Jazz Articles about John Coltrane

John Coltrane: The Classic Quartet: The Complete Impulse! Studio Recordings

by Robert Spencer
December 1, 1998

The Complete Impulse! Studio Recordings covers recordings made by John Coltrane's “classic quartet" from 1961 through 1965. The “classic quartet" usually denotes Coltrane, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones, and all the studio recordings by that ensemble are here. Also included are recordings made in 1963 and 1965 with Roy Haynes subbing for Jones, and one featuring bassist Art Davis added to the quartet.

These four years of recordings, filling eight discs, stand as Coltrane's most ...

John Coltrane: John Coltrane: The Prestige Recordings

by Robert Spencer
December 1, 1998

John Coltrane: The Prestige Recordings chronicles the first great segment of the master's career. The sixteen discs in this mammoth set were all recorded between 1956 and 1958, when Coltrane was a member of Miles Davis' and then Thelonious Monk's ensembles. It's not the Complete Prestige Recordings because it doesn't include material Coltrane recorded with Davis, which is available in the Prestige Davis box. Nevertheless, it's a feast of great music from an underrated and lesser-known period in Coltrane's musical ...

Ray Draper: The Ray Draper Quintet Featuring John Coltrane

by Douglas Payne
July 1, 1998

What makes this fairly typical bop outing unique is that the leader plays tuba. Ray Draper (1940-82) was only 17 when he recorded this quintet date in 1957, his third of three for Prestige, and, as much as possible, he makes the clunky instrument swing. As Ira Gitler's interesting notes point out, the tuba was a pretty common rhythm instrument in the early days of jazz. Then the string bass came along and took its place. Draper, who was featured ...

John Coltrane: Meditations

by Robert Spencer
July 1, 1997

This is it, friends: the last recording (November 23, 1965) McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones made with John Coltrane. One need only turn from this to The Real McCoy or any other McCoy Tyner or Elvin Jones album of the period to get a clue as to why they left the “classic quartet." In the first place, Meditations isn't a quartet album at all: the leader has added an additional drummer, Rashied Ali, and another tenor saxophonist, Pharoah Sanders, to ...

John Coltrane: Live at the Village Vanguard Again!

by Robert Spencer
July 1, 1997

Live at the Village Vanguard, was one of John Coltrane's most successful and controversial albums. It was one of the first by the “classic quartet," and contained a boffo guest appearance by Eric Dolphy on the magnificent “Spiritual."

This isn't it. Five years after that triumph, Coltrane returned to the Vanguard with his New Thing quintet, expanded to a sextet for the occasion: Coltrane on soprano, tenor, and bass clarinet; Pharoah Sanders on tenor and flute; Alice Coltrane on piano, ...

John Coltrane: The John Coltrane Quartet Plays

by Robert Spencer
July 1, 1997

“Chim Chim Cheree”? Sure. The guy has a hit with “My Favorite Things,” and some record company executive with gold chains sticking out of his chest hairs says, “Johnny! We love this far out stuff, this ‘Chasin’ the Trane’ stuff. Beautiful. You’re a spiritual cat, you know, Trane (may I call you Trane)? And I respect that. I do. But hey, we want to sell records, you know what I’m saying. You want to reach people. You want more people ...

John Coltrane: The John Coltrane Quartet Plays

by Robert Spencer
July 1, 1997

“Chim Chim Cheree”? Sure. The guy has a hit with “My Favorite Things,” and some record company executive with gold chains sticking out of his chest hairs says, “Johnny! We love this far out stuff, this ‘Chasin’ the Trane’ stuff. Beautiful. You’re a spiritual cat, you know, Trane (may I call you Trane)? And I respect that. I do. But hey, we want to sell records, you know what I’m saying. You want to reach people. You want more people ...