The John Coltrane Quartet Africa Brass

The John Coltrane Quartet - Africa/Brass (1961) {Impulse!-Verve Originals 0602517486225 rel 2007}
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© 1961, 2007 Impulse! / Verve / UMG | Verve Originals Series | 0602517486225 | AS-6
Jazz / Hard Bop / Experimental Big Band / Post Bop / Modal Music / Saxophone

The album newly remastered from the original master tapes. John Coltrane assembles a 20-piece band for these three songs. There's McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman, Elvin Jones, and 16 others. It's heavy on brass, per the title, there are five french horns, for example. There are notable players like Eric Dolphy, Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard, and Julian Priester in the band, but the solos are by Coltrane, Tyner, or Jones. The orchestration was done by Coltrane, Tyner, and Dolphy. The liner notes say Dolphy did a lot of it, later it came out Tyner did more (though Dolphy was no longer around to argue the point). It's not really a big band in the Duke Ellington style, but with all of the horns, it's certainly a big band.

Limited edition 5-CD box set containing five classic, influential John Coltrane albums from his Impulse discography.
Each album newly remastered from the original master tapes.

A towering musical figure of the 20th century, saxophonist John Coltrane reset the parameters of jazz during his decade as a leader.

The complicated rhythm patterns and diverse sonic textures on Olé Coltrane are evidence that John Coltrane was once again charting his own course. His sheer ability as a maverick – beyond his appreciable musical skills – guides works such as this to new levels, ultimately advancing the entire art form. Historically, it's worth noting that recording had already commenced two days prior to this session on Africa/Brass, Coltrane's debut for the burgeoning Impulse! label. The two sets complement each other, suggesting a shift in the larger scheme of Coltrane's musical motifs. The assembled musicians worked within a basic quartet setting, featuring Coltrane on soprano and tenor sax, McCoy Tyner on piano, and Elvin Jones on drums, with double-bass chores held down by Art Davis and Reggie Workman. Added to that are significant contributions and interactions with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and Eric Dolphy on flute and alto sax (although Dolphy's contract with another record label prevented him from being properly credited on initial pressings of the album). The title track is striking in its resemblance to the Spanish influence heard on Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain.

Every five years since 1986, the corporate custodians of Impulse! have served up batches of Coltrane reissues and unreleased tapes to commemorate a birthday ending in "0" or "5." In the year 2001, which would have been Coltrane's 75th birthday, current label owner Vivendi Universal delivered four single CDs, three of which serve tourists who want to get on the 'Trane for the first time. Standards is probably the least eventful of the lot, offering no unreleased material or particularly enticing packaging. But you won't get shortchanged by the music, which takes us from the first galvanic Impulse! album Africa/Brass ("Greensleeves") through the run of projects by Coltrane's classic quartet of the first half of the '60s (McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones)…

John Coltrane - The Complete Africa/Brass Sessions (1961) {2CD Set, Impulse! IMP 21682 rel 1995}
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© 1961, 1996 Impulse! / MCA Records / GRP Records | IMP 21682
Jazz / Modal Music / Post Bop / Experimental Big Band / Saxophone

Very unusual work by Coltrane – sessions that feature his classic quartet playing in front of larger orchestra backings conducted by Eric Dolphy! The tracks feature Trane leading a group young modernists through a set of larger arranged charts, woven tightly together in a soulful spiritual groove that's similar to some of Max Roach's projects like this from the same time. Players include Booker Little, Eric Dolphy, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Reggie Workman, and Julius Watkins – and this 2CD set features all of the material that was issued on the first album, plus other tracks that came out during the 70s. There's a total of 8 cuts in all – and titles include "Song Of The Underground Railroad", "Blues Minor", "Africa", "The Damned Don't Cry", and "Greensleeves".