Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » John Coltrane: Lush Life (20-Bit Remastered)
John Coltrane: Lush Life (20-Bit Remastered)
Coltrane Schmoltrane...can he play a ballad?
I once read that a well-known music critic opined that John Coltrane might very well be jazz’s most boring genius. It cannot be disputed that Giant Steps and A Love Supreme, as well as, My Favorite Things were important pioneering affairs in the evolution of jazz. But a good deal of his late music is noise. It might be brilliant noise, but it is noise all of the same. Amid the deluge of late Coltrane material released in the past four years, there is some early Coltrane beginning to bob its head above the surface. Fantasy, Inc. honors us with the fully remastered release of John Coltrane’s Lush Life. Recorded with three groups between May 31, 1957 and January 10, 1958, Lush Life contained the first music Coltrane released as a leader and exists very much in the mainstream. This music is not Interstellar Space.
Lush Life
displays a John Coltrane with a beautiful tenor tone and a masterful ability to play in a tenor trio setting. Like someone in Love, "I Love You," and "Trane’s Slo Blues" are a clinic in performing without a piano as a harmony support (Sonny Rollins recorded Way Out West merely two months previously). The centerpiece is Billy Strayhorn’s title cut, featuring a bright and earthy Donald Byrd on trumpet and Red Garland on piano. Coltrane’s improvisation is restrained and thoughtful, possessing none of the compulsion to play every note there is all at once that would be a hallmark of his later art. Lush Life is a superb re-release with superior audio. Highly, Highly recommended.Track Listing
Like Someone In Love; I Love You; Trane
Personnel
John Coltrane
saxophoneJohn Coltrane
Album information
Title: Lush Life (20-Bit Remastered) | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Prestige Records
About John Coltrane
Tags
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Become a Sustaining Member
Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.
Help Build the Future of All About Jazz
Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.
Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.
Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.
