JOHN COLTRANE - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album
Impulse!
John Coltrane - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; McCoy Tyner - piano; Jimmy Garrison - bass; Elvin Jones – drums
Recorded 6th March 1963
‘Like finding a new room in the Great Pyramid,’ is how Sonny Rollins describes this album. Undoubtedly, it is an important find. Coltrane, like Duke Ellington, produced more music than record companies could handle. Bob Thiele of Impulse, realising the importance of the music, would often record Coltrane’s quartet surreptitiously. Ellington hired recording studios to document his recent work and that resulted in ‘the stock pile’ which is still yielding albums to this day. Impulse’s Bob Thiele recorded Coltrane against the wishes of the masters of the label. The music on this album was recorded and never issued; a mono reference tape was given to Coltrane who gave it to his then wife Naima. The original stereo master was destroyed when Impulse needed to economise on storage space!
The longest track on the album, may be the best, is ‘Slow Blues’. Tyner sits out for much of the track leaving it to Coltrane, Garrison, Jones. Reminiscent of the work on ‘Coltrane Plays The Blues’, Coltrane is in exploratory mood using the blues to anchor him; using Jones to spur him and Garrison to propel him. Coltrane plays as though he is setting out on a journey. He is both looking backward and forwards. If one track could be said to typify this collection, it is this one. Coltrane is imperious, playing with that majestic tone and gradually moving from the past to the future. When Tyner returns to solo, he increases the tempo.; Coltrane on his return keeps the new tempo.
There are four takes of ‘Impressions’ all under four minutes. You just get the feeling that Coltrane was worrying at it, as if there was something that he could not get quite right. With ‘Nature Boy’ and ‘Vilia’ it sounds as though Coltrane was searching for a successor to ‘My Favourite Things’. ‘Nature Boy’ is played without Tyner and receives only minor embellishments over repeated figures from Jimmy Garrison. ‘Vilia’ is presented in two takes
‘Untitled Original 11383 (Take 1)’ opens the album with Coltrane on soprano and Garrison on bowed bass. This is the classic quartet at its peak. The balance between the four musicians is exquisite. There is a similar effect with ‘Untitled Original 11386 (Take 1)’ Elvin Jones is particularly powerful at once assertive and multi rhythmic. There are two versions of ‘One Up One Down. They each feature a tumultuous dialogue between Coltrane and Jones.
Ashley Kahn seems to have cornered the market on Coltrane sleeve notes. The writing here is better than normal because he concentrates on logistics rather than music. He illustrates both how busy recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder and the quartet was that week. Coltrane was playing at Birdland so the afternoon recording sessions had to be brought forward an hour from 1 till 6 to give the musicians time to get from the Englewood studio to Birdland. We are told the journey took between forty and sixty minutes. They were really working up against the clock. The next day the quartet was back with Van Gelder to record an album with Johnny Hartman.
An even better, story not covered in the notes was that the tape was discovered and put up for auction in 2005. Legal action by the record company, Verve, asserted their rights to the tape.
The album is released by Impulse/Verve/Ume and available in two editions. A single-disc package has seven tracks; the two-disc version adds seven alternate takes of four of those tracks. The recording quality, although in mono, is fine. It has a clarity and balance and serves the music well.
In the end you have to decide whether you agree with Sonny Rollins’ PR hyperbole that this album is like finding a new room in the Great Pyramid or that it is a new page in the work of Coltrane’s greatest quartet. To my ears, Ravi Coltrane was right when he describes it as ‘a kicking-the-tires kind of session’. You have to hear it though. It is essential.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Impulse!
John Coltrane - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; McCoy Tyner - piano; Jimmy Garrison - bass; Elvin Jones – drums
Recorded 6th March 1963
‘Like finding a new room in the Great Pyramid,’ is how Sonny Rollins describes this album. Undoubtedly, it is an important find. Coltrane, like Duke Ellington, produced more music than record companies could handle. Bob Thiele of Impulse, realising the importance of the music, would often record Coltrane’s quartet surreptitiously. Ellington hired recording studios to document his recent work and that resulted in ‘the stock pile’ which is still yielding albums to this day. Impulse’s Bob Thiele recorded Coltrane against the wishes of the masters of the label. The music on this album was recorded and never issued; a mono reference tape was given to Coltrane who gave it to his then wife Naima. The original stereo master was destroyed when Impulse needed to economise on storage space!
The longest track on the album, may be the best, is ‘Slow Blues’. Tyner sits out for much of the track leaving it to Coltrane, Garrison, Jones. Reminiscent of the work on ‘Coltrane Plays The Blues’, Coltrane is in exploratory mood using the blues to anchor him; using Jones to spur him and Garrison to propel him. Coltrane plays as though he is setting out on a journey. He is both looking backward and forwards. If one track could be said to typify this collection, it is this one. Coltrane is imperious, playing with that majestic tone and gradually moving from the past to the future. When Tyner returns to solo, he increases the tempo.; Coltrane on his return keeps the new tempo.
There are four takes of ‘Impressions’ all under four minutes. You just get the feeling that Coltrane was worrying at it, as if there was something that he could not get quite right. With ‘Nature Boy’ and ‘Vilia’ it sounds as though Coltrane was searching for a successor to ‘My Favourite Things’. ‘Nature Boy’ is played without Tyner and receives only minor embellishments over repeated figures from Jimmy Garrison. ‘Vilia’ is presented in two takes
‘Untitled Original 11383 (Take 1)’ opens the album with Coltrane on soprano and Garrison on bowed bass. This is the classic quartet at its peak. The balance between the four musicians is exquisite. There is a similar effect with ‘Untitled Original 11386 (Take 1)’ Elvin Jones is particularly powerful at once assertive and multi rhythmic. There are two versions of ‘One Up One Down. They each feature a tumultuous dialogue between Coltrane and Jones.
Ashley Kahn seems to have cornered the market on Coltrane sleeve notes. The writing here is better than normal because he concentrates on logistics rather than music. He illustrates both how busy recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder and the quartet was that week. Coltrane was playing at Birdland so the afternoon recording sessions had to be brought forward an hour from 1 till 6 to give the musicians time to get from the Englewood studio to Birdland. We are told the journey took between forty and sixty minutes. They were really working up against the clock. The next day the quartet was back with Van Gelder to record an album with Johnny Hartman.
An even better, story not covered in the notes was that the tape was discovered and put up for auction in 2005. Legal action by the record company, Verve, asserted their rights to the tape.
The album is released by Impulse/Verve/Ume and available in two editions. A single-disc package has seven tracks; the two-disc version adds seven alternate takes of four of those tracks. The recording quality, although in mono, is fine. It has a clarity and balance and serves the music well.
In the end you have to decide whether you agree with Sonny Rollins’ PR hyperbole that this album is like finding a new room in the Great Pyramid or that it is a new page in the work of Coltrane’s greatest quartet. To my ears, Ravi Coltrane was right when he describes it as ‘a kicking-the-tires kind of session’. You have to hear it though. It is essential.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
