John Coltrane 2024

This release is very interesting set of nostalgic sides from sessions in Art Blakey's name, with a big band he formed independently of the Jazz Messengers. Featuring Trane in an ensemble setting with Al Cohn (writer of most of the charts, according to Charles Waring's liner notes) Donald Byrd, Sahib Shihab and Bill Graham, the record has a slick but not superficial, swinging sound, bright and cheering. This package also features a second disk of alternate takes and one bonus track ("Oasis") making the set a nice catch.

This release is very interesting set of nostalgic sides from sessions in Art Blakey's name, with a big band he formed independently of the Jazz Messengers. Featuring Trane in an ensemble setting with Al Cohn (writer of most of the charts, according to Charles Waring's liner notes) Donald Byrd, Sahib Shihab and Bill Graham, the record has a slick but not superficial, swinging sound, bright and cheering. This package also features a second disk of alternate takes and one bonus track ("Oasis") making the set a nice catch.

John Coltrane's quintet with Eric Dolphy was recorded extensively during their European tour in 1961, with many of the concerts evidently being broadcast and taped by private collectors. The music heard on this two-CD set was previously available from the now-defunct Mag(Luxe) label, containing both shows from Paris in 1961. The sound quality is better than average, though Elvin Jones' drums are the most prominent instrument, but the rest of the band can be heard. Coltrane tends to solo long, not always giving Dolphy and Tyner the room they deserve, though they are effective when featured…

John Coltrane frequently appeared on live radio broadcasts of concerts while touring with his bands, with many of them appearing and reappearing on various European labels. This 1963 Copenhagen concert, recorded at Tivoli Konertasal, features his classic quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones. Previously issued by TDJ and MagLuxe, this two-CD set contains the complete concert, except for "Impressions," which was evidently incomplete on the original source tape. As typical with live recordings made from broadcasts with no remixing, the sound is not to the standard of a professional recording, with somewhat distant bass and muddy audio in spots. But the music is very listenable and finds the quartet at a peak, particularly in Coltrane's features on soprano sax, which include "The Promise," "Afro-Blue," and an explosive "My Favorite Things"…

John Coltrane frequently appeared on live radio broadcasts of concerts while touring with his bands, with many of them appearing and reappearing on various European labels. This 1963 Copenhagen concert, recorded at Tivoli Konertasal, features his classic quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones. Previously issued by TDJ and MagLuxe, this two-CD set contains the complete concert, except for "Impressions," which was evidently incomplete on the original source tape. As typical with live recordings made from broadcasts with no remixing, the sound is not to the standard of a professional recording, with somewhat distant bass and muddy audio in spots. But the music is very listenable and finds the quartet at a peak, particularly in Coltrane's features on soprano sax, which include "The Promise," "Afro-Blue," and an explosive "My Favorite Things"…

John Coltrane's quintet with Eric Dolphy was recorded extensively during their European tour in 1961, with many of the concerts evidently being broadcast and taped by private collectors. The music heard on this two-CD set was previously available from the now-defunct Mag(Luxe) label, containing both shows from Paris in 1961. The sound quality is better than average, though Elvin Jones' drums are the most prominent instrument, but the rest of the band can be heard. Coltrane tends to solo long, not always giving Dolphy and Tyner the room they deserve, though they are effective when featured…

These two sessions were produced by Lee Kraft in 1957 featuring the inimitable tenor saxophonist John Coltrane in two different formats; a quintet with Donald Byrd, Walter Bishop, Jr., Wendell Marshall and Art Blakey, and a 15-piece big band organized by Blakey. Coltrane was featured prominently in both settings and played exceptionally throughout. While the other soloists were all top-notch musicians, Coltranes compositions and performance clearly stole the show. His solos were powerful and confident, ripping out sequences of 16th note lines that soared over the full range of the horn with complete command.

Charly's live John Coltrane recordings from '61, '63, and '65 reveal just how much the tenor and soprano saxophonist's playing changed in the first half of the decade: a sonic shift from aggressive tonality to unfettered exploration. While the 1965 disc, Live In Paris, does find Coltrane covering familiar song territory with "Naima," "Impressions," and "Afro Blue," it also shows him dismissing solo structure in favor of volcanic flights. The record features the saxophonist's classic quartet of pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and bassist Jimmy Garrison recorded at the Antibes festival and the Selel Pleyel in Paris; these concerts were not only part of Coltrane's last European tour, but would also mark the beginning of the end for the group (Tyner and Jones, traditionalists at heart, would soon depart in the face of their boss' increasing need for freedom, being replaced by Alice Coltrane and Rahsied Ali respectively)…