The 4-night engagement at the Village Vanguard in November 1961 with sidemen Eric Dolphy, McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman, Jimmy Garrison & Elvin Jones resulted in saxophonist John Coltrane's 1962 "Live at the Village Vanguard" album, his evolving freedom surprisingly divisive and even decried as "anti-jazz", here reissued and remastered with a bonus version of "Spiritual".
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Sample The Album:
John Coltrane-tenor saxophone, soprano saxophones
Eric Dolphy-bass clarinet
McCoy Tyner-piano
Reggie Workman-double bass
Jimmy Garrison-double bass
Elvin Jones-drums
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UPC: 752156112020
Label: ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd
Catalog ID: ezz-thetics 1120
Squidco Product Code: 31014
Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2021
Country: Switzerland
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at The Village Vanguard, in New York, New York, on November 2nd and 3rd, 1961.
"Chasing the Trane isn't a perfunctory pursuit. It's a lifelong undertaking and commitment. Countless curious souls have and continue to engage the endeavor, attempting to decode and internalize the essence of John Coltrane as a saxophonist and his associative lineaments, some conspicuous to quotidian inspection, others more subjective and elusive. Attendant with that everlasting attention eventually came the expected hagiography and habiliments of sainthood. John Coltrane arguably accumulated the most of any of his peers, particularly posthumously, but such a securely seraphic stature in the jazz firmament wasn't always a foregone conclusion.
The tectonic shifts John Coltrane orchestrated in music, not just endemic to jazz, but across global styles and forms, were so impactful and prodigious that skepticism and unalloyed indignation from certain recalcitrant quarters was inevitable. Such reactionary and defamatory detractors can be difficult to fathom, let alone reconcile, given how indelible John Coltrane's artistic imprint remains today. But he and allegiant confrere Eric Dolphy weathered more than their share of targeted ignominy when and after making their pivotal progress together as musical collaborators.
John Coltrane amassed accolades throughout his career, from envied professional beginnings with Johnny Hodges and Dizzy Gillespie through his subsequent ascendancy as a Miles Davis sideman and later with Thelonious Monk. It was with the anatomy of recorded music that came out of a four-night engagement at the Village Vanguard in early-November of 1961 that his prominence as fearless pioneer began to accelerate in earnest. The saxophonist's stand wasn't the first time that the venerable Manhattan club had served as an incubating hot house for the forces of jazz evolution, and it wouldn't be the last. Four years earlier, to the day, Sonny Rollins had used the stage to further explore his piano-less trio advancements. The rousing results, released in various commercial incarnations as Live at the Village Vanguard, would become one of the cornerstone concert recordings of the Blue Note imprint.
John Coltrane embraced the same harmonically treacherous format to make his most audacious and impactful statement of the engagement with the sea changing improvisation that titles this collection. Two previous iterations of the basic structural components performed the night prior and earlier the night of involved Eric Dolphy, and in the case of the second version, Roy Haynes replacing Jones on drums. Those preceding adventures have much to recommend them, but it's the final nearly sixteen-minute, unfettered blues edifice that's carried the cachet of a conquering hero over the ensuing decades.
An aura of the apocryphal accompanies the origins of the piece's title, but veracity reveals that it rests in recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder's dogged efforts to faithfully capture John Coltrane in motion from the stage by physically shadowing his ever-ambulating horn. The piece itself is a marvel of extended extemporaneous invention as expressway to visceral exultation. Jimmy Garrison's strings lock and release with the steady clip of Elvin Jones' sticks across cymbals and snare. Combined, it's the mighty engine room that would power the coalescing Classic Quartet, incarnate. Elaborating on germinal ideas absorbed from fellow tenorist John Gilmore, John Coltrane pours himself into a marathon solo that mixes familiar rhythmic potency with the atomizing, electrifying deconstructions of tone and texture that signify a protean template for thousands of free jazz performances to follow.
At the time, it was a lightning rod, inviting adulation and alienation in near proportional measure from throughout the jazz community. The ensuing polemic reached a nadir months later with the publishing of a myopic Down Beat essay penned by Leonard Feather declaiming the music "anti-jazz."John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy responded with a charitably reasoned rebuttal in the magazine's pages, but the orthodoxy - mired opprobrium still had a deleterious effect on the trajectory of their partnership with the elder saxophonist retreating in part to an arguably more conservative footing in the ensuing months, at least in the studio. That as pure and persuasively complementary an association as theirs had to endure such a crucible seems egregious and unnecessary with the sagacity of hindsight.
The remaining master takes and a second rendering of "Spiritual" demonstrate just how integral said alliance was to John Coltrane's development and direction. Eric Dolphy was an enthusiastic embodiment of formidable chops and kaleidoscopic imagination. Crevassespanning interval leaps, tonal distortions, and precisely channeled velocity were all aspects of his immense musical acumen. John Coltrane integrated them all into the music, deferring to Eric Dolphy's input with a consistency that instantly nullified in any accusations of ego.
Dolphy maximized on the good faith extended him with improvisations and ensemble contributions that were as original as they are memorable. His throaty, fricative bass clarinet brings field holler immediacy and gravity to "Spiritual." On the comparatively exotic take of "India," the same instrument helps conjure a completely different meta-cultural milieu with tandem basses augmenting the ensemble to sextet size. Even on the other pieces where Eric Dolphy is present, but horns silent, his influence is palpable.
John Coltrane is the steady catalyst, channeling galvanizing thoughts and energy through the tangible mechanics of his horns and sometimes running momentarily afoul of the lacunae between intent and implements. That it was all accomplished from the comparatively cramped confines of a basement jazz club stage is both the miracle and promise of momentous jazz music. The boon of emotional reciprocity between band and audiences was in optimal effect across these nights, even if there were sleeper agents amongst the second contingent committed to objection and grievance. History hasn't been kind to those naysayers and faultfinders, and while there were many who came to John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy's defense at the time and after, what ultimately eroded acrimony and resistance was the abiding efficacy and potency of the music. Still accessible and advantageous to anyone with ears open and invested. Still attracting ardent converts, daily."-Derek Taylor, July 19, 2021
Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for John Coltrane "John Coltrane, in full John William Coltrane, byname Trane, (born September 23, 1926, Hamlet, North Carolina, U.S.-died July 17, 1967, Huntington, New York), American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and composer, an iconic figure of 20th-century jazz.John Coltrane, 1966. Coltrane's first musical influence was his father, a tailor and part-time musician. John studied clarinet and alto saxophone as a youth and then moved to Philadelphia in 1943 and continued his studies at the Ornstein School of Music and the Granoff Studios. He was drafted into the navy in 1945 and played alto sax with a navy band until 1946; he switched to tenor saxophone in 1947. During the late 1940s and early '50s, he played in nightclubs and on recordings with such musicians as Eddie ("Cleanhead") Vinson, Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Bostic, and Johnny Hodges. Coltrane's first recorded solo can be heard on Gillespie's "We Love to Boogie" (1951). Coltrane came to prominence when he joined Miles Davis's quintet in 1955. His abuse of drugs and alcohol during this period led to unreliability, and Davis fired him in early 1957. He embarked on a six-month stint with Thelonious Monk and began to make recordings under his own name; each undertaking demonstrated a newfound level of technical discipline, as well as increased harmonic and rhythmic sophistication. During this period Coltrane developed what came to be known as his "sheets of sound" approach to improvisation, as described by poet LeRoi Jones (later Amiri Baraka): "The notes that Trane was playing in the solo became more than just one note following another. The notes came so fast, and with so many overtones and undertones, that they had the effect of a piano player striking chords rapidly but somehow articulating separately each note in the chord, and its vibrating subtones." Or, as Coltrane himself said, "I start in the middle of a sentence and move both directions at once." The cascade of notes during his powerful solos showed his infatuation with chord progressions, culminating in the virtuoso performance of "Giant Steps" (1959). Coltrane's tone on the tenor sax was huge and dark, with clear definition and full body, even in the highest and lowest registers. His vigorous, intense style was original, but traces of his idols Johnny Hodges and Lester Young can be discerned in his legato phrasing and portamento (or, in jazz vernacular, "smearing," in which the instrument glides from note to note with no discernible breaks). From Monk he learned the technique of multiphonics, by which a reed player can produce multiple tones simultaneously by using a relaxed embouchure (i.e., position of the lips, tongue, and teeth), varied pressure, and special fingerings. In the late 1950s, Coltrane used multiphonics for simple harmony effects (as on his 1959 recording of "Harmonique"); in the 1960s, he employed the technique more frequently, in passionate, screeching musical passages. Coltrane returned to Davis's group in 1958, contributing to the "modal phase" albums Milestones (1958) and Kind of Blue (1959), both considered essential examples of 1950s modern jazz. (Davis at this point was experimenting with modes-i.e., scale patterns other than major and minor.) His work on these recordings was always proficient and often brilliant, though relatively subdued and cautious. After ending his association with Davis in 1960, Coltrane formed his own acclaimed quartet, featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones. At this time Coltrane began playing soprano saxophone in addition to tenor. Throughout the early 1960s Coltrane focused on mode-based improvisation in which solos were played atop one- or two-note accompanying figures that were repeated for extended periods of time (typified in his recordings of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things"). At the same time, his study of the musics of India and Africa affected his approach to the soprano sax. These influences, combined with a unique interplay with the drums and the steady vamping of the piano and bass, made the Coltrane quartet one of the most noteworthy jazz groups of the 1960s. Coltrane's wife, Alice (also a jazz musician and composer), played the piano in his band during the last years of his life. During the short period between 1965 and his death in 1967, Coltrane's work expanded into a free, collective (simultaneous) improvisation based on prearranged scales. It was the most radical period of his career, and his avant-garde experiments divided critics and audiences. Coltrane's best-known work spanned a period of only 12 years (1955-67), but, because he recorded prolifically, his musical development is well-documented. His somewhat tentative, relatively melodic early style can be heard on the Davis-led albums recorded for the Prestige and Columbia labels during 1955 and '56. Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane (1957) reveals Coltrane's growth in terms of technique and harmonic sense, an evolution further chronicled on Davis's albums Milestones and Kind of Blue. Most of Coltrane's early solo albums are of a high quality, particularly Blue Train (1957), perhaps the best recorded example of his early hard bop style (see bebop). Recordings from the end of the decade, such as Giant Steps (1959) and My Favorite Things (1960), offer dramatic evidence of his developing virtuosity. Nearly all of the many albums Coltrane recorded during the early 1960s rank as classics; A Love Supreme (1964), a deeply personal album reflecting his religious commitment, is regarded as especially fine work. His final forays into avant-garde and free jazz are represented by Ascension and Meditations (both 1965), as well as several albums released posthumously." ^ Hide Bio for John Coltrane • Show Bio for Eric Dolphy "Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 - June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the same era. His use of the bass clarinet helped to establish the instrument within jazz. Dolphy extended the vocabulary and boundaries of the alto saxophone, and was among the earliest significant jazz flute soloists. His improvisational style was characterized by the use of wide intervals, in addition to employing an array of extended techniques to emulate the sounds of human voices and animals. He used melodic lines that were "angular, zigzagging from interval to interval, taking hairpin turns at unexpected junctures, making dramatic leaps from the lower to the upper register." Although Dolphy's work is sometimes classified as free jazz, his compositions and solos were often rooted in conventional (if highly abstracted) tonal bebop harmony." ^ Hide Bio for Eric Dolphy • Show Bio for McCoy Tyner "McCoy Tyner, in full Alfred McCoy Tyner, also called Sulaimon Saud, (born December 11, 1938, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.), American jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer, noted for his technical virtuosity and dazzling improvisations.McCoy Tyner. Tyner began performing with local jazz ensembles while in his mid-teens. He met saxophonist John Coltrane in 1955 and, after a brief stint (1959) with a group led by Art Farmer and Benny Golson, helped Coltrane form his renowned quartet in 1960. Tyner developed his signature strong pentatonic chord-playing style and lightning-fast runs during his years with Coltrane. In addition, the group began incorporating elements of African and other musical genres into their playing style. Striking out on his own in 1965, Tyner led a variety of ensembles (for many years including bassist Ron Carter) and also worked solo and extensively as a sideman. From the mid-1980s he performed largely in a trio, but he also formed a big band that made occasional appearances. Tyner made dozens of recordings in his own name and contributed to dozens more. Notable among his own albums are The Real McCoy (1967), Sahara (1972), 4 × 4 (1980), and Infinity (1995) and, with his big band, Uptown/Downtown (1988). Tyner converted to Islam in the mid-1950s and adopted the name Sulaimon Saud." ^ Hide Bio for McCoy Tyner • Show Bio for Reggie Workman "Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey. Workman was a member of jazz groups led by Gigi Gryce, Roy Haynes, Wayne Shorter and Red Garland. In 1961, Workman joined the John Coltrane Quartet, replacing Steve Davis. He was present for the saxophonist's Live at the Village Vanguard sessions, and also recorded with a second bassist (Art Davis) on the 1961 album, OlŽ Coltrane. After a European tour, Workman left Coltrane's group at the end of the year. Workman also played with James Moody, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Yusef Lateef, Pharoah Sanders, Herbie Mann and Thelonious Monk. He has recorded with Archie Shepp, Lee Morgan and David Murray. He is currently a professor at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City, and is a member of the group, Trio 3, with Oliver Lake and Andrew Cyrille." ^ Hide Bio for Reggie Workman • Show Bio for Jimmy Garrison "James Emory Garrison (March 3, 1934 Ð April 7, 1976) was an American jazz double bassist. He is best remembered for his association with John Coltrane from 1961 to 1967. Garrison was raised in both Miami, Florida and Philadelphia where he learned to play bass. Garrison came of age in the midst of a thriving Philadelphia jazz scene that included fellow bassists Reggie Workman and Henry Grimes, pianist McCoy Tyner and trumpeter Lee Morgan. Between 1957 and 1962, Garrison played and recorded with trumpeter Kenny Dorham; clarinetist Tony Scott; drummer Philly Joe Jones; and saxophonists Bill Barron, Lee Konitz, and Jackie McLean, as well as Curtis Fuller, Benny Golson, Lennie Tristano, and Pharoah Sanders, among others. In 1959 he first appeared on record with Ornette Coleman on "Art of the Improvisers" (Atlantic, 1959). He continued to work with many leaders, including Walter Bishop, Jr., Coleman, Dorham, and Cal Massey for the next two years. He formally joined Coltrane's quartet in 1962, replacing Workman. The long trio blues "Chasin' the Trane" is probably his first recorded performance with Coltrane and Elvin Jones. Garrison performed on many classic Coltrane recordings, including A Love Supreme. In concert with Coltrane, Garrison would often play unaccompanied improvised solos, sometimes as the prelude to a song before the other musicians joined in. After John Coltrane's death, Garrison worked and recorded with Alice Coltrane, Hampton Hawes, Archie Shepp, Clifford Thornton and groups led by Elvin Jones. Garrison also had a long association with Ornette Coleman, first recording with him on Ornette on Tenor and appeared on the outtake compilation Art of the Improvisers. He and drummer Elvin Jones have been credited with eliciting more forceful playing than usual from Coleman on the albums New York Is Now! and Love Call. In 1971 and 1972, Garrison taught as a Visiting Artist at Wesleyan University and Bennington College. Jimmy Garrison had four daughters and a son. Garrison and his first wife Robbie had daughters Lori, Joy and Robin. Then later with his second wife, Italy-based dancer and choreographer Roberta Escamilla Garrison, came Maia Claire and Matthew. Matthew, Joy and Maia Claire are accomplished artists in their own right. Matthew Garrison is a bass guitar player and the founder/owner of ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn, NY. He has performed and recorded with Joe Zawinul, Chaka Khan, The Saturday Night Live Band, John McLaughlin, Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, Steve Coleman, Whitney Houston, Pino Daniele, John Scofield, Paul Simon, Tito Puente and many others. Joy Garrison sang alongside Barney Kessel, Cameron Brown, Tony Scott and many others. Maia Claire (Garrison-Trinn), former soloist with the dance troupe Urban Bush Women, currently works a Dance & Health Educator in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Jimmy Garrison died of lung cancer on April 7, 1976. His family legacy includes five grandchildren, Keith Owens, Glenda Rose Aiello, Benjamin Garrison, Lucas Garrison and Salif Alessandro Trinn. On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Jimmy Garrison among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire." ^ Hide Bio for Jimmy Garrison • Show Bio for Elvin Jones "Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 - May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed an interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan. He served in the United States Army from 1946 to 1949 and subsequently played in a Detroit house band led by Billy Mitchell. He moved to New York City in 1955 and worked as a sideman for Charles Mingus, Teddy Charles, Bud Powell and Miles Davis. From 1960 to 1966 he was a member of the John Coltrane quartet (along with Jimmy Garrison on bass and McCoy Tyner on piano), a celebrated recording phase, appearing on such albums as A Love Supreme. Following his work with Coltrane, Jones led several small groups, some under the name The Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. His brothers Hank Jones and Thad Jones were also jazz musicians with whom he recorded. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1995." ^ Hide Bio for Elvin Jones
11/29/2024
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11/29/2024
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Track Listing:
1. Spititual 13:32
2. Softly As The Morning Sunrise 6:28
3. Chasin' The Trane 15:57
4. India 13:58
5. Impressions 14:47
6. Track 06 14:45
Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Sextet Recordings
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ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd.