Coltrane 1964-65, which album?

[philhowe]

Hi,


Can anyone suggest an album of his between 1965/65 that is not just for the Jazz purist, hardcore listener?

Thanks,

Phil

 

[Dylan]

Hi Phil

I can recommend "Crescent" from that period. It was recorded a few months before "A Love Supreme" and probably gets overlooked because of that. It is full of really melodic beautiful and quite melancholy lines - one of my faves is "Lonnies Lament".
There are some snippets of it on amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Crescent-John-Coltrane-Quartet/dp/B000003N8R

Happy listening

D

 

[frank_johnson]

Hi,
If you want to hear the pre-religious period with beautiful melodic sounds try Blue Train (Bluenote) and The Stardust Sessions (Prestige)
Happy honking,
Frank 🙂

 

[Bobby G]

I know it's earlier than 64-5, but Trane's playing with the Miles Davis Quintet, or Sextet with the addition of Cannonball Adderley, is worth a listen, as is (seconded!) Blue Train, but if you're going to listen to that kind of jazz I would have recommended another artist, as I would say Trane's atmosphere and sound is sometimes not a very good introduction to post-bebop jazz.

Cheers, Bob

 

[Jules]

for a more digestable take on Coltrane's sound there's a superb album called "The soulful Side" of John Coltrane which has the best of his ballads and less intense material on it. Like you, I find a lot of his classic works pretty diffecult but.. wowo.. could he play ballads exquisitely (check out After the Rain or Lushlife for some sutnningly emotional delivery...)

 

[Bobby G]

The 'Lush Life' album is good, too; no piano on several tracks, so the sax lines come across very clearly.

Cheers, Bob

 

[mfox]

if your new to jazz and want to listen to some John Coltrane then i would say don't ;listen to this period, if ALove Supreme " grates then you need easing into it..start with
1957 blue trane,, up to " A Kind of Blue..(best album ever recorded)
into 1962 "john coltrane plays the blues" and then you should get the later stuff.. i'm a real big JC fan and i can only take this stuff in small doses..

my advice to you is bound your teacher, tape a pair of head phones to him/ her and play a lve recording of " a love supreme" on continual loop for 3 days.. that will cure him

 

[Bobby G]

That's 'the' live A Love Supreme, isn't it? Wasn't it recorded live only the once? On the other hand, several live versions of Favorite Things are available, each seemingly more frenetic than the last, and the longest one approaching an hour in duration. That is your 3-day continuous-loop taped-on acid-test piece right there.

I'm also a big Coltrane fan, heck I can even listen to Ascension and dig it (wouldn't say 'enjoy', especially), but I don't listen to his later stuff too often, apart from A Love Supreme sometimes, and more often the album just called Coletrane which is midway between the more straight-ahead earlier albums and ALS. I've said this before, but I find Coltrane is often someone you have to be in the mood for, unlike say a Cannonball Adderley or Johnny Hodges who are right... anytime... anyplace... anywhere...

Cheers, Bob

 

[mfox]

hehe your just as barmy as me

 

[philhowe]

Hi Guys,

Just a quick 'thank you' for your suggestions they have helped me to get going in the right direction. I'm currently enjoying the 'LushLife' album, that's more like it!!

Great stuff...

Phil

 

[simonspill]

I'd suggest The John Coltrane Quartet Plays.

It marries the intensity of 1965 Coltrane with shorter performances of standards, such as Chim Chim Cheree, Nature Boy and Feelin' Good and is a beautiful record.

 

[lb]

I'd second the comments about 'Crescent' and 'Plays...'.

One of my personal favourites is the Atlantic album 'Coltrane's Sound', which tends to get a bit overshadowed by 'Giant Steps' in the chronology. A couple of blistering reharmonisations of standards using the bits of the Giant Steps chord cycle, plus 'Central Park West', and one of the most beautiful versions of 'Body and Soul' that you will ever hear - so something for everyone.

If it's Coltrane's soprano playing we're talking about then I'd probably recommend 'Live at Birdland' which has a storming version of 'Afro Blue' on it (plus 'Your Lady' and a load of other stuff).

 

[Bobby G]

[No message]

 

[Pete Thomas]

probably slightly pre 1964, but I really like Afro Blue

 

[simonspill]

lb wrote:

One of my personal favourites is the Atlantic album 'Coltrane's Sound', which tends to get a bit overshadowed by 'Giant Steps' in the chronology. A couple of blistering reharmonisations of standards using the bits of the Giant Steps chord cycle, plus 'Central Park West', and one of the most beautiful versions of 'Body and Soul' that you will ever hear - so something for everyone.

This has to be among my favourite Trane albums. You're right - it has everything and is I think the best "all-round" representation of the Coltrane Quartet pre-Workman/Garrison. Ironically it wasn't issued until 1964.

The CD bonus "26-2" had Trane putting the G.S. cycle onto "Confirmation". It is simply stunning. Go buy!