Soultrane is one of the essential albums in John Coltrane’s career. Recorded during the first year of his Prestige contract, between his critical service in Thelonious Monk’s quartet and his return to the band of Miles Davis, it finds the tenor saxophonist displaying a new level of both technical and conceptual refinement, dispensing torrents of notes that annotator Ira Gitler famously dubbed "sheets of sound." The Red Garland Trio, a key component on many Coltrane recordings of the period, is at its eloquent best; and the program, with two compositions from the early days of modern jazz, two lesser-known standards, and a recently penned requiem for the late Ernie Henry…
From the new liner notes: “The session of March 16, 1956 is one of most beautiful, laid-back, floating-on-a-cloud experiences one can have. The first time I listened to it, I replayed it three times. Side note: ‘Vierd Blues’ is the same piece that appears on Miles’s Trane’s Blues, and there credited to John Coltrane, as it was when Trane first recorded it on a Kenny Drew session, years before. Until it was combined with the 1956 date, the Miles-Bird-Sonny session lay in the vaults. Meanwhile, on May 15, 1953 Bird and Dizzy Gillespie recorded their famed Massey Hall concert in Toronto. When that record was issued ‘Charlie Chan’ was used as Bird’s pseudonym. That’s how it came to be used for Collectors’ Items.”
It is ironic that what is arguably singer Betty Roché's finest all-around recording was also her last. For this session, which has been reissued in the OJC series on CD, Roché (backed by pianist Jimmy Neeley, guitarist Wally Richardson, bassist Michel Mulia, and drummer Rudy Lawless) improvises constantly and uplifts a variety of superior standards, including "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Polka Dots and Moonbeams," "I Had the Craziest Dream," and three songs by her former boss, Duke Ellington. It's recommended, particularly to jazz fans not aware of Betty Roché's musical talents.
Reissue features the latest DSD / HR Cutting remastering and the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player). Comes with a description. Features the original LP designs. A really great title for this classic late 50s set – as the record showcases a host of young alto players who've all come up in the generation of Charlie Parker – but who are each bringing their own sense of style to the instrument! There's hardly any "bird feathers" here – as the Charlie Parker modes are never used slavishly, but instead as a way to sprout wings and really take off in new direction – a difference that really comes through wonderfully on the tracks that feature two different altoists playing together.
The two and a half years represented in this mammoth collection made up a period of great activity and development for young John Coltrane. It was a time in which he worked in the Miles Davis Quintet, then joined Thelonious Monk for his historic Five Spot engagement, and then took his place in the legendary 1958 Miles Davis Sextet. It was a time in which he grew from a somewhat promising tenor player to a supernova about to burst upon the jazz world. It was also a span during which Trane traveled with great regularity to the original New Jersey location of the Rudy Van Gelder Studio, taking part in no less than 25 lengthy Prestige recording sessions.
This was a forerunner of the Miles Davis Quintet as it was his first session with Red Garland and Philly Joe Jones. Up to then his Prestige dates had been of the "all star" variety. (Oscar Pettiford fills that bill here.) By the fall, John Coltrane and Paul Chambers would come aboard to help form the first of a continuum of great Davis working groups. On "A Night in Tunisia" Philly Joe used special sticks with little cymbals riveted to the shaft.
Soultrane is one of the essential albums in John Coltrane’s career. Recorded during the first year of his Prestige contract, between his critical service in Thelonious Monk’s quartet and his return to the band of Miles Davis, it finds the tenor saxophonist displaying a new level of both technical and conceptual refinement, dispensing torrents of notes that annotator Ira Gitler famously dubbed “sheets of sound.”