Jazz | Pint | One Down One Up

I'll happily admit that John Coltrane isn't my favourite saxophone player. Unless I'm looking at something specific, I need to pick the right moment to kick back and dig it. And tonight was the night, with One Down, One Up - Live at the Half Note taking care of the Coltrane fix. It's not really music that I strive to emulate, but I get why people love it so much. Intensity is the first word that comes mind. An outward intensity. Maybe if I binged on it and really spent time working it, some of that may bleed into my playing. Who knows. It's not really where I am at the moment, but you never know.

The hook up with Elvin Jones is something else, and there are long periods of Trane and Elvin in duo. The only downside to this is the lack of Jimmy Garrison! (never fear, he's always present during McCoy Tyner's solos). The more I listen to him, the more I enjoy his playing. Is he underrated? Underappreciated? Maybe - I don't know. Not in my book. In the accompanying notes (he barely gets a mention!) there's a great photo of him on the bandstand at the Half Note. The lucky few in the front row could have reached out and touched his bass. I can only image being so close to that sound and feeling. Physically that would have been an interesting experience.

Usually when I tune it to Coltrane I'm focused on his soprano work. And considering it's a live recording, his soprano tone is pretty well captured here. I know a lot of people rave about My Favorite Things, but I prefer his soprano from a bit later on. One Down, One Up is a fine example (on "Afro Blue" and "My Favorite Things") as is The John Coltrane Quartet Plays (check out "Chim Chim Cheree"). Both were recorded in 1965, once he'd spent more time on the straight horn.

So my spur of the moment pick worked out well tonight, and two discs of live Trane made for a nice Christmas Eve Eve. In the words of Alan Grant, the announcer on these broadcasts, "Stay beautiful".

Miles Davis Quintet Prestige Sessions

Miles Davis – The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions

Maybe inspired by giving the Jimmy Giuffre 3 a or three spin a couple of weekends ago, last week I decided to revisit more music I hadn't listened to for a long time.

As an aspiring jazz musician it's pretty hard to pass by these recordings, and I definitely spent a fair amount of time with Cookin', Relaxin', Workin' and Steamin' – and of those I'm probably most familiar with Relaxin.' Over the years there's been the odd track here and there, but it's been a while that I've sit down and listened to them from start to finish. This set also includes The New Miles Davis Quintet (that I'm less familiar with) and a disc of live material (that is new to me but I only gave it a single run this week).

Phrasing, time feel, space, economy, conciseness, continuity – Miles' playing has an immediacy I find hard to resist. The way he plays the melody on “Diane” (love the sound of Philly Joe 's cymbal behind Miles), his solo break on “Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” the bubbly feel of his longer lines on “Oleo” (PC is totally on here too), the swinging simplicity of “Trane's Blues” and this open horn tone on “Woody'n You.” Sometimes I feel Miles overdoes the harmon mute. Aside from his great tone on the open horn it would have been nice to hear him use other style mutes. But this could be one of the disadvantages of listening to a box set I guess.

As before, I'm not really struck by Coltrane's playing on these recordings. Dare I say that, on the earlier tracks at least, in comparison to Miles, he sounds labored (things pick up a bit on “Four” and “Salt Peanuts” “Airegin”). Although, as usually happens when I listen to Coltrane, I warm a little to his playing throughout the week. But for me, it still misses the mark. And how about his blend with Miles on the head of “Stablemates”?... the intonation gives the piece an interesting vibe. But Coltrane is the foil to Miles, and the contrast is part of what makes Miles' playing so effective. Would it work as well if it was a trio with P.C and Philly Joe? (Actually I think it would.... why didn't they do that?!)

Garland has his moments “Oleo” sounds like he's channeling Lennie Tristano (there are hints on “Well You Needn't” too). And his playing (comping and solo) on “Surrey with the Fringe on Top” is on point. I didn't remember Garland's chord solos - “There Is No Greater Love”, “Something I Dreamed Of Last Night” and “When Lights Are Low” - and in general, I preferred them to his line playing. So while he never really grabbed me as a soloist, his comping is an important component of the overall band sound and he locks in well with Chambers and Jones.

In general, during the piano and tenor solos I found my concentration moving towards the bass and drums. This week has been a reminder of how much I enjoy Philly Joe's playing (had I forgotten....?)

Philly Joe's tone enjoying it more than I remembered – the variety he gets from the cymbals and snare, and a nice deep brush sound too. And then there's the effortless flow and pop of Chambers' walking lines – they just go and go and go.

As with the Giuffre disc, I've enjoyed revisiting these recordings, and across the week it reinforced some of my earlier memories of this music. Much like before, my ear was drawn to the playing of Miles and the combination of Chambers and Philly Joe. For me, these recordings aren't ones I reach for to hear my favourite soloists (Miles being the exception), but it's the overall band sound of these recordings that hit the spot.

Straight Horning: John Coltrane - 1961 Village Vanguard

This week I had been listening to some Sam Newsome and an album of his was planned for this post. Then, as it was Coltrane’s 91^st birthday yesterday, I decided to get out of the apartment and listen to some Coltrane and make that the subject of today’s post. It was all going to plan until I placed the disc into the computer and my CD player decided to stop working (I tried the old faithful “turn it off and back on” to not avail). So there was no Coltrane on soprano yesterday - but there is today.  

I came to the Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings around mid-1999, and it’s a recording I can clearly remember listening to for the first time (the library strikes again!). It was a period when I was listening to a lot of Eric Dolphy, that’s what led me to it, and that was where my focus was directed. But today it’s the straight horn that has my attention.

If you are interested in Coltrane but haven't got around to these recordings, you are missing out. 

It's an early incarnation of the "Classic" quartet with Reggie Workman on bass. But Jimmy Garrison is there also (and would soon take over the bass spot), plus there's the addition of Eric Dolphy (as/b.cl) along with Ahmed Abdul-Malik (tanpura) and Garvin Bushell (cor anglais and contrabassoon) - although the latter two only appear on a couple of tracks each, they add a different color to the ensemble sound. [side note: in addition to this recording with Coltrane, Bushell looks to have recorded with a range of artists including Mamie Smith, Gil Evans, Jelly Roll Morton, Chick Webb, Slim Gaillarrd and more.]

Usually when it comes to Coltrane, it’s just a few tracks here and there - rarely an entire album. The last time I pulled out this set was to listen to the 3 versions of “Chasin’ the Trane,” and before that it was a handful of the soprano tracks. Today, I listened to more than my normal fill of Coltrane in a single seating - all of the soprano tracks, and make up half of the 22 tracks in the box set:

Disc One: “India” and “Spiritual”

Disc Two: “India,” “Spiritual” and “Softly As In A Morning Sunrise”

Disc Three: “Greensleeves” and “Spiritual”

Disc Four: “India,” “Greensleeves,” “India” and “Spiritual”

If only there were soprano versions of “Chasin’ the Trane” and/or “Impressions” from this gig, but he seemed pretty set on using certain horns for certain tunes. On all but the first version of “Spiritual” he plays the opening theme and first solo on tenor, then switches to soprano to solo again and take the song out. Maybe one day I’ll spent some time hanging with “Spiritual” for some tenor/soprano contrasts and comparisons.

Recorded more than a year after My Favourite Things and his first studio session on soprano, The Avant Garde, he’s more confident on soprano on the Vanguard recordings and (almost) pushes it to breaking point. “Greensleeves” seems pretty tame when listening to the versions of “India” from either side of it on disc four. And maybe it's “India” that opens disc four that is my favourite of the soprano tracks from this collection. The jury is still out because I haven’t heard his entire soprano output, but so far I would pick “Chim Chim Cheree” from The John Coltrane Quartet Plays as my favourite Coltrane on soprano with the Vanguard recordings running a close second. Although, I’m not sure that it is based solely on his soprano playing - the live energy, and a slightly unpolished quality of the Vanguard performances are also contributing factors.

I definitely prefer Coltrane in small doses, but I’m open to recommendations, in particular recordings that feature his soprano playing. I’ll get to Sam Newsome next week, and in the meantime .....I hope he doesn't mind being bumped by Coltrane.

Straight Horning: Some Coltrane

I can't say I'm a huge fan of John Coltrane, but I try to revisit his work occasionally. Over the last few years usually this has been in the form of his soprano playing. Over the past couple of months I've been listening to two of his early works featuring the straight horn from 1960 - The Avant-Garde (with Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, Percy Heath and Ed Blackwell) and My Favorite Things (with McCoy Tyner, Steve Davis and Elvin Jones).

I've always been a little curious about The Avant-Garde. Initially it was because he explores some works by Ornette Coleman (whom I was listening to a lot when I came across this album) plus it's Coltrane's first studio recording on soprano. Coltrane is still finding his feet on soprano and that alone makes it worth checking out. I'm not sure if it's the recording, the remastering, or maybe Coltrane himself but I find his tone on his horn (particularly soprano) to be very mid and treble-ly - like the bottoms have been mixed out. And while he never had what I consider a dark sound, the lack of bottom end is very apparent on this recording. Different band, different tunes, soprano debut - it doesn't feel like a fully realized album and maybe I can see why Atlantic sat on it for a few years before releasing it in the mid 60s. I wouldn't consider this essential Coltrane, but I do find it a very interesting album and it's a shame he didn't explore this direction a little further (I'm a fan of Ornette and his band members so it's hardly surprising I feel that way).

My Favorite Things was probably the 3rd or 4th Coltrane album I heard - after Blue Train and Giant Steps.... then it was either My Favorite Things or A Love Supreme (but I think it was the former). I have friends for which My Favorite Things was the album that got them into jazz in a serious way. It never made a big impression on me and as a result I hadn't given My Favorite Things a listen in quite some time. In fact, I can only remember listening to it once since I took up the soprano sax in ernest back in 2010 so I decided to give it a whirl again. The contrast between his tenor and soprano make for interesting listening (recorded 3-4 months following The Avant-Garde he is still finding his way on the soprano) and I had forgotten how subdued the band sounds on the title track. And although the album has probably had a dozen spins over the past six weeks or so, I can't say it has grown on me and I have to admit My Favorite Things still tends to leave me a little flat.

Next up on my Coltrane soprano listening list are the half a dozen or so tracks featuring soprano on the 1961 Village Vanguard recordings. I'm always open to suggestions, so let me know your favorite recordings of Coltrane on soprano and I'll try to get around to listening to them!

Jazz April: week 4 listening

Don Cherry: Complete Communion (Blue Note)
It had been quite a while since I last gave this spin, and the passing of Gato Barbieri was my prompt. Listening to this a few times throughout the week made wonder why I haven't listened to this album more over the years. The music free yet well grounded and compositionally strong - the album features two 20 minute suites each comprised of 4 parts. Solid playing from all - Henry Grimes and Ed Black are a great rhythm section pairing, Barbieri seems to take a lead from Ornette and then shifts it into his own areas, and it nicely compliments Cherry's playing. Definitely worth checking out if you haven't already.

Yusef Lateef: Eastern Sounds (Prestige) & Into Something (Prestige)
Of these two albums recorded in 1961, my preference was leaning slightly towards the latter. The rhythm section (Herman Wright and Elvin Jones) kick things along a bit more. It's a little more straight ahead and has less variety than (3 blues, a rhythm changes and 3 standards) Eastern Sounds, and perhaps that was the mood I was in the couple of times I listened to the album this week. Later in the week I gave Eastern Sounds another run and got more into it. The variety is its strength but I could help wondering how the album would sound with the Wright/Jones rhythm section. Barry Harris is on both albums but, outside of the standard tunes, I don't feel he was best suited for this music. His comping is fine, but I haven't been able to get into is improvising. One thing that hung with me from these two albums was Lateef's tenor tone on the ballads.

John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (Impulse)
More specifically The Complete Masters Super Deluxe Edition..... and even more specifically the six takes of "Acknowledgement" from the sextet session. That they didn't get past the opening movement is telling, and the additional saxophone (Archie Shepp) and bass (Art Davis) seems superfluous. However, how would we react to these sextet tracks had we not heard the original work (or if it never existed)?

Sal Mosca: Too Marvelous for Words (Cadence)
Disc 4 is from a concert in Rotterdam and showcases 10 originals by Mosca (the disc ends with "You Got To My Head"). Sal's virtuosity is in service of the music rather than pyrotechnic wizardry. Tour de force doesn’t seem apt as he makes it seem so effortless. Lets hope that this set (and last years release on Sunnyside The Talk of the Town) brings Sal some well overdue attention. 

Don Cherry: "Mu" first part/"Mu" second part (Actuel)
After giving the above Cherry album a couple of runs, I pulled out this duo with Ed Blackwell. Whenever I hear this album I get the feeling that it's just a couple of friends who got together to play some music and decided to record it (there's a casualness about it that appeals to me). As I closely listen to Blackwell, the more I enjoy his playing.

Ned Rothenberg's Sync: Port of Entry (Intuition)
Aside from being a fan of Rothenberg, the instrumentation of Sync was what drew me to this group - alto sax/clarinets/shakuhachi along with Jerome Harris (acoustic guitar & bass) and Samir Chatterjee (tabla & percussion). Although this one deserves more listens, my initial impression left me wanting for a bit space and I wanted to like it more than I did. Since recording this back in the 1997/98, Sync have recorded a couple more albums and I'm keen to hear how they developed.

John Coltrane & Eric Dolphy Answer the Jazz Critics

This famous (and often quoted) article from the April 12, 1962 issue of Down Beat. The title sums things up and looking back now it can be hard to image all of the fuss. Click on the image to view PDF of the full article. More vintage magazine articles can be found here.

A Love Supreme - Down Beat Review 1965

Today is the 50th anniversary of the recording of A Love Supreme so I felt it was appropriate to upload the five-star review by Don DeMicheal in the April 8, 1965 issue of Down Beat. I'll have to give the album a spin later today (its been a while). Enjoy.
Here are links to more vintage magazine articles.

Jimmy Giuffre Blindfold Test from August 1960

Here is Leonard Feather's "Blindfold Test" from the August 18, 1960 issue of Down Beat. Feather tests Jimmy Giuffre with recordings by Pete Brown, The Four Brothers, John Coltrane, Al and Zoot and Harry Lookofsky.

Listening: Early May

Evan Parker - Chicago Solo

Evan Parker: Chicago Solo (Okka Disc 1995)
Parker's first solo disc devoted to the tenor saxophone (20 years after his first album of soprano solos). Glad I picked this disc up. 14 solos ranging from less than two - eight minutes in length. I gave this a couple of listens last week - Initial thoughts... quite different from his solo soprano tracks (even if only in the shortness of tracks). Some of it quite intimate sounding. Plenty of similarities too.... 'illusions of polyphony' a plenty. I have kept it out for more listening.

Kaum Quartet: At St. Audeon's Church (Plush 2008)
Fantastic alto saxophone quartet with Sean Mac Erlaine, Hayden Chisholm, Frank Gratkowski & Christian Weidner. I have been enjoying a few alto only groups of late - a post is in its infancy..stay tuned (or should that be detuned?).

Various Billie Holiday (Columbia box set) & Lester Young (30's-early 40's).
All Of Me, A Sailboat In The Moonlight, Sun Showers, You Go To My Head, Shoe Shine Boy, Pound Cake, Laughing At Life, Me Myself & I, Texas Shuffle, etc etc.

Billie & Pres could pretty much be a default entry for the listening lists!  In the not so distant future they will be the subject for an 'Impact Records' entry.

John Coltrane was revisited. A few select tracks ... "One Down, One Up", "Brazilia" and some others plus these albums:
Live At The Village Vanguard (1961) I listened to this quite a bit when I started getting into Eric Dolphy during my music school days.
Expressions (1967)
Ascension (1965) I first heard this shortly after hearing Ornette's "Free Jazz" and thinking... 'damm' - I had no idea what to expect.
Interstellar Space (1967....released 1974)
One of the things I am enjoying about the 'Friends of Jazz Free Jazz Project' is that I am revisiting a lot of music I haven't listened to in quite a while - as was the case with the 4 discs above..... I hadn't listened to them in years.

The next email will be #5 - subjects so far have included Lennie Tristano, Cecil Taylor, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman. Coltrane is up next.

Albert Ayler: Spiritual Unity (ESP 1965) also got a revisit as part of the project. I also re-watched the Swedish film "My Name is Albert Ayler." Recommended. Though I wouldn't mind hearing what the Swedes were saying.....I watched it online without subtitles.

Djivan Gasparyan: Heavenly Duduk (Network 1999)
An excellent release from all the free jazz :-)