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Jazz Articles about John Coltrane

About John Coltrane

618

Extended Analysis

John Coltrane: Live at Birdland

by C. Michael Bailey
August 10, 2005

John Coltrane Live at Birdland MCA/Impulse! 33109 1963 In the early morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963, a gaggle of malcontents planted 12 sticks of dynamite in a window well outside the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The dynamite exploded eight hours later killing Denise McNair, 11, and Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Addie Mae Collins, all 14, in the process galvanizing the Civil Rights Movement. Three months later, on ...

690

Extended Analysis

The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings

by C. Michael Bailey
August 10, 2005

The top two live Jazz recordings in this ongoing series were recorded at the Village Vanguard within six months of each another in 1961. They represent the polar opposites of jazz. One is melodically searching, the other harmonically searching. One is quiet and exact, the other is loud and torrential. They were equally influential and visionary and stand greatly for the potential of jazz. John William Coltrane and Franz Schubert have much in common. Both created a huge ...

543

Multiple Reviews

Shout Factory Strikes Gold in Bethlehem Vault

by Charlie B. Dahan
August 3, 2005

Shout Factory begins its Bethlehem reissue program with three of jazz's true stalwarts and true originals. One of the recordings contains a collection of John Coltrane's recordings on two compact discs. The other two are Duke Ellington's Duke Ellington Presents, originally released in 1956, and Charles Mingus' East Coasting, which was released right after in 1957. All three packages contain superior sound, detailed liner notes and essays. Also, jazz fans will be happy with the bonus tracks on the Coltrane ...

280

Album Review

Miles Davis: Kind of Blue

Read "Kind of Blue" reviewed by Jim Santella

by Jim Santella
March 12, 2005

Columbia's latest release of this essential album includes the original liner notes by Bill Evans, a new liner note essay by Robert Palmer, a bonus track alternate take of “Flamenco Sketches," a 25-minute documentary DVD on Kind of Blue, and the original music itself. It sounds as good today as it did 46 years ago. In the words of television journalist and jazz devotee Ed Bradley, “It's as strong today as it was for me in ...

439

Jazz Primer

John Coltrane: A Newbies Guide

by Tim Price
December 9, 2004

When John Coltrane died in 1967, he left behind a huge legacy of recorded music. Making sense of it all is an enormous task. Check out our suggestions for six views of Trane's last ten years. With Blue Train , John Coltrane not only firmly established his own voice on the tenor saxophone, but also proved his abilities as a bandleader and composer. The musicians on Blue Train , hand-picked by Coltrane himself, play superbly not only as individuals, which ...

428

Album Review

John Coltrane: Traneing In

Read "Traneing In" reviewed by Florence Wetzel

by Florence Wetzel
November 7, 2004

In August 1957, John Coltrane was at a very interesting point in his career. His apprentice years in big bands long past, he had recently left the seminal Miles Davis quintet and was in the midst of a six-month run with Monk at the Five Spot. At the height of this fertile period, with so much still ahead of him, Coltrane recorded the album Traneing In , accompanied by the illustrious Red Garland Trio. The CD consists of ...

486

Album Review

Tommy Flanagan/John Coltrane/Kenny Burrell: The Cats

Read "The Cats" reviewed by David Rickert

by David Rickert
September 1, 2004

The Cats are John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell, Tommy Flanagan, and Idrees Sulieman, heavyweights that clearly mark this as a Prestige All-Stars blowing session. However, this 1957 recording is actually a showcase for Flanagan, a rising star in his first major role. None of the tunes are all that challenging, following basic blues formulas that befit the nature of the session, which was probably quickly organized and recorded. But as you might expect this gives the players plenty of opportunities to ...