John Coltrane Quartet – Africa/Brass (1961/2007)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 33:35 minutes | 701 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Impulse!
One of the greatest jazz masterpieces of all time, AFRICA BRASS frames Coltrane’s lyrical improvisation in explosive horn arrangements that include legendary trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and free jazz innovator Eric Dolphy. Pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and bassists Reggie Workman and Art Davis underpin the orchestrations with propulsive energy that makes for one of the most exhilarating listens in jazz history. AFRICA BRASS shows the legendary tenor player at one of his greatest artistic heights and is an absolutely essential addition to any jazz-lover’s library.
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John Coltrane Quartet – Ballads (1962) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2010]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 32:16 minutes | Scans included | 1,43 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 762 MB
Throughout John Coltrane’s discography there are a handful of decisive and controversial albums that split his listening camp into factions. Generally, these occur in his later-period works such as Om and Ascension, which push into some pretty heady blowing. As a contrast, Ballads is often criticized as too easy and as too much of a compromise between Coltrane and Impulse! (the two had just entered into the first year of label representation). Seen as an answer to critics who found his work complicated with too many notes and too thin a concept, Ballads has even been accused of being a record that Coltrane didn’t want to make. These conspiracy theories (and there are more) really just get in the way of enjoying a perfectly fine album of Coltrane doing what he always did — exploring new avenues and modes in an inexhaustible search for personal and artistic enlightenment. With Ballads he looks into the warmer side of things, a path he would take with both Johnny Hartman (on John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman) and with Duke Ellington (on Duke Ellington and John Coltrane). Here he lays out for McCoy Tyner mostly, and the results positively shimmer at times. He’s not aggressive, and he’s not outwardly. Instead he’s introspective and at times even predictable, but that is precisely Ballads’ draw.
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John Coltrane Quartet – Crescent (1964/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 40:29 minutes | 1,89 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Impulse!
John Coltrane’s 1964 album Crescent features his classic quartet of McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on double bass and powerhouse drummer Elvin Jones. This acclaimed set of five Coltrane originals paved the way for Coltrane’s next recording, the landmark A Love Supreme.
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John Coltrane Quartet – Coltrane (1962/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 39:58 minutes | 1,47 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Impulse!
Considered by many to be his finest single album, Coltrane finds John Coltrane displaying all of the exciting elements that sparked brilliance and allowed his fully formed instrumental voice to shine through in the most illuminating manner. On tenor saxophone, he’s simply masterful, offering the burgeoning sheets of sound philosophy into endless weavings of melodic and tuneful displays of inventive, thoughtful, driven phrases. Coltrane also plays a bit of soprano saxophone as a primer for his more exploratory work to follow. Meanwhile, bassist Jimmy Garrison, drummer Elvin Jones, and especially the stellar McCoy Tyner have integrated their passionate dynamics into the inner whole of the quartet. The result is a most focused effort, a relatively popular session to both his fans or latecomers, with five selections that are brilliantly conceived and rendered. “Out of This World,” at over 14 minutes in modal trim, is a powerful statement, stretched over Tyner’s marvelous and deft chords, the churning rhythms conjured by Jones, and the vocal style Coltrane utilizes as he circles the wagons on this classic melody, including a nifty key change. “Tunji” is a mysterious, easily rendered piece in 4/4 which speaks to the spiritual path Coltrane tred, a bit riled up at times while Tyner remains serene. Hard bop is still in the back of their collective minds during “Miles’ Mode,” a sliver of a melody that jumps into jam mode in a free-for-all blowing session, while the converse is to be found in Mal Waldron’s “Soul Eyes,” the quintessential ballad and impressive here for the way Coltrane’s holds notes, emotion, and expressive intellectuality. On soprano you can tell Coltrane is close to taking complete control of his newly found voicings, as a playful, jaunty “The Inch Worm” in 3/4 time is only slightly strained, but in which he finds complete communion with the others. Even more than any platitudes one can heap on this extraordinary recording, it historically falls between the albums Olé Coltrane and Impressions — completing a triad of studio efforts that are as definitive as anything Coltrane ever produced, and highly representative of him in his prime.
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John Coltrane Quartet – The John Coltrane Quartet Plays (Expanded Edition) (1965/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 37:53 minutes | 1,83 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Impulse!
One of the turning points in the career of John Coltrane came in 1965. The great saxophonist, whose playing was always very explorative and searching, crossed the line into atonality during that year, playing very free improvisations (after stating quick throwaway themes) that were full of passion and fury. This particular studio album has two standards (a stirring “Chim Chim Cheree” and “Nature Boy”) along with two recent Coltrane originals (“Brazilia” and “Song of Praise”). Art Davis plays the second bass on “Nature Boy,” but otherwise this set (a perfect introduction for listeners to Coltrane’s last period) features the classic quartet comprised of the leader, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones.
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John Coltrane Quartet – Live At The Village Vanguard (1962/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 36:41 minutes | 1,62 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Impulse!
The recordings made by John Coltrane and his band at the Village Vanguard over four nights in early November 1961 had to be divided up over two LPs at the time, collectively ranked by All About Jazz at number two on its list of the 10 best live jazz records. For these performances Coltrane expanded his usual lineup to include Eric Dolphy on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, which brought new possibilities to the front line and to the music performed during the four nights. Live At The Village Vanguard has gone on to become one of Coltrane’s most successful releases.
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