John coltrane tenor saxophone, producer, writer, mccoy tyner piano, jimmy garrison bass, elvin jones drums, bob thiele producer, michael cuscuna producer, rudy van gelder recording engineer. Coltrane s death more than two decades ago only enhanced his reputation as an artist who brought whole new dimensions to a constantly innovative musical form. As kahn notes, this was the year coltrane truly became coltrane kahn, 9. Bair, jeff, cyclic patterns in john coltranes melodic vocabulary as influenced by nicolas slonimskys thesaurus of scales and melodic patterns. When i listen to coltranes playing with the thelonious monk quartet at carnegie hall, i am reminded of. Ascension editions iii rm, a work for large ensemble, can be daunting, even for coltrane enthusiasts. Music matters 180g 33 mmblp 1577 a1 blue train a2 moments notice b1 locomotion b2 im old fashioned b3 lazy bird bass paul chambers 3 design cover reid miles drums philly. Rather than create a portrait with personal meditations, as j. Later he would take this direction and further explore it with rashid ali, pharoah sanders, and his wife alice. The fourth and last part is a musical narration of the theme a love supreme which is written in the context. Dolphy joined the coltrane quartet 5 regularly for concerts and recordings through the early 1960s.
John coltrane s meditations liner notes by nat hentoff. There are ecstatic coltraneous bursts and crescendos, to be sure, such as on the first and fourth tracks, but this work for sextet is less cacophonous than ascension. He recorded it in one session on december 9, 1964, at van gelder studio in englewood cliffs, new jersey, leading a quartet featuring pianist mccoy tyner, bassist jimmy garrison, and drummer elvin jones. His life and music the michigan american music series before john was a jazz giant. Apr 28, 2017 liner design joe lebow liner notes nat hentoff cover notes recorded 1966. He also notes, words, sounds, speech, men, memory, thoughts, fears and emotionstimeall related. Most of his stuff still sounds like random noise, but i am trying to learn to get it. An edited version of the title track became a hit single that gained popularity in 1961 on radio. I have known many musicians, in and out of jazz, but none have been as consumed by the search for more and more meaning in music than john coltrane. Meditations, recorded a few months later, is the answer.
It was in late june 2007 that nea jazz master dave liebman received a call from robert abel, managing partner of the uk creative agency somethin else, to produce a show for the bbc radio 3s popular program jazz on 3. Noting that july 17, 2007 marked the 40th anniversary of john coltranes passing, robert asked if he could bring in saxophone summit. Alternative versions of tracks 25, later issued as first meditations for quartet, not issued until 12 years later in 1977, had been recorded in september 1965 by the same musicians minus rashied ali and sanders, and were more restrained, containing fewer overblown notes. I thought i might gain a better appreciation of his work if i could see it. John coltrane meditations 1996, digipak, cd discogs. For bflat instruments john coltrane omnibook for bass clef. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. All of these musicians fulfilled their purpose, contributing to the seemingly amorphous nature of coltrane s later period music. First meditations for quartet, an album by john coltrane. John coltrane tenor saxophone, percussion, composer, pharoah sanders tenor saxophone, tambourine, bells, mccoy tyner piano, jimmy garrison bass, elvin jones drums, rashied ali drums, bob thiele producer, nat hentoff. Music for meditation not quite, unless you find solace in the wild abandon of unrestrained free jazz. A piano arrangement for the song giant steps by john coltrane.
In june 1957, coltrane joined the thelonious monk quartet, consisting of monk on piano, wilbur ware on bass, and shadow wilson on drums. Unlike some of coltranes recorded output, ascension was released during. John coltrane was a key figure in jazz, a pioneer in world music, and an intensely emotional force. Coltrane vaguely alludes to this in the liner notes which also includes the poem. Notes recorded at the van gelder studio, englewood cliffs, nj on november 23, 1965. John coltrane and his band recording at van gelder studios in 1963. Coltranes meditations suite felt were necessaryy first in the music and then in the personnel itself. Coltrane wrote a devotional poem published in the liner notes in which he can be heard reciting through is saxophone in the fourth part of a love supreme, psalm. Thesis john coltrane, avant garde jazz and the evolution. It is more difficult to write about john coltrane than almost any other major 20thcentury artist. Rather, he is influential by example, inspiring musicians to experiment, take chances, and devote themselves to their craft. Includes great two handed chord voicings, left hand voicings for soloing, walking bass that can be played using. It was presented at the tenth national conference on undergraduate research, april 1996, university of north carolinaasheville and at the pi kappa lambda spring banquet. Jun 04, 2016 meditations isnt an easy album to digest, mind you if you should ever want to get rid of any unwanted guests, youll know which album to put on in future.
John coltrane my favorite things piano and soprano sheet. He estimates that between the five of them, the study of coltranes music has amounted to over 200 years collectively. Much of the recording is avantgarde, featuring extensive passages in free rhythm. If coltranes final few years on this planet represented a tireless quest to expand his spiritual horizons through his music, then meditations might be the most. This thesis by scott anderson was completed as an independent research project for the honors in music history and literature program at gustavus adolphus college, st. I want to hear opinions about this albums which one you prefer, or which one you hate the most. Two of my favorite john coltrane s records, meditations recorded in 1965, released in 1966 and first meditations for quartet recorded in 1965, released in 1977. It features coltrane and pharoah sanders as soloists, both playing tenor saxophones. John coltrane 1 19261967 jazz saxophonist, composer at a glance 2 naval tour of duty 3 freelanced in philadelphia 4 apprenticeship with thelonious monk 5 solo trane 6 rejoined davis 7 continued solo career 8 new musical explorations 9 the art of free jazz 10 selected discogra. Blue train, which john coltrane often referred to as his favorite album of his own work, was more than that.
Meditations isnt an easy album to digest, mind you if you should ever want to get rid of any unwanted guests, youll know which album to put on in future. Coltranes tenor sound is as strong as ever, and his playing is inspired and driven. It was a spiritual followup of sorts to a love supreme, as coltrane tells nat hentoff in the liner notes. This cd reissues what was arguably the finest of the john coltranepharoah sanders collaborations. A television showing john coltrane, equatorial guinea, 1990. A love supreme is an album by american jazz saxophonist john coltrane. Much of the recording is avantgarde, featuring extensive passages in free rhythm and extended saxophone techniques such as honked and overblown notes, as well as. John coltranes pursuit of elegance project muse johns hopkins. John coltrane blue train music matters mono 2014 youtube. First meditations for quartet by john coltrane album. John coltranes meditations by david liebman 602267104226. In august, he recorded material belatedly released on the prestige albums lush life 1960 and the last trane 1965, as well as the material for john coltrane with the red garland trio, released later in the year. Returning to the lineup again is pharoah sanders, mccoy tyner and elvin jones, along with jimmy garrison on bass and rashied ali on drums.
Once you become aware of this force for unity in life, wrote coltrane in the liner notes for 1965s meditations, his acknowledged followup to a love supreme. Feb 10, 2018 music matters 180g 33 mmblp 1577 a1 blue train a2 moments notice b1 locomotion b2 im old fashioned b3 lazy bird bass paul chambers 3 design cover reid miles drums philly. Tyner and jones would soon depart, so this was the last. Resolution john coltrane pdf a love supreme john coltrane resolution. Seeing through a love supreme to find john coltrane. John coltrane 1964 a love supreme saddleback college. John coltrane john coltrane is one of the most powerful figures in the music world. Laterlabelled version john coltrane meditations states.
They both project a spiritual serenity and inner peace that belies the turbulence that would enter his music the following year. Liner design joe lebow liner notes nat hentoff cover notes recorded 1966. The devotion reflected in a love supreme is explicitly cited by coltrane in his original notes to the album, which include his poem, a love supreme. Nicolas slonimsky, thesaurus of scales and melodic patterns, table from the. Coltrane was at the peak of his popularity when a love supreme was released. Original liner notes from a love supreme as77 addendum john coltrane recorded only two albums in 1964, the sublime and very overlooked crescent and the recognized masterpiece a love supreme. John coltrane is sometimes described as one of jazzs most influential musicians, but one is hard put to find followers who actually play in his style. John coltrane, chord progression of giant steps, transcribed by andrew white. Print instantly, or sync to our free pc, web and mobile apps. On five diverse but almost consistently intense movements the father and the son and the holy ghost. As with most coltrane titles, there is no shortage of all vintages of pressings of meditations available on ebay, with prices all over the map.
Cyclic patterns in john coltranes melodic vocabulary as. Therefore, the recordings of that year bear witness to a change of con cepta freer approach to all the aspects of his music. Digitally remastered at mca music media studios using 20bit super mapping. Ascension 1966, and even in calculatedly commercial efforts such as his album of. The legendary saxophone virtuoso john coltrane continues to influence modern jazz even from the grave. Including the wellknown mantra after which the suite is named, resolution. During this period, he developed a technique of playing several notes at once, and his solos began to go on longer. Further evidence of this universal view regarding spirituality can be found in the liner notes of meditations 1965, in which coltrane declares, i believe in all religions. Nov 17, 2015 the devotion reflected in a love supreme is explicitly cited by coltrane in his original notes to the album, which include his poem, a love supreme. Notefornote transcription for saxophone, piano, double bass. Beginning in the late 1950s and early 1960s, he strived to make his music representative of a larger spiritual path than merely sound. The liner notes, written in may 65, explained that this album. Thesis john coltrane, avant garde jazz and the evolution of. Jerry jazz musician is a noncommercial website whose mission is to explore the culture of america with jazz as the centerpiece.
On sleeve and spine the indication that this is stereo a9110. The album was considered the spiritual followup to a love supreme. Jan 31, 2018 once you become aware of this force for unity in life, wrote coltrane in the liner notes for 1965s meditations, his acknowledged followup to a love supreme. We focus on publishing content geared toward readers with interests in jazz music, its rich history, and the culture it influenced and was influenced by. The opening cadenza leads to jimmy garrison introducing the simple fournote theme of the album on his bass, which reappears many times on various. A love supreme is coltranes bestknown and bestselling album. It was the first album to feature coltrane playing soprano saxophone. Seeing through a love supreme to find john coltrane the. By the time of the recording sessions for this album, coltrane had given up the classic quartet form and extended his ensemble to a sextet by adding a second saxophonist, pharoah sanders, and a second drummer, rashied ali. Choose from john coltrane sheet music for such popular songs as my favorite things, giant steps, and bye bye blackbird. Like miles davis, coltrane was a restless spirit, forever exploring new frontiers. Listen to your favorite songs from meditations by john coltrane now. My favorite things is the seventh studio album by jazz musician john coltrane, released in 1960 on atlantic records, catalogue sd61.
There is a tension here created by the fact that coltrane was going in a direction that was not totally shared by tyner and elvin jones. Coltrane, from frank kofskys original liner notes to the john coltrane quartet plays 1965. Looking east the spiritual nature of john coltrane. One should begin the discussion of what makes meditations so unique with the nonmusical, spintual underpinning which permeates the suite, anyone familiar with coltrane s sincere pronouncement of his selfawak ening, so lucidly described in the liner notes to a love supreme, will no. All of these musicians fulfilled their purpose, contributing to the seemingly amorphous nature of coltranes later period music. To my ears, meditations takes all that is holy and profound in a love supreme and combines it with the almost feral power of ascension to create one of the most perfect pieces of musical art ever caught on tape. Acknowledgement which includes the oral chant that gives the album its name, resolution, pursuance, and psalm. One critic has written that the album was intended to represent a struggle for purity, an expression of gratitude, and an acknowledgement that the musicians talent comes from a. By the early 60s, john coltrane found himself moving ever further away from traditional forms of musical expression, and into what could be described as uncharted territory, even for jazz.
First meditations for quartet is an album by john coltrane recorded on september 2, 1965 and posthumously released in 1977. Since i was on this kick already, i grabbed a coltrane biography, john coltrane, his life and music by lewis porter and really enjoyed it. Well, the sleeve notes by ashley kahn are extremely informative, but i would. John coltrane meditations recorded at van gelder studio, englewood cliffs, new jersey, november 23, 1965. Jan 31, 2015 as luck would have it, meditations finds a middle ground for tranes forays into the free jazz that he was beginning to explore towards the end of 1965. Meditations by john coltrane on amazon music unlimited. Trane utilized an expanded sextet that also included pianist mccoy tyner, bassist jimmy garrison and both elvin jones and rashied ali. Print and download in pdf or midi giant steps trio piano arrangement. John coltrane had already performed at carnegie hall with dizzy gillespie 1949 and miles davis 1955, but the 1957 performance was extraordinary. One should begin the discussion of what makes meditations so unique with the nonmusical, spintual underpinning which permeates the suite, anyone familiar with coltranes sincere pronouncement of his selfawak ening, so lucidly described in the liner notes to. This arrangement is good for when you are in a trio setting with a bass player, but it can also be played alone without a rhythm section. John coltrane recorded only two albums in 1964, the sublime and very overlooked crescent and the recognized masterpiece a love supreme. Songbooks, notebooks, music theory, sheet music and more. John coltrane tenor saxophone, producer, writer, mccoy tyner piano, jimmy garrison bass, elvin jones drums, bob thiele producer, michael cuscuna.
1200 1067 179 241 1036 1039 706 1482 1324 554 1419 1347 86 13 552 443 886 330 878 106 1534 1089 1061 1306 507 1215 698 171 819 290 723 49 609