordings like this.

I wrongly posted it was from the Impulse archives, I've since read it was accidentally discovered in NY public library.

It is a killer recording.

Looked at the track listing and was kinda bowled over that they perform "Africa" (!)

it's so good

beware of the vinyl copies btw, terrible pressing according to Discogs reviews

I bought this on CD today and now I want every note that was recorded for these dates, this appears to be a selection from two nights?

i'm looking forward to checking this out!

I love this new set, and was pleasantly surprised by the recording, after the disappointment of A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle release, where you nearly had to strain to hear Coltrane and the other horns. This recording also isn’t professional, but Coltrane and Dolphy are front-and-center, and it’s all completely thrilling. And I don’t know if Dolphy had already settled on his arrangement of “Africa,” recorded two months later, but he’s doing that piece’s French horn leaps on bass clarinet here, which is amazing to hear.

it's so good

beware of the vinyl copies btw, terrible pressing according to Discogs reviews

― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Monday, 14 August 2023 21:18 (yesterday) link

My copy isn't fucked but there is a weird little hiccup at the start of side three where if I don't get the needle in the exact right spot it's a all scratchy for a few seconds, it is weird and yeah it seems like generally the pressing is shoddy at best.

The set is pretty amazing, esp as a kind of bonus to the Complete 1961 Village Vanguard box

I am obsessed rn

am I correct that the only place I can get the studio take of "One Down, One Up" is on this posthumous compilation?

https://www.discogs.com/master/1068522-John-Coltrane-The-Mastery-Of-John-Coltrane-Vol-II-To-The-Beat-Of-A-Different-Drum

the 15 minute version is also on a 90s comp called "dear old stockholm" and there are a couple of takes on the more recent "both directions at once" comp. I'm not aware of it being on any official studio album unless it's a bonus track on some CD version of something

I fell in love with the track when I heard it on the coltrane/shepp newport live album - it's pleasingly tart and astringent - coming to the studio versions later they sound a little tame in comparison

that's very helpful, thank you!

I recently wrote short reviews of 10 live Coltrane albums from 1963-67.

I saw those! That's what got me on this latest kick tbh

You’re being modest Unperson. You did live recording from 61 to 67. And if you like the Coltrane/Dolphy stuff sleeve, there are some pretty high quality bootlegs from their European tour in 61.

ooh yeah dime has a bunch, thx

From an interview with Tootie Heath about asking Jimmy Garrison to do a gig after JC died:

He said, “I’d love to make it, Tootie, but after playing with Coltrane for so long, I don’t know any songs! After seven years of vamps, I forgot all the tunes!” I thought that was some funny shit. Of course, the way Elvin played so loud and rumbled through everything, you couldn’t hear those vamps anyway!

Heh

it's funny that to some of us, probably most of us, Coltrane is like this paragon of sophistication, jazz personified, etc. etc. and then you realize some of his contemporaries basically regarded him like he was Iron Butterfly or something

"Try taking the fucking horn out of your mouth"

It is interesting as a listener to come across totally opposite views by some contemporaries in jazz.

I love watching jazz educator Barry Harris videos and there is one where he is talking around a piano about voicing and one of the students mentions Bill Evans. Harris pretty much shoots that Evans is not that good and is overrated go listen to Hank Jones.

There is definitely some bile and venom in how things works out that comes from some classic jazz artists when a sore spot is touched. Read enough and you will come across some anger in some stories and interviews- I know I have read of some from and about George Coleman, Joe Henderson, Jimmy Smith, Jimmy Knepper off top of my head that made me think wow.