JOHN COLTRANE - Blue World
Impulse
John Coltrane (tenor & soprano saxophones); McCoy Tyner (piano); Jimmy Garrison (double bass); Elvin Jones (drums)
Recorded June 24, 1964
Canadian film director Gilles Groulx wanted some music for his film called ‘Le Chat Dans Le Sac’. Why not ask John Coltrane? He did. Got a positive answer, drove down to Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in New York, recorded the music and took the tapes back. Only about seven minutes was eventually used in the final film and the tapes were almost forgotten.. Now found and released by Impulse, ‘Blue World’ features two takes of the ballad ‘Naima’, three of ‘Village Blues’, one of the Sonny Rollins dedication ‘Like Sonny’, an exploration of the title track,the Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer ballad ‘Out of This World’ and a ferocious reading of ‘Traneing In’. In all, there is thirty seven minutes of excellent music from the quartet playing music that was not in their current book. To put it in historical context this music was created in-between ‘Crescent’ and ‘A Love Supreme’.
All the pieces are very well recorded by Van Gelder. The fascination here is listening to pieces that they have played before, now in new guises. All of these pieces were originally recorded between 1957 and 1961, on the albums ‘Traneing In’, ‘Giant Steps’, and ‘Coltrane Jazz’.
If you love Coltrane then you will be fascinated to hear the quartet taking time out to revisit their past, something that they did not normally do. If you are new to Coltrane this is a good place to start. This album is unusual because for most of its life the quartet showed an evolution in its music whereas this music is a pause. The playing is relaxed probably because they were not making new statements. Jimmy Garrison uses his opportunities well. Elvin Jones rolls out the rhythms majestically.
This is not great film music in the way that Miles Davis created for Louis Malle’s ‘Lift to the Scaffold’ or that Ellington produced for Otto Preminger's ‘Anatomy of a Murder’. Anything that Coltrane produced is important but this is not groundbreaking in the way that the albums that preceded and succeeded it are.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Impulse
John Coltrane (tenor & soprano saxophones); McCoy Tyner (piano); Jimmy Garrison (double bass); Elvin Jones (drums)
Recorded June 24, 1964
Canadian film director Gilles Groulx wanted some music for his film called ‘Le Chat Dans Le Sac’. Why not ask John Coltrane? He did. Got a positive answer, drove down to Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in New York, recorded the music and took the tapes back. Only about seven minutes was eventually used in the final film and the tapes were almost forgotten.. Now found and released by Impulse, ‘Blue World’ features two takes of the ballad ‘Naima’, three of ‘Village Blues’, one of the Sonny Rollins dedication ‘Like Sonny’, an exploration of the title track,the Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer ballad ‘Out of This World’ and a ferocious reading of ‘Traneing In’. In all, there is thirty seven minutes of excellent music from the quartet playing music that was not in their current book. To put it in historical context this music was created in-between ‘Crescent’ and ‘A Love Supreme’.
All the pieces are very well recorded by Van Gelder. The fascination here is listening to pieces that they have played before, now in new guises. All of these pieces were originally recorded between 1957 and 1961, on the albums ‘Traneing In’, ‘Giant Steps’, and ‘Coltrane Jazz’.
If you love Coltrane then you will be fascinated to hear the quartet taking time out to revisit their past, something that they did not normally do. If you are new to Coltrane this is a good place to start. This album is unusual because for most of its life the quartet showed an evolution in its music whereas this music is a pause. The playing is relaxed probably because they were not making new statements. Jimmy Garrison uses his opportunities well. Elvin Jones rolls out the rhythms majestically.
This is not great film music in the way that Miles Davis created for Louis Malle’s ‘Lift to the Scaffold’ or that Ellington produced for Otto Preminger's ‘Anatomy of a Murder’. Anything that Coltrane produced is important but this is not groundbreaking in the way that the albums that preceded and succeeded it are.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
