Coltrane [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

John Coltrane | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 11, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Grp Records
• ASIN: B000003N98
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,537 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage, February 23, 2000

By 

Ole Skipper (Aarhus, Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coltrane (Audio CD)

This was the first of a string of brilliant and legendary records on Impulse by the great Coltrane quartet featuring new bassplayer Jimmy Garrison. Somehow everything fell into place at once - the music has a dark, blazing intensity that is instantly recognizable and far removed from the comparatively bright and colourful recordings of the previous Atlantic-years. The real heavy spirituality would not set in for another few years - but surely this music is highly spiritual in its own way, only in a more bluesy and human way than the quartet's later records. Vintage Coltrane!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Introduction To Jazz, September 12, 2006

By 

Sean E. Kutzko "Alpine7784" (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coltrane (Audio CD)

In 1984, I was a 16-year old kid who was volunteering at the local all-volunteer radio station in town. I loved my Led Zeppelin and Grateful Dead LP's and wanted to be the next Johnny Fever, so I signed up for the Tuesday 6a - 9am slot fresh out of high school.

The guy who was on Monday "overnights" was a huge jazz freak. At 5:30am on my first day, I introduced myself and he asked me what kind of music I liked. When I told him, he said, "Jerry Garcia loved John Coltrane...you ever heard of him?" I said I hadn't.

"Wait here."

He went into the library and got the LP of this recording down and played "Out Of This World." The earnestness of Coltrane's tone just grabbed me. I didn't know what he was doing from a technical standpoint, but the emotion of his playing made me take notice. I'd never heard anything like it before in my life. I stayed after my shift was over just to listen to the entire LP in one of the production studios. I found a copy of it at a used record store not long after that...my first jazz LP.

A new door was opened to me on that June morning. I've long forgotten the DJ's name who opened it for me, but I've never looked back.

Essential listening.

Sean K.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent mix of material, May 5, 2000

By 

Tyler Smith (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coltrane (Audio CD)

Somewhat underappreciated, "Coltrane" contains a generally acknowledged classic performance ("Out of This World"), and an intriguing mix of other tunes that show the saxophonist's classic quartet in fine form.

"Out of This World" is the CD's centerpiece, an extended work that matches the power of Coltrane's great live improvisations at the Village Vanguard, Birdland, and Newport. It goes on hypnotically for 14 minutes, spinning a whirlpool of tenor intensity. As with "My Favorite Things," "Naima," and "I Want to Talk About You," Coltrane was to resurrect this tune throughout his performing career.

Also showing the tenor's harder side is "Miles Mode," originally contributed to Coltrane, but apparently an Eric Dolphy composition. (It's entitled "Red Planet" on Dolphy's "Great Illinois Concert.") McCoy Tyner's crystalline piano leavens Coltrane's all-out attack on this cut.

The CD's texture deepens with a fine ballad vehicle, "Soul Eyes," the lilting and whimsical soprano piece, "The Inchworm," and the darkly exotic and Eastern-flavored "Tunji," which contains more than a hint of menace.

Two Coltrane originals that were not part of the original record round out the CD release. "Up 'Gainst the Wall" is a brief but intense saxophone/drum/bass workout that originally appeared on the LP "Impressions." "Big Nick," which Coltrane recorded with Ellington, is another tune that shows Coltrane's humorous side (and his improvisational genius).

The variety of compositional styles and melodic approaches make this a deeply satisfying Coltrane release. Like "Crescent," released two years later, it strikes me as a recording on which Coltrane gathered his power and summed up all he'd learned before continuing into new musical realms.