Record Reviews

JOHN COLTRANE ~ THE COMPLETE 1961 VILLAGE VANGUARD RECORDINGS IMPULSE! 232 (Barcode: 011105023221) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1961 Released: 1997 When this music was recorded in November of 1961 I was only 10 years old and yet it changed my life forever. Living in (Socialist) Poland, my access to contemporary (at the time) jazz originating in the US was pretty limited and the only beacon of light was the daily Willis ConoverFind albums by this artist’s radio jazz program on Voice Of America, beamed from across the Iron Curtain. Millions of Eastern European listeners would risk freedom (listening to VOA was a criminal act then) to gain freedom, myself included. These broadcasts changed the life of countless people and particularly in Poland would eventually be a dominant factor in the process of forming a burgeoning and extremely fruitful local jazz scene. Many hours of my early childhood were spent with myself standing on a conductor’s podium (e sledge), in front of an imaginary orchestra playing inside the enormous radio (a pre WW II antique). Since classical music was less censored and sponsored by the Establishment, it was there for us to enjoy most of it of very high quality. I remember listening for hours at end to the annual Chopin competition, which was Poland’s most prestigious music event, getting to know his music inside out before I even knew anything about him. My Mother encouraged my “conducting” aspirations warmly, supplementing them with occasional background information. But the discovery of jazz and its strange convoluting patterns and unfamiliar rhythms was a revelation. I just couldn’t get enough of it and every new artist or piece of music was an instant bliss. By the time I was about to hear John ColtraneFind albums by this artist for the first time I was already familiar with the music of Duke EllingtonFind albums by this artist, Count BasieFind albums by this artist, Charlie ParkerFind albums by this artist and Dizzie GillespieFind albums by this artist (thanks to Mr. Conover). Conover, in contrast to many of his peers (who were stuck in be-bop or some earlier jazz sub-genre for the rest of their lives), was remarkably open-minded and understood the genius of Coltrane and his visionary contribution to the development of the Jazz Art form. He therefore featured every new Coltrane album as soon as it was released. So here I was, 10 years old, some time in early 1962, listening to the Village Vanguard sessions – an experience equivalent to a 10,000 Volts electricity shock. My life would definitely be never the same again. I hope these personal reminiscences don’t put you off too much, but I just couldn’t resist the temptation. Taking the time-travel express to now here are my comments about this music from a “45 years later” point of view. In 1961 Coltrane left AtlanticFind albums on this label (his second label, PrestigeFind albums on this label being the first) and signed a contract with Impulse!Find albums on this label, the new and ambitious jazz label run by producer Bob ThieleFind albums by this artist, where he would stay for the rest of his life. Coltrane was already following a path (mostly subconsciously) which would lead him to the edge of the known jazz explorations and beyond. His monumental Atlantic albums like Giant Steps and My Favorite Things were just a glimpse of things to come. Coltrane felt that Thiele would allow him to speed up the process of reaching the quest of musical enlightenment by allowing him total artistic freedom and supporting him all the way and he was of course right. The extensive volume of music recorded for Impulse! in the span of almost 7 years right up to his death would become the most important musical legacy of the 20th Century, so innovative and groundbreaking that it is still a mystery to many contemporary listeners and musicologists today. Coltrane’s first recording for Impulse! (in the spring of 1961) would be the Africa / Brass sessions, an ambitious project involving a large ensemble of the most gifted players on the scene (Freddie HubbardFind albums by this artist, Booker LittleFind albums by this artist, Eric DolphyFind albums by this artist and many others) – see The Complete Africa / Brass SessionsFind albums with this title album, another essential Coltrane release. These sessions introduce several new elements in Coltrane’s music, like Far-Eastern motifs, African rhythms and other ethnic influences. In November of 1961 Thiele decided to record Coltrane live, using the 4 nights booking at the NY club The Village Vanguard (where many jazz albums were recorded live) for this purpose. The booking was for a John Coltrane Quintet and it was only natural that the Quintet would include Eric Dolphy, whom Coltrane knew, respected and played with earlier. The legendary Quartet (with McCoy TynerFind albums by this artist, Jimmy GarrisonFind albums by this artist and Elvin JonesFind albums by this artist) was not entirely crystallized at the time, so Coltrane and Thiele decided to expand the line-up (on some takes) to include an oud player (Ahmed Abdul-MalikFind albums by this artist) and alternative bassist (Reggie WorkmanFind albums by this artist) and drummer (Roy HaynesFind albums by this artist). Since this music was recorded for a future release Thiele (as any produce would do) recorded several takes of each tune, some with an alternating line-up. This 4CDs Box Set includes all the music that was recorded during these four days (mind you not all the music that was played, as some of it was not recorded hence the “complete” being not entirely true) in the exact order it was recorded. This music was to be released later on two albums (Live At The Village Vanguard and The Other Village Vanguard Tapes) as well as parts of other albums (Impressions) and collections. Collected here together for the first time, this is a monumental piece of jazz history and an unforgettable musical experience. Coltrane’s circular breathing technique and his “wall of sound” approach are clearly evident here for the first time in their full glory. The comparison of the different versions of the same tunes are both fundamental and clairvoyant examples of the “one time experience” that every jazz performance essentially is. The power, the vision, the super-human strength of will of the Master and Prophet (please excuse the almost religious references) that Coltrane was, are here for us, his disciples, to discover, study, revere and bequest to future generations. This Box Set is something one has in one’s record collection for life. It is not only timeless, but also constantly evolving in parallel to one’s private (musical) evolution. Listening to it time after time (especially after a long period of abstention) will be revealing and constantly surprising. It is a superb example of great Art, which keeps alive for eternity, adopting itself to the changing cultural surroundings, and therefore being truly eternal. I can’t imagine anybody, who calls himself a music lover, not owning this music, as naive as this might sound, since I believe there is something in it for everybody. Beyond essential!

Updated: 26/01/2019Posted:

CD 4 Box Set Oversampling Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend

MILES DAVIS ~ CHRONICLE: THE COMPLETE PRESTIGE RECORDINGS 1951-1956 PRESTIGE 025218440028 (Barcode: 025218440028) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1951 - 1956 Released: 1987 This is a monumental 8CD Box Set, which collects all the recordings by iconic American trumpeter / composer / bandleader Miles DavisFind albums by this artist, recorded for PrestigeFind albums on this label Records between January 17, 1951 and October 26, 1956. The Box Set includes 94 tracks, recorded during 17 sessions, with 34 different musicians, presented exactly in the sequence they were recorded. All the music was remastered for this CD edition of the Box Set from 1987, which was initially released in analogue form in 1980 as a 12LP Box Set. Considering the fact that there is an endless amount of commentary about this music already written, I’ll only state some personal remarks here. This Box Set presents the formative Davis’ period, during which he was looking for his personal form of expression. He crossed and zig-zagged Jazz genres with ease, be it Cool, Bebop, Hard Bop, or whatever, just in order to find the sound that represented him regardless of how it was classified. Playing with musicians, who were deeply rooted in one specific genre or idiom made him often uneasy and kept him searching. On the last three CDs of this Box Set we can hear the Davis’ First Great Quintet, with saxophonist John ColtraneFind albums by this artist, pianist Red GarlandFind albums by this artist, bassist Paul ChambersFind albums by this artist and drummer Philly Joe JonesFind albums by this artist. The quintet was a turning point, as far as Davis was concerned, when his found his very own voice for the first time, largely inspired by Coltrane of course. Following the move to ColumbiaFind albums on this label and eventually with the formation of the Second Great Quartet in 1964, Davis would become completely liberated from the formal stylistic definitions, creating music that was first and foremost his own and beyond any existing style, often coercing critics to invent new style labels to fit his music. During my conversations with Davis, he often stressed that the tendency of many American Jazz musicians to cling to Bebop as the basis of their music, simply holds them back from developing further (he was, of course, using somewhat less politically correct vocabulary, when making his observations). Davis’ Prestige period, although producing a vast amount of great music, as evident from what is included herein, was a transitional phase, which only towards its end managed to crystalize Davis’ musical personality, and which eventually would lead towards higher planes. Overall, this Box Set is an essential piece of American Jazz history, which summarizes the first half of the 1950s probably better than most other recordings of that period. As far as Miles Davis is concerned, it is but a taster of his full might, which will explode about a decade later, but nevertheless it is a classic part of the puzzle, which every Jazz fan should be familiar with.

Updated: 03/02/2024Posted: 03/02/2024

CD 8 Box Set Remastered Essential Recommend To A Friend

JOHN COLTRANE ~ THE PRESTIGE RECORDINGS PRESTIGE 888072335936 (Barcode: 888072335936) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1956 - 1958 Released: 2011 This magnificent Box Set combines all the recordings by the greatest Jazz musician of all times, saxophonist / composer John ColtraneFind albums by this artist, recorded for the legendary PrestigeFind albums on this label label. The only Coltrane recordings missing in this set are those he recorded with Miles DavisFind albums by this artist (which are available on the "Chronicle: The Complete Prestige Recordings Of Miles DavisFind albums with this title" Box Set) and therefore this Box Set misses the "complete" element in favor of avoiding unnecessary duplication. The vast amount of music included here, which fills 16 CDs, was recorded during 25 recording sessions, the first of which took place on May 7, 1956 and the last on December 26, 1958: a period of about two and a half years. Part of the music features Coltrane as a sideman and the rest as a leader. Forty two other players, beside Coltrane, participate in these recordings, a list of names which reads like the encyclopedia of American Jazz in the 1950s. The Prestige era was a vital part of Coltrane´s ever changing path towards spiritual and artistic unity. His stint with Miles Davis and the sessions collected here were his rite of passage between his early years and his Big Bang, which will occur just a few years later after Coltrane switched from Prestige to AtlanticFind albums on this label and then finally to Impulse!Find albums on this label Coltrane firmly believed in paying the dues and mastering one´s skills before taking the liberty to step across the boundaries of the known musical universe. Although he does not actually cross any boundaries on these recordings, he certainly gets to develop the tools and experience, which are crucial in order to be able to do so. His playing here is simply perfect, any way one looks at it. Technically his phrasing, fluidity, timbre, harmonic progression and the complete control of the instrument (he plays only tenor saxophone on all these recordings) and the rest his musician´s arsenal are simply astounding. Emotionally his music matures and achieves a level of focus previously never encountered. It is quite obvious that without this period the revolutionary developments, which were just around the corner, would have never happened. These sessions reveal the fact that the intensity of Coltrane´s life as a musician left little time for his talents as a composer to materialize in parallel. The entire Box Set includes only a small number of Coltrane´s original compositions; that aspect of his personality had to wait just a bit longer. However Coltrane discovered the African sources of Jazz during this time, which will become an important part of his future music, his emotional approach to Jazz and a part of his personal philosophy. In historic perspective this music is a not only a superb synopsis of American mainstream, captured just moments before Free Jazz was about to shatter all the conventions and take it to the next existential level. This is simply the best music, made by the best musicians and therefore eternally a part of the canon of our Culture. And yes, it is also an essential listening experience, as a whole or part by part, chronologically or in reverse order, any way you wish, just please listen! Your life will never be the same again…

Updated: 26/01/2019Posted:

CD 16 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Remastered Essential Recommend To A Friend

JOHN COLTRANE ~ THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: THE COMPLETE ATLANTIC RECORDINGS RHINO 71984 (Barcode: 081227198428) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1959 - 1961 Released: 1995 This magnificent Box Set compiles everything John ColtraneFind albums by this artist recorded for AtlanticFind albums on this label – his second long-term recording stint with a label following his PrestigeFind albums on this label period and preceding his final years on Impulse!Find albums on this label. The first 6 CDs include all the 10 Coltrane’s LPs released on Atlantic (Giant StepsFind albums with this title, Coltrane JazzFind albums with this title, My Favorite ThingsFind albums with this title, Bags & TraneFind albums with this title, Olé ColtraneFind albums with this title, Coltrane Plays The BluesFind albums with this title, Coltrane’s SoundFind albums with this title, The Avant-GardeFind albums with this title, The Coltrane LegacyFind albums with this title, Alternate TakesFind albums with this title), but the material is organized in chronological order (by session). The 7th CD adds over an hour of never before released material. All this music was recorded over a period of just over two years (January 1959 – May 1961), but it includes some of the most pivotal Jazz recordings ever. The Atlantic period is a superb document of transition for the Jazz Giant. Stylistically it presents the steady move from Bebop and Hard Bop to Free. Instrumentally it shows the shift from tenor saxophone to soprano saxophone. It also reveals the process of crystallization of Coltrane’s great classic quartet (see The Classic Quartet: Complete Impulse! Studio RecordingsFind albums with this title), whereas by October of 1960 three quarters of the quartet (with McCoy TynerFind albums by this artist on piano and Elvin JonesFind albums by this artist on drums) were already in place and only the bassist Jimmy GarrisonFind albums by this artist was to join soon after. Two of the sessions present here are collaborations with other co-credited Jazz Giants: “Bags & Trane” with the great vibraphonist Milt JacksonFind albums by this artist and “The Avant-Garde” with legendary trumpeter Don CherryFind albums by this artist. The music is of course divine – absolutely nothing I can say about it would ever come close to the experience of actually listening to it. This music influenced every Jazz musician and Jazz lover on earth and left a mark on contemporary music, which has no equals to this day. It also shows Coltrane as a great composer for the first time, with some of his greatest melodies like “Giant Steps” and “Naima”. His interpretation of “My Favorite Things” is of course probably the most commonly known Jazz anthem ever. This sublime music is an integral part of Art’s cannon and an everlasting evidence of human (or perhaps super-human) genius. Absolutely essential!

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

CD 7 Box Set Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend

DEXTER GORDON ~ THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA ALBUMS COLLECTION SONY 886979189126 (Barcode: 886979189126) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1976 - 1980 Released: 2011 The veteran American saxophonist / composer Dexter GordonFind albums by this artist was one of the Jazz icons with a career spanning half a century. He was one of the great Bebop pioneers and his playing over the years remained more or less within the Bebop tradition. Gordon recorded extensively as a sideman and as a leader, participating in many seminal Bebop recordings. Since the early 1960s he recorded for the legendary Blue NoteFind albums on this label label, creating some of his best work there. Gordon left the US for Europe, as did many other American musicians in the 1960s, where he lived for fifteen years, mostly in Paris and Copenhagen. He enjoyed the European way of life and cultural atmosphere, which was free from racial discrimination and admired Jazz. While living in Europe he continued to record for Blue Note and the Danish SteeplechaseFind albums on this label label. By the late 1960 he switched to the PrestigeFind albums on this label label in the US. Gordon finally returned to the US for good in 1976 and signed with ColumbiaFind albums on this label, where he recorded the last of his output before his death in 1990. He also started an acting career, with the most notable appearance in the "Round Midnight" movie, where he portrayed a heroin addicted saxophonist, roughly based on his own biography. Gordon´s Columbia releases started with the live recording of his homecoming concert at the legendary Village Vanguard in NY, and included three studio albums and one more live album recorded at Carnegie Hall. All these recordings expanded by numerous bonus tracks and a whole additional CD of bonus tracks are included in this lovely Box Set. The list of names of the accompanying musicians reads like the who´s who of the US mainstream Jazz scene of the 1970s, and includes trumpeter Woody ShawFind albums by this artist, pianists George CablesFind albums by this artist, Cedar WaltonFind albums by this artist, George DukeFind albums by this artist and others, vibraphonist Bobby HutchersonFind albums by this artist, bassist Rufus ReidFind albums by this artist and many others. Overall this is some of the finest American mainstream Jazz played in the Bebop tradition, with wonderful performances by first class players, heartwarming solos and great compositions. Any true Jazz lover will enjoy these classic recordings and having them collected in one neat package with bonus material and informative liner notes is all anybody could ask for. Definitely not to be missed!

Updated: 26/01/2019Posted:

CD 7 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend

THELONIOUS MONK ~ COMPLETE COLUMBIA STUDIO ALBUMS COLLECTION SONY 886979576827 (Barcode: 886979576827) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1962 - 1968 Released: 2012 Although most often associated with the Bebop genre, American pianist / composer Thelonious MonkFind albums by this artist was in fact one of the very few Jazz icons, that managed to create a completely personal style, unlike any another before or after. His playing and his compositions were absolutely outrageous, unconventional and plainly weird. Strange chord changes, aggressive attack, long out of nowhere glissandos and those unexpected pauses in the most unexpected places created a musical experience, which logically made no sense whatsoever but in practice sounded most wonderfully. As many other human geniuses, he is therefore often suspected of being an alien stranded on our pitiful planet. Monk started to record in the mid-1940s as part of the Bebop explosion and over the years worked with Blue NoteFind albums on this label, PrestigeFind albums on this label and RiversideFind albums on this label labels, but his last, longest and most stable and productive period was spent with ColumbiaFind albums on this label records in the 1960s, when these albums were originally recorded. These are the quartet recordings, made with his quartet, which lasted for eleven years and was his preferential vehicle. It included the saxophonist Charlie RouseFind albums by this artist, who was the quartet´s member for that entire duration, bassist John OreFind albums by this artist and later Butch WarrenFind albums by this artist and Larry GalesFind albums by this artist and drummer Frankie DunlopFind albums by this artist and later Ben RileyFind albums by this artist. The music on these albums is a mixture of Monk originals (the majority of the material), some of which were previously recorded on other labels, and his treatment of standards, which of course are often quite remote from the origin. The playing is absolutely stunning, not only by Monk but also by Rouse, who surely deserves the title of the most underrated saxophonist in Jazz history. The quartet format was best serving Monk´s idiosyncratic style and manner, but he also recorded in other formats, like piano solo. Some of his remarkable live performances were also released on Columbia and hopefully all that material will be released in the future as part of the Box Set series. These six albums, remastered and expanded with numerous bonus tracks and accompanied by informative liner notes constitute some of the most important Jazz music ever recorded, which gets better with time and penetrates deeper every time it is listened to. There is no way and serious Jazz buff can afford not having this in his collection; that would be simply sacrilegious. And next time you open your door to a small green humanoid with a couple of antennas on his head, just play him some Monk; he´ll surely dig it!

Updated: 26/01/2019Posted:

CD 6 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend