Exhibit: John Coltrane vs. The Jazz Critics, 1961-1966

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2012 John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues Festival, African American, David Tegnell, High Point, Jazz Critics, John Coltrane, NC, Phyllis Bridges, Yalik's Modern Art

John Coltrane

Yalik’s Modern Art presents a documentary exhibit recounting former High Point resident John Coltrane’s uneasy relationship with jazz critics during the tumultuous Civil Rights period. The exhibit titled, John Coltrane vs. the Jazz Critics: 1961-1966, coincides with the 2012 John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues Festival, Saturday, September 1st.

Through an examination of photographs, letters, record reviews, commentaries, musical examples, and artifacts, Coltrane and the Jazz Critics details the strategies Coltrane employed to weather a concerted campaign by Down Beat magazine to discredit his musical experiments in the years before Coltrane produced his most original and enduring recordings.

John Coltrane -[|]- A LOVE SUPREME [IMPULSE]

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African American, Jazz, John Coltrane

John Coltrane - A LOVE SUPREME

John Coltrane -[|]- A LOVE SUPREME -(MP3)- [IMPULSE, 1964]

John Coltrane, one of the true masters of jazz, affected every corner of the jazz world when he released this album. The sheer power and beauty of the music breathed new life into jazz and streched the imaginations of many. To this day, A Love Supreme is an album that can be an inspiration to all people around the globe. His music is so extraordinarily powerful – it can make one laugh, cry, get angry, beam in utter rapture, and love and fear God.

To me, on this album John Coltrane not only grabs at every human emotion, but manages to become that emotion. That’s what the album really is – it is raw human emotion, pulsating out of every drum beat, every bass hit, every chord, and every saxophone note. When John Coltrane created this album with his quartet, it almost sounds as if he were possessed by God and became everything the human soul embodies.

While some may claim that the album isn’t good for relaxing after work or on a Sunday afternoon, I would say that exacly the opposite is true. Every time I listen to that album, I am put in a trance, a state so indescribably euphoric that I could exist like that forever.

But alas, the album is only 45 minutes long…

..:: SOURCE: Amazon.com ::..

New JAZZ RELEASES for the Week of 3/8/2011

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Jazz, John Coltrane, Luis Conte, New Releases, Omar Sosa, Vijay Iyer

New JAZZ Releases (3/8/2011)

Greeting’s jazz enthusiasts, as always it’s a pleasure to return with more new music releases. With each visit, you’ll discover a montage of new jazz recordings featured at Amazon.com that encompasses a generous diet of nuances which includes a wealth of complex and distinctive styles, textures, melodies, and rhythms exalted by a host of definitive and creative voices in the world of jazz.

For more details, please visit Amazon.com for a complete list of this week latest jazz releases!

..:: SOURCE: Amazon.com ::..

[Classic Jazz Revisited] … featuring John Coltrane -|- Plays the Blues

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African American, Bebop, Jazz, John Coltrane, Saxophone

Flux Classic Jazz Revisited

And epiphany occurred last week as I was prompted to pay homage to the quintessential voices in jazz from their prosperous and influential years as recording artist during the later fifties, sixties and early seventies. I’m honored to feature this new segment titled “Classic Jazz Revisited,” which spotlights the finest musicians and recordings from legendary music labels like Blue Note, CTI, Riverside, Verve, and Prestige Records etc … as always your recommendations are welcome!

John Coltrane - Plays the Blues

John Coltrane -|- Plays the Blues – [Atlantic / Wea, 1960]

The recordings here come from the same October 1960 sessions that produced My Favorite Things, and while the all-blues album is far less famous, it’s an equivalent document of John Coltrane’s work in his earliest recordings of the quartet with drummer Elvin Jones and pianist McCoy Tyner. The all-blues format emphasizes Coltrane’s personal relationship to the form, both his emotional depth and his capacity for harmonic extension on essentially modal materials. His soprano on “Blues to Bechet” is a summoning up of the blues form’s original power, also apparent in the slow and moving “Blues to Elvin.”

“Blues to You,” played with just Jones and bassist Steve Davis, is a hot coil of sound, Coltrane’s convoluted lines twisting into new shapes while he and Jones catch every possible nuance of the beat. “Mr. Knight” would later turn into “India,” but it’s already a floating modal figure for his tenor. This edition includes the alternate takes previously available only in the box set The Heavyweight Champion. —Stuart Broomer

..:: Source: Amazon.com ::..

Kenny Garrett | Pursuance: The Music of John Coltrane

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African American, Jazz, John Coltrane, Kenny Garrett, Saxophone

Kenny Garrett | Pursuance: The Music of John Coltrane – [Warner Jazz, 1996]

Kenny Garrett - Pursuance: The Music of John Coltrane

Here we have a tribute to John Coltrane from young alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett, with support from Pat Metheny on guitar, Rodney Whitaker on bass, and Brian Blade on drums. Ten of the 11 songs on Pursuance are Coltrane compositions (surprisingly, “Naima” is not included), plus there is one original composition attributed to the quartet. Although his recordings with his own group might lead one to assume otherwise, Metheny really shines when accompanying saxophonists (his recordings with Gary Thomas and Josh Redman are both excellent), and his guitar really adds to the musical tapestry woven by this tight group.

John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman

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African American, Bebop, Jazz, John Coltrane, Johnny Hartman, Male Vocalist, Saxophone

Join yours truly and listen to two of the greatest voices in jazz. The bold and vibrant timbre of saxophone legend John Coltrane binded to the warm and intimate vocals of Johnny Hartman joined at the hip to blend a unique volume of soulful classics and arrangements like no other, before or after them … is a definite plus for any music enthusiast. The Urban Flux

John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
– [Impulse Records, 1963] – Original Recording Remastered

Cotrane and Hartman

This is one of the three all-ballad albums that John Coltrane recorded in late 1962 and early 1963. Johnny Hartman was apparently Coltrane’s suggestion, and his deep, dark voice meshes perfectly here with Coltrane’s tenor. The material is well-chosen, including definitive readings of “My One and Only Love” and “Lush Life.” McCoy Tyner fills out the chords, augmenting the harmonies and keeping the tone of these ballads respectful but not overly sentimental.

All the players get to the deep structure of the songs and are not afraid to play in the most essential and elegant manner. This is beautiful jazz. —Michael Monhart

..:: Source: Amazon.com ::..

Ravi Coltrane | Mad 6

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African American, Creative Modern Jazz, John Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, Saxophone

Ravi Coltrane | Mad 6 – [Sony, 2002]

Ravi Coltrane, Mad 6

A saxophonist whose patiently evolving style has been one of the more interesting stories in contemporary jazz, Ravi Coltrane helps launch Columbia’s Eighty-Eights subsidiary (founded by Japanese producer Yasohachi “88” Itoh) with a set that is by turns more freewheeling and lyrical than his previous major label efforts. Featuring two bands–one with George Colligan on piano and the other Andy Milne–Mad 6 reflects Ravi’s involvement in both jazz classicism and the throbbing, funkified bop of Brooklyn’s M-Base school. His tenor has never plumbed richer emotion than it does on Thelonious Monk’s “Ask Me Now,” while the forcefully minimalistic “Avignon” is one of his more compelling originals.

Bracketed by two lesser-played tunes by his legendary father, John Coltrane, the album could have done without yet another version of Monk’s “Round Midnight.” But with Ravi whizzing through the changes on soprano over Steve Hass’ gutbucket drumming, it’s a nifty remake by an artist who seems incapable of taking anything at face value. —Lloyd Sachs

Source: Amazon.com

PRESTIGE RECORDS RELEASES SIDE STEPS

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African American, Bebop, Gene Ammons, Jazz, John Coltrane, PRESTIGE RECORDS, Saxophone, Sonny Rollins

A 5-CD BOXED SET OF JOHN COLTRANE’S PRESTIGE RECORDINGS
AS A SIDEMAN TO A HOST OF JAZZ LUMINARIES

John Coltrane

The artistic prowess of saxophonist John Coltrane was so expansive and influential – even in his own short lifetime, let alone in the decades since his death – that it’s difficult to quantify or differentiate his significance as a leader, a collaborator, a sideman or any other role in the jazz idiom. What’s certain, though, is that some of his most pivotal session work took place on the Prestige label in the 1950s.

Over the past three years, Prestige Records has released boxed sets of Coltrane’s numerous sessions from the mid- to late ’50s, each spotlighting a specific dimension of his tenure with the label. Fearless Leader – released in September 2006, in celebration of Coltrane’s 80th birthday – showcases his recordings as a bandleader. Interplay, released in September 2007, contains Coltrane’s early collaborative recordings with a variety of stellar musicians from the same era.

John Coltrane | Stellar Regions

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African American, Bebop, Jazz, John Coltrane, Saxophone

As you know, John Coltrane’s music is revered as supreme among the giants in jazz. Honestly, I haven’t always been comfortable listening to his music because of his immeasurable improvisational skills were simply beyond my ability to ascertain his compositional palette. That said, a personal revival has taken place for me as I’ve matured in learning to appreciate the language of jazz by artists of this glorious era. Enjoy your weekend … ~ The Urban Flux

John Coltrane, Stellar Regions

John Coltrane | Stellar Regions [GRP, 1995] Originally released 1967

This set is drawn from a February 15, 1967, recording session–one of John Coltrane’s last days in the studio. The tapes had been in Alice Coltrane’s care since the recording, and she gave titles to the pieces, overseeing their release on CD in 1995. All are previously unreleased with the exception of “Offering” which appeared on Expression. As on that release, there’s evidence here that Coltrane’s relentless musical search was drawing him ever further out. The performances are shorter, focused, with a magisterial lyricism seamlessly integrated with exclamatory shrieks and cries. There is an aching, though rough-hewn, beauty to Coltrane’s playing on these tracks. With the exception of “Tranesonic” where he is on alto, he plays tenor sax throughout. His command of the instrument from the very bottom of the low register to the stratospheric heights of the altissimo is staggering–note in particular his “duet” with himself on “Sun Star” where he questions and answers with himself on the extreme ranges of the horn. There’s a depth and wisdom to these recordings that only further extends the Coltrane legacy. —Michael Monhart

Source: Amazon.com

John Coltrane | Ballads

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African American, Jazz, John Coltrane, Saxophonist

John Coltrane

John Coltrane | Ballads [Classic Jazz]

In 1962 John Coltrane was under assault from conservative critics who had labeled his tumultuous extended performances “anti-jazz.” In response he entered the studios to create this classic collection of both well known and obscure ballads. Coltrane was one of jazz’s greatest ballad players, a fact sometimes overlooked in the controversy that swirled about his work, and his lyrical gifts are in sharp relief here. They’re transmitted through one of the most beautiful tones that jazz has ever produced, suggesting a rare metal that has just been discovered. The material brings out the best in pianist McCoy Tyner, who is prominently featured and whose harmonic subtlety and limpid grace shine throughout. – Amazon.com/Stuart Broomer